Nature's Bounty Niacin 500mg Dietary Supplement 120 Capsules EXP 4/28

Six-dimension breakdown

Why this scored 54/100

Nature's Bounty is a longstanding mass-market vitamin brand (owned by The Bountiful Company / Nestle Health Science). This specific product delivers 500mg of niacin in the form of Inositol Hexanicotinate (labeled 400mg niacin + 100mg inositol per capsule) — sometimes called "flush-free niacin" or "no-flush niacin." This form is distinct from the two evidence-supported niacin forms used clinically: nicotinic acid (immediate-release, produces the characteristic flush, lowers LDL and raises HDL at 1-3g/day dose used in cardiovascular trials) and nicotinamide (does not flush, does not have the lipid-modifying effect, has separate evidence for skin cancer prevention at 500mg twice daily). Inositol hexanicotinate — the compound in this Nature's Bounty product — is a metabolic conjugate that in human PK studies does NOT release nicotinic acid meaningfully into circulation and does NOT produce the cardiovascular lipid-modifying effects of true niacin. This is a well-documented issue in the niacin literature: users buying "flush-free niacin" for cardiovascular benefit are getting a form with essentially none of the cardiovascular pharmacology of nicotinic acid. Rejected on misleading_naming — labeling a product 'Niacin' when the delivered form (inositol hexanicotinate) does not release nicotinic acid or produce niacin's characteristic effects misleads buyers seeking cardiovascular benefit.

Evidence & sources

The Vyvata score's Evidence dimension measures the quality of published RCT support for a product's active ingredients at the label dose. Our source hierarchy: double-blind RCTs in MEDLINE-indexed journals > single-blind RCTs > open-label trials > observational studies > mechanism papers > N=1 case studies (anecdotes). Predatory journals and manufacturer-authored studies without independent replication are weighted down.

Product-specific evidence citations for this item are embedded in the analysis text on the "Analysis" tab. For the full framework and evidence hierarchy, see the methodology page.

How to read the Evidence dimension

• 80–100: Multiple double-blind RCTs in indexed journals directly testing this product OR the exact ingredients at the exact dose.
• 60–79: Single double-blind RCT + supporting ingredient literature at the studied dose.
• 40–59: Open-label trials + ingredient literature; no product-specific double-blind evidence.
• 20–39: Ingredient literature only; no product-specific trials or trials in predatory venues.
• 0–19: No credible evidence base or unverifiable claims.

FAQ data has not been generated for this product yet. See the site FAQ for general questions.

Customer reviews

All the data we have on this product

Every VSF-related metafield surfaced verbatim. Nothing hidden. If you spot data that looks wrong, let us know.

VSF score

54 / 100

Tier

Rejected

Category

Supplements

Subcategory

cardiovascular heart

Last scored

August 30, 2026

Third-party certifications

None on record at time of scoring

Vendor

Take It or Leave It

Tags

Shopify Collective, Take It or Leave It

Every score is set from the published rubric, audit-logged, and rescored whenever new evidence emerges (published trials, updated labels, third-party testing releases). Every vendor is scored on the same criteria — no pay-to-play. See our editorial-independence disclosure for the full policy, including brands with an editorial relationship to this site.