7 ms·

If you continue having issues, consider taking NAC. It's very commonly used to treat bronchitis and my asthmatic mother has had tremendous success with it.

m0zg 5y ago
FDA banned OTC NAC sales after it found out it might help with COVID [1]. Can't have that. And yeah, I know you're suggesting it for something else, but it's hard to get now. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7649937/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7649937/
- johnisgood 5y ago
  Are you serious? The FDA banned NAC? This is absurd.
  - m0zg 5y ago
    I think they re-classified it and it's no longer available over the counter. As far as I'm aware it was not banned entirely. I wouldn't know, I stocked up considerably right after the ban, before it disappeared from online stores (but after it already disappeared from Amazon). I figure they wouldn't ban it if it didn't work, like most supplements.
    - johnisgood 5y ago
      NAC is amazing! We have it available here OTC. I wanted to get in higher quantities from the US but I might not be able to do that, then. Check this random factoid out: "After about two weeks of 2,400mg NAC supplementation, cigarette usage appears to be reduced voluntarily by around 25%." I personally take it for my liver. It does wonders to it, similarly to silybilin.
      - IAmGraydon 5y ago
        How are you measuring the “wonders” that it does to your liver?
        johnisgood 5y ago
        Primarily liver function tests.
        pitspotter2 5y ago
        Also note the absence of that sweet/sickly smell on one's breath. This implies a reduced level of circulating acetaldehyde, the primary carcinogen associated with alcohol consumption.
- spamizbad 5y ago
  The FDA didn't ban it: it just cannot be marketed as a health supplement. Mostly because it was originally approved as a drug back in the 1960s. It would be like selling Tylenol as a vitamin. A dumb technicality that'll likely be reversed. And you can still purchase it online: https://www.bulksupplements.com/products/n-acetyl-l-cysteine-nac https://www.bulksupplements.com/products/n-acetyl-l-cysteine... https://www.lifeextension.com/vitamins-supplements/item01534/n-acetyl-l-cysteine https://www.lifeextension.com/vitamins-supplements/item01534... https://www.thorne.com/products/dp/cysteplus-reg https://www.thorne.com/products/dp/cysteplus-reg
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - _ywdj 5y ago
    There are many brands listed on iHerb (all with "dietary supplement" prominently listed in the product description), though most of the items are marked "out of stock", so it looks like many people have been stocking up. https://www.iherb.com/c/n-acetyl-cysteine-nac https://www.iherb.com/c/n-acetyl-cysteine-nac
- tallanvor 5y ago
  Well, no. It appears that the FDA became aware of companies marketing N-acetyl-L-cysteine as a hangover remedy and started the process of taking action at that point. And once they start taking action, they can't ignore some off-label uses for something that's considered a drug. And while this action started in the middle of 2020, there's no evidence that this decision had anything to do with research around the drug and COVID. An example letter sent by the FDA in July 2020: https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/les-labs-593764-07232020 https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-c...
  - pitspotter2 5y ago
    It does seem to work as a hangover preventative provided you take it before starting to drink alcohol. (Somewhere between 15 minutes to a few hours before.)
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
johnisgood 5y ago
NAC has many other health benefits. It helps your liver, for example. It is given for acetaminophen overdose, FWIW.
- argonaut 5y ago
  I would caution against anyone supplementing with NAC for general health reasons (e.g. other than a specific condition like bronchitis). In mice, very high doses of NAC causes tumors to form. https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/n-acetyl-cysteine-warning-shot https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/n-acetyl-cysteine-... More broadly, there is a lot of emerging evidence against directly taking antioxidant supplements. For example, it is well established that antioxidant supplementation counteracts the benefits of exercise in humans (free radicals are a cue the body uses to initiate recovery). https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/NFS-03-2013-0038/full/html https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/NFS-03-2.... You can find similar articles/studies for other antioxidants.
  - johnisgood 5y ago
    I am not sure how well known it is, but I already have known this. Immunostimulants are not necessary a healthy thing either, especially not for people with an autoimmune disorder. It can cause flare-ups for example. There is a case of a woman whose condition deteriorated rapidly after having consumed some common herbs and died within a day or two. I think she had MS. Another example: it has been known that many substances do prevent, but if you already have cancer, than your condition will worsen. Back to NAC: it is healthy for you in the typical doses which is about 200-1000 mg I would say. If you take acetaminophen on the daily, then it is especially recommended. In any case, I do not recommend taking it long-term, or not without breaks in-between. Take it for 2 months, stop for a month, take it for another 2 months, then stop for a month and so forth. You can do 1 month on then off, and so on. Up to you.
    - citboin 5y ago
      “ There is a case of a woman whose condition deteriorated rapidly after having consumed some common herbs and died within a day or two. I think she had MS.” I have M.S. What herbs did she take?
_ywdj 5y ago
Cheers. I take a small selection of supplements - mostly minerals/vitamins and digestive support but also some amino acids. Not NAC these days, but I may again. My main antioxidant supplement at the moment is Alpha-lipoic Acid.

m0zg 5y ago

FDA banned OTC NAC sales after it found out it might help with COVID [1]. Can't have that. And yeah, I know you're suggesting it for something else, but it's hard to get now. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7649937/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7649937/

johnisgood 5y ago
Are you serious? The FDA banned NAC? This is absurd.
- m0zg 5y ago
  I think they re-classified it and it's no longer available over the counter. As far as I'm aware it was not banned entirely. I wouldn't know, I stocked up considerably right after the ban, before it disappeared from online stores (but after it already disappeared from Amazon). I figure they wouldn't ban it if it didn't work, like most supplements.
  - johnisgood 5y ago
    NAC is amazing! We have it available here OTC. I wanted to get in higher quantities from the US but I might not be able to do that, then. Check this random factoid out: "After about two weeks of 2,400mg NAC supplementation, cigarette usage appears to be reduced voluntarily by around 25%." I personally take it for my liver. It does wonders to it, similarly to silybilin.
    - IAmGraydon 5y ago
      How are you measuring the “wonders” that it does to your liver?
      - johnisgood 5y ago
        Primarily liver function tests.
        pitspotter2 5y ago
        Also note the absence of that sweet/sickly smell on one's breath. This implies a reduced level of circulating acetaldehyde, the primary carcinogen associated with alcohol consumption.
spamizbad 5y ago
The FDA didn't ban it: it just cannot be marketed as a health supplement. Mostly because it was originally approved as a drug back in the 1960s. It would be like selling Tylenol as a vitamin. A dumb technicality that'll likely be reversed. And you can still purchase it online: https://www.bulksupplements.com/products/n-acetyl-l-cysteine-nac https://www.bulksupplements.com/products/n-acetyl-l-cysteine... https://www.lifeextension.com/vitamins-supplements/item01534/n-acetyl-l-cysteine https://www.lifeextension.com/vitamins-supplements/item01534... https://www.thorne.com/products/dp/cysteplus-reg https://www.thorne.com/products/dp/cysteplus-reg
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- _ywdj 5y ago
  There are many brands listed on iHerb (all with "dietary supplement" prominently listed in the product description), though most of the items are marked "out of stock", so it looks like many people have been stocking up. https://www.iherb.com/c/n-acetyl-cysteine-nac https://www.iherb.com/c/n-acetyl-cysteine-nac
tallanvor 5y ago
Well, no. It appears that the FDA became aware of companies marketing N-acetyl-L-cysteine as a hangover remedy and started the process of taking action at that point. And once they start taking action, they can't ignore some off-label uses for something that's considered a drug. And while this action started in the middle of 2020, there's no evidence that this decision had anything to do with research around the drug and COVID. An example letter sent by the FDA in July 2020: https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/les-labs-593764-07232020 https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-c...
- pitspotter2 5y ago
  It does seem to work as a hangover preventative provided you take it before starting to drink alcohol. (Somewhere between 15 minutes to a few hours before.)
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

johnisgood 5y ago

NAC has many other health benefits. It helps your liver, for example. It is given for acetaminophen overdose, FWIW.

argonaut 5y ago
I would caution against anyone supplementing with NAC for general health reasons (e.g. other than a specific condition like bronchitis). In mice, very high doses of NAC causes tumors to form. https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/n-acetyl-cysteine-warning-shot https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/n-acetyl-cysteine-... More broadly, there is a lot of emerging evidence against directly taking antioxidant supplements. For example, it is well established that antioxidant supplementation counteracts the benefits of exercise in humans (free radicals are a cue the body uses to initiate recovery). https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/NFS-03-2013-0038/full/html https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/NFS-03-2.... You can find similar articles/studies for other antioxidants.
- johnisgood 5y ago
  I am not sure how well known it is, but I already have known this. Immunostimulants are not necessary a healthy thing either, especially not for people with an autoimmune disorder. It can cause flare-ups for example. There is a case of a woman whose condition deteriorated rapidly after having consumed some common herbs and died within a day or two. I think she had MS. Another example: it has been known that many substances do prevent, but if you already have cancer, than your condition will worsen. Back to NAC: it is healthy for you in the typical doses which is about 200-1000 mg I would say. If you take acetaminophen on the daily, then it is especially recommended. In any case, I do not recommend taking it long-term, or not without breaks in-between. Take it for 2 months, stop for a month, take it for another 2 months, then stop for a month and so forth. You can do 1 month on then off, and so on. Up to you.
  - citboin 5y ago
    “ There is a case of a woman whose condition deteriorated rapidly after having consumed some common herbs and died within a day or two. I think she had MS.” I have M.S. What herbs did she take?

_ywdj 5y ago

Cheers. I take a small selection of supplements - mostly minerals/vitamins and digestive support but also some amino acids. Not NAC these days, but I may again. My main antioxidant supplement at the moment is Alpha-lipoic Acid.