European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 02, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Jane e. Body a new York times. N niacin May be on the verge of joining vitamins a b-6 and Abeta carotene and Calcium As a widely hailed micronutrient -. Miracle. A 7 a .7 v a this. , a pharmaceutical orphan without a corporate sponsor has been. Described As the most Cost effective. Treatment for High Levels of serum cholesterol that Are not sufficiently reduced by a Fow lat diet. But at least in some forms and amounts niacin has also caused numerous Quot and occasionally severe cases of non viral hepatitis. A v a. A a a a 7 ,7.Quot a. Once known by the nondescript name of Vitamin b-3. Niacin is called a a conditional Quot a Vitamin that is the amount needed in your diet depends on How much niacin the a body Mokes. A. A a. A a a. A a a a a a. A. A Good Deal of the niacin needed is manufactured in the body from the amino z. Acid tryptophan As Long As other amino acids and b vitamins Are present. Tryptophan a . Protein is especially plentiful in milk and eggs niacin itself is found in a wide variety of foods such As meats especially liver ,. 7 poultry fish especially tuna and Salmon ,. Whole Grams wheat germ Dairy products eggs nuts dried Beans and peas it is one of the vitamins put Back when , is enriched so it is also in All enriched breads cereals and pasta7 a Quot. V. Niacin is a water soluble Vitamin that is quite stable. Although about a third of the a origin Hamount in a food is Tost when the food is cooked in water niacin is Best. V preserved when foods Are steamed baked broiled or microwaved a As a  every body cell a niacin is vital to neurological functioning. And essential for Many metabolic processes including the conversion of food to Energy especially sugar 7 metabolism synthesis of fat and metabolism of protein. The recommended dietary allowance Rda for niacin is expressed As a niacin ,.w equivalents Quot or be. Fora Durimen. It ranges from 16 to 19 milligrams a Day for adult women 13 to 15 milligrams Dally with More milligrams daily during. Pregnancy and an additional milligrams while  action line can help lower cholesterol / in general niacin needs Rise slightly with caloric intake. A a a a niacin As such is not found in Vitamin preparations. Rather it is sold in the a 7 United states As Nicot inic acid or More commonly Nicotina mide also known As 7.  has fewer Side effects niacin s ability to reduce serum cholesterol has Long been recognized but because it is a Vitamin and cannot be patented no drug company has bothered to test and promote it in the fight against coronary heart disease. A. But the current National cholesterol education program in the United states a a a which Aims to get  with High cholesterol identified and treated has led some doctors to take a hard look at niacin. Last december researchers from the University of. Pennsylvania reported that. Niacin was the least costly medication. Available for reducing serum cholesterol niacin can achieve a 1 percent reduction in cholesterol for one third to one half the Cost of other cholesterol lowering drugs. They  doses of Nicot inic acid a but not. Nicotina mide a lower the Levels of  fatty substances in the blood Low density Lipoprotein Bdl cholesterol. And triglycerides. R As a further Benefit niacin therapy a a a. Raises the protective form of cholesterol called Hal for High density Lipoprotein u thus drug doses of niacin May help to a a a a. Cleanse coronary arteries of obstructing a fatty . In a collaborative study in the United. States financed by the National heart lung and blood Institute More than 1,000 Middle aged men who had already suffered one heart attack took Large doses of niacin for five years. Nine  the study ended they were found to be less Likely to have died of a second heart attack this Benefit was. Seen despite a potentially serious Side effect  niacin therapy an. Increased incidence of abnormal heart rhythms. Quot _. The classic niacin deficiency disease is. Pellagra which can cause a skin rash diarrhoea mental confusion irritability. Smooth Tongue and Mouth swelling. But in developed countries the main 77 problems associated with niacin result. From excesses. In treating High cholesterol doses of 3 Grams 3,000 milligrams or. More a Day May be taken More than 200 times the amount needed to prevent a dietary deficiency. A. A a. A a a Quot. The Constellation of Side effects _. Depends on the form of niacin taken., a. Nicot inic acid the kind that Lowers cholesterol seems to cause the release of histamine the body chemical associated with allergic reactions,.typical Side effects can Start at doses of 100 milligrams and May include Flushing rashes tingling itching hives nausea diarrhoea abdominal discomfort and wheezing in asthmatics. Flushing of the face neck and Chest the most bothersome common Side effect can last for about 20 minutes after taking a Large dose 7 7 people have experienced such untoward symptoms merely from consuming one. A. Pumpernickel Bagel which contains about. 190 milligrams of niacin. / More serious Side effects of Large doses of Nicot inic acid include liver malfunction and jaundice elevated uric acid Levels and gout abnormally High blood sugar Levels. Peptic ulcers and abnormal heart rhythms. A Nicotina mide niacin Amide is less Toxi but headache nausea and skin blotches have been reported at doses of 300 to 600. Milligrams fatigue hives lightheadedness. And sore Mouth May occur at 3,000.milligrams and jaundice and vomiting at. 8,000  most troublesome of All is the timed release form of niacin. Because niacin enters the body More slowly from a timed release capsule this form rarely produces Flushing tingling and rash but the Price some people paid for this Comfort was. Hepatitis a serious inflammation of the. Liver. Nutrition action published by the. Center for science in the Public interest a Washington based consumer group said one Young Man taking Only 500 milligrams of timed release niacin developed liver and kidney failure and was forced to use a. Respirator to breathe until he recovered a after stopping the drug a -. A another patient on a daily 6-Gram timed release dose required a liver transplant the newsletter reported. A. 7. Or. Jere p. Segrest of the University of Alabama school of Medicine said Quot in our experience sustained release niacin is. About -10 times More Tikey to cause hepatitis than regular niacin a adding that this was probably because the slowly a released niacin does not give the liver a Chance to recover tween doses. Anyone using Mega doses of any kind of7 niacin should get liver  every couple of months As Well ass periodic checks of blood sugar and uric acid Levels. Niacin therapy is not recommended for patients with diabetes or elevated blood _ sugar patients with gout or High uric acid _ Levels,.ulcer patients or people with liver., problems too Many people in Berlin Exchange upon my arrival in Berlin i was told that. British and. French personnel were allowed to use the facilities at Truman Plaza because Berlin was still considered an. Do cupid area. A a a a a a a a a a. A a a this is no. Longer the situation. Many people in cur Community Are fed up. At times we have seen rows of a. British  and German License plates in our lot and _ were not Able to find a parking space. _  waited in Long Lin Eslo Cash checks or buy merchandise and listened to foreigners complain about it. Many times items Are sold out and it s frequently. A because these people Are buying up. Things that their own governments Don t Stock in their facilities. Why should we have to pay for their inadequacies is. There a plan in Progress to cease or curtail foreigners. Use of our facilities am sure Many besides myself a a a. Would like  if any changes in the situation Are intended. A a a a a a Deborah Reed Boden 7 a a. Berlin Germany it. Col. Barry l. Allison director of personnel and Community activities Berlin replies the writer is under a misperception regarding the a a reason that British  allowed Access to  Community s Exchange facilities. Reciprocal agreements applicable throughout. V Germany Between the British and French forces and the . Forces allow our allies Access to the army and air _ Force Exchange system these same agreements also Grant . Forces similar Access rights to British Andor French facilities. A. A a a a. A.  a the . Come in Berlin currently has no plans to _ curtail Allied Access to our Exchange facilities a we recognize we probably see More Allied use of our a Exchange because of their proximity and a very Good Exchange rate of their currencies against the Dollar. We -. Also recognize that at times this can be frustrating but. Riot unmanageable. A cafes does its  keep its shelves stocked and limit patrons to purchasing reasonable quantities of a. A a product of the writer or any other Community member a. A finds an item out of Stock or sees a Patron buying a 7 product in bulk they should notify cafes management. Immediately -. 7 7 a 7a 7 a a we recognize that we have limited parking space at a a. Truman Plaza and the command has taken  recently to help alleviate this problem. We have imposed. A three hour time limit for All vehicles parked at Truman Plaza. Vehicles violating this policy will be ticketed by the military police a ,--.7. _7. _ some americans who were not employees of the department of defense were granted Access to the Exchange facilities because of Berlin s isolated status. Now that the City a status has changed these individuals who usually drove German plated vehicles Are no longer granted that privilege. This should reduce the number of vehicles somewhat. The Bottom line on License plates is that the status of  s occupant not the vehicle itself determines whether the vehicle is granted Access to the facility. _ these solutions coupled with the continued cooperation of Community members will help to make the Truman Plaza facility a better place for everyone who. Uses it. A a a a a a Quot a to write us readers action line is the readers Quot court of last resort Quot striving to answer some of the questions a about life overseas in a military environment or questions about policies and guidelines when other  answers Are not readily available. If you have a question and Don t know where to turn for the answer write to readers action line co the stars and stripes Apo 09211-4211. All letters must be signed and preference will be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers. Pago 16 a the stars and stripes. _ tuesday april 2, 1991