What is niacin?

Niacin B is one of the eight vitamins, also known as vitamin B₃. There are two main types of chemicals and each of them has different effects on your body. Both nicotinic acid and niacinamide or nicotinamide are found in food.

Nicotinic acid helps lower cholesterol levels and reduces the risk of heart disease, while niacinamide, or nicotinamide, unlike nicotinic acid, does not lower cholesterol. However, it can also be used to treat psoriasis and reduce the risk of non-melanoma skin cancer. Vitamin B3 is water-soluble, so your body does not store it. This means that if your body does not need these vitamins, the excess can be eliminated. Not only does your body get niacin from food, but it also produces small amounts of the amino acid tryptophan.

How does it work?

Like all B vitamins, niacin helps convert food into energy with the help of enzymes. In particular, it is a key component of NAD and NADP, two coenzymes involved in cellular metabolism. In addition to acting as an antioxidant, it also plays a role in the cell-to-cell transmission and DNA formation and repair.

How much do you need?

How much niacin you need is based on RDI (Reference Daily Intake) and depends on your age and gender. The therapeutic dose of vitamin B₃ is higher than the recommended dose and should be taken only under medical supervision. The RDI for niacin is as follows.

Infants,

• 0–6 months: 2 mg daily
• 7-12 months: 4 mg daily

Children,

• 1–3 years: 6 mg daily
• 4-8 years: 8 mg daily
• Ages 9-13: 12 mg daily

Adults,

• Men 14 years and older: 16 mg daily
• Women 14 years and older: 14 mg daily
• Pregnant women: 18 mg daily
• Breastfeeding women: 17 mg daily
• Adults of all ages: 35 mg daily

Most people can get the amount of niacin they need by eating a healthy diet.

Food sources of niacin…

Niacin is found in a variety of foods, especially meat, poultry, fish, nuts, and legumes. Below is how much of it you will get from each of the following foods.

• Chicken: 59% RDI.
• Light tuna, from oil: 53% RDI
• Beef: 33% RDI.
• Smoked salmon: 32% RDI.
• Peanuts: 19% RDI
• Dhal: 10% RDI

If niacin is deficient, then

• Memory loss and mental confusion
  
• Fatigue
  
• Depression
  
• Headache
  
• Diarrhea
  
• Skin problems
  
• Pain and swelling of the mucous membranes of the mouth, vagina, or urinary tract.
• A severe deficiency causes the tongue to turn red. Some people have sores on the tongue or on the lips.
• Pain and burning in the throat, chest, or stomach.
• It causes diarrhea.
• low blood pressure.
• Irregular heartbeat.
• Gallbladder problems.

These are just some of the symptoms of niacin deficiency. Although its deficiency is very rare in most western countries, severe niacin deficiency or pelvic inflammatory disease often occurs in developing countries where dietary patterns do not change much.

If the niacin increases…

Additional doses of niacin can cause a variety of side effects, including nausea, vomiting, and liver poisoning. The following are some of the most common side effects of taking vitamin B₃ supplements.

• Niacin spots: Red spots caused by dilation of blood vessels by nicotinic acid supplementation can be seen on the face, chest, or neck. You may also experience tingling, burning sensations, or pain.
• Stomach aches and nausea may cause nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
• Liver Damage: Long-term niacin treatment for cholesterol can damage the liver.
• Blood sugar control: Short-term and long-term use of large doses of niacin between 3–9 g per day may impair blood sugar control.
• Eye Health: One of the rare side effects is blurred vision, as well as adverse effects on eye health.
• Gout: Niacin can increase the level of uric acid in your body and lead to gout.

Advantages of Niacin

1. LDL lowers cholesterol

It can lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels by 5-20%. It is not used as a primary treatment for high cholesterol but is primarily used as a cholesterol-lowering treatment for patients with statin intolerable cholesterol.

2. HDL raises cholesterol.

In addition to lowering LDL cholesterol, niacin also increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. HDL cholesterol is good for the body and LDL cholesterol is bad for the body. Studies show that niacin increases HDL levels by 15-35%.

3. Lowers triglycerides.

Niacin can reduce triglycerides by about 20-50%. It does this by stopping the activation of an enzyme involved in the synthesis of triglycerides. As a result, both LDL and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) production are reduced.

4. Helps prevent heart disease.

The effect of vitamin B₃ on cholesterol helps prevent heart disease. It helps reduce oxidative stress and inflammation that can lead to atherosclerosis. Some research has shown that niacin therapy alone or in combination with statins can reduce the risk of heart-related health problems.

5. It may help to treat type I diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in your body’s pancreas. Research has shown that niacin helps protect those cells and reduces the risk of developing type 1 diabetes in at-risk children. However, for individuals with type 2 diabetes, the role of niacin is more complex. It can help lower high cholesterol levels, which are often found in people with type 2 diabetes. It can also raise blood sugar levels. As a result, people with diabetes who take niacin to treat high cholesterol can also lower their blood sugar levels. Must be very careful.

6. Increases brain activity.

Niacin, part of the NAD and NADP coefficients, helps your brain regain energy and function properly. Some brain disorders and even psychiatric symptoms are caused by niacin deficiency. Niacin can be used as a treatment for some types of schizophrenia. This is because it helps to remove the damage to the brain cells. Research has also shown that it helps keep the brain healthy in Alzheimer’s disease.

7. Improves skin activation

Niacin helps protect skin cells from sun damage. You can get the right results by drinking it or applying it to the skin. Recent research shows that it may help prevent some types of skin cancer. One study found that taking 500 mg of nicotinamide a day doubled the risk of non-melanoma skin cancer in high-risk individuals.

8. It can reduce the symptoms of arthritis

In one preliminary study, niacin helped relieve some of the symptoms of osteoarthritis and improve joint mobility.

References

• Hunt, C. H. (1928) ‘Vitamin B [3]’, Science, 67(1744), p. 556. doi: 10.1126/science.67.1744.556.
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526107/

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