Читать книгу Orthomolecular Medicine for Everyone - Abram Hoffer M.D. Ph.D. - Страница 57

Niacin releases histamine from its storage sites, the mast cells. When the histamine levels are reduced, the individual is protected to a major degree against allergic shock reactions. Edwin Boyle, Jr., M.D., found that guinea pigs pre-treated with niacin no longer died from anaphylactic shock.²⁶

Patients with food allergies can tolerate and require much larger doses of niacin. When the offending food is no longer eaten, the amount tolerated and required is reduced sharply. A good rule of thumb is that anyone who requires 12,000 mg of niacin per day probably has one or more food allergies. I (A.W. S.) found this to be personally true: whenever I eat chocolate or artificially colored food products, I can tolerate an unusually high number of grams of niacin per day. When I avoid these substances, the need for niacin drops precipitously.

A few people with severe anaphylactic-type allergic reactions have been treated with a combination of vitamin C and niacin. A young man very fearful of his peanut allergy came to see A. H. In spite of the fact he had done his best to avoid any exposure, he had been in the emergency department of the hospital ten times. The last time, his whole neck and throat had become swollen and he was barely saved. He was started on vitamin C (1,000 mg three times daily) and, after a few days, he was started on very small doses of niacin (50 mg three times daily). The hypothesis was that the circulating ascorbic acid would destroy the histamine released by the small doses of niacin and would gradually decrease the histamine burden on his body. The amount of niacin was increased slowly until he was taking 600 mg three times daily. He did not have to go back to the emergency room. He was advised to continue to avoid peanuts as he had been doing before. Several years later, on an airline flight, the cabin attendants broke out free peanuts for everyone. He became worried but decided not to make a fuss and he remained well. This one case indicates that he was protected by this combination of vitamins. Since the procedure is inherently so safe, it could easily be tried on others.

Many years ago, the Mayo Clinic reported that 75 percent of all migraine headaches responded to niacin.²⁷ Histamine seems to be involved. We also have seen astonishing recoveries from niacin. A most surprising observation was a man who had suffered severe migraines for thirty years. After one month on niacin (3,000 mg per day), he remained migraine-free.