Vitamins & Nutritional Supplements for Alcohol Withdrawal

Many alcoholics are deficient in B vitamins, including vitamin B3. John Cleary, M.D., observed that some alcoholics spontaneously stopped drinking in association with taking niacin supplements (niacin is a form of vitamin B3). Cleary concluded that alcoholism might be a manifestation of niacin deficiency in some people and recommended that alcoholics consider supplementation with 500 mg of niacin per day. Without specifying the amount of niacin used, Cleary’s preliminary research findings suggested that niacin supplementation helped wean some alcoholics away from alcohol. Activated vitamin B3 used intravenously has also helped alcoholics quit drinking. Niacinamide—a safer form of the same vitamin—might have similar actions and has been reported to improve alcohol metabolism in animals.

Deficiencies of other B-complex vitamins are common with chronic alcohol use. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that alcoholics have an increased need for B vitamins. It is possible that successful treatment of B-complex vitamin deficiencies may actually reduce alcohol cravings, because animals crave alcohol when fed a B-complex-deficient diet. Many doctors recommend 100 mg of B-complex vitamins per day.

Alcoholics may be deficient in a substance called prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) and in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), a precursor to PGE1. In a double-blind study of alcoholics who were in a detoxification program, supplementation with 4 grams per day ofevening primrose oil (containing 360 mg of GLA) led to greater improvement than did placebo in some, but not all, parameters of liver function...