"Royal Flush ..."

"Got a royal flush...
Just another crush
I got my head read in the shed once again, my friend
Inside, outside, upside, downside,
See my face, wanna take me home ..."
~ Stereophonics ~ Royal Flush ~ 
***


Well this morning was a doozy.  I mean one of the first days since on the Gerson Therapy were I felt like I was truly sick.  As most of you know, I have written about my lovely (insert sarcasm here) castor oil experiences - every other morning I wake up to orally take 2 oz of castor oil with strong coffee and a small amount of sugar ... well this morning was one of those mornings but I also had an opportunity to experience the "Niacin Flush".  First let me explain what Niacin is and why we take it ...


Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid or vitamin B3 ~ one of the water soluble B-complex vitamins.    During the initial phase of the therapy, normal dosages for cancer patients is six 50 mg tablets daily, this dosage differs for advance cancer cases.  The Gerson Therapy uses Niacin to improve blood circulation, elevate skin temperature, increase oxygenation, promote cellular nutrition and produce an overall detoxification effect.  So, when the blood vessels are dilated they create a sensation of warmth ~ i.e. Niacin Flush.  This is often accompanied by blushing of the skin and this "flush" or sensation of heat indicates a temporary saturation of Niacin.  You can experience redness of the cheeks, ears, neck, forearms and perhaps elsewhere.  Although this is harmless, it is extremely uncomfortable.

So just for a moment, visualize this ... frequent uncomfortable trips to the loo, looking beat red like a tomato and truly feeling this is the death of me ... yes too funny, NOW, hours after I experienced it.  I really didn't know what to do with myself, so I went outside, barefoot and stood in the yard, admiring our starter raised beds and tried to ignore the fact that I was so uncomfortable in my skin.  Thankfully, it soon passed.  I had an opportunity to visit with a good friend this afternoon (thanks Ally) who knew exactly what I was talking about ... she had experienced the Niacin Flush too!!

It made me think about how many of you out there have had the pleasure to be crawling in your own skin.  For me, I have had that feeling triggered emotionally ~ deep feelings that are poked to the surface when an unexpected event happens, provoked by someone out of the blue ...but never in a physical sense as described above, well, maybe during my engineering days when peer pressure forced us to drink too much awful draft beer, but I digress!

Yet the benefits of Niacin outweigh the discomfort, so bring on the flush ... who knows, maybe it can be mistaken for getting a bit of "extra" sun in the summer and give those self-tanners a run for their money!