Niacin is a B vitamin that’s made and used by your body to turn food into energy. It helps keep your nervous system, digestive system and skin healthy.
What are the functions of niacin in your body?
Like all B vitamins, niacin plays a role in converting carbohydrates into glucose, metabolizing fats and proteins, and keeping the nervous system working properly. Niacin also helps the body make sex- and stress-related hormones and improves circulation and cholesterol levels.
What can niacin prevent?
And it can decrease low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the bad cholesterol, by 5% to 25%. Other evidence indicates that niacin is good for people with an increased risk of heart attacks and heart disease because it not only lowers LDL cholesterol but also triglycerides.
What is niacin in food?
Niacin, or vitamin B3, is a water-soluble B vitamin found naturally in some foods, added to foods, and sold as a supplement. The two most common forms of niacin in food and supplements are nicotinic acid and nicotinamide. The body can also convert tryptophan—an amino acid—to nicotinamide.
What is the main source of niacin?
Many foods are rich in niacin, especially animal products like meat, fish and poultry. Vegetarian sources include avocado, peanuts, whole grains, mushrooms, green peas and potatoes.
What happens if you have too much niacin?
Niacin in the form of nicotinamide has fewer side effects than nicotinic acid. However, at high doses of 500 mg/day or more, nicotinamide can cause diarrhea, easy bruising, and can increase bleeding from wounds. Even higher doses of 3,000 mg/day or more can cause nausea, vomiting, and liver damage.
Can niacin damage your liver?
Niacin can cause mild-to-moderate serum aminotransferase elevations and high doses and certain formulations of niacin have been linked to clinically apparent, acute liver injury which can be severe as well as fatal.
What is niacin 500mg good for?
Niacin is used with a proper diet and exercise program to help lower “bad” cholesterol and fats (LDL, triglycerides) and raise “good” cholesterol (HDL) in the blood. It is generally used after non-drug treatments have not been fully successful at lowering cholesterol.
What is the most common side effect of niacin?
A common side effect of niacin is a flushing reaction. This might cause burning, itching, and redness of the face, arms, and chest, as well as headaches. Starting with small doses and taking 325 mg of aspirin before each dose of niacin may help. This reaction usually goes away as the body gets used to niacin.
When should you take niacin?
Niacin comes as a tablet and an extended-release (long-acting) tablet to take by mouth. The regular tablet usually is taken two to three times a day with meals, and the extended-release tablet is taken once a day, at bedtime, after a low-fat snack.
How much niacin is in an egg?
The niacin level in eggs is low. Values of 17 to 21 ^g. per yolk and 56 to 64 ng. per albumen (Dann and Handler, 1941), 0.73 to 0.90 ng.
What is another name for niacin?
Niacin (also known as vitamin B3) is one of the water-soluble B vitamins. Niacin is the generic name for nicotinic acid (pyridine-3-carboxylic acid), nicotinamide (niacinamide or pyridine-3-carboxamide), and related derivatives, such as nicotinamide riboside [1-3].
What is the name of the niacin deficiency disease?
Niacin (vitamin B3) deficiency results in a condition known as pellagra. Pellagra includes the triad of dermatitis, dementia, and diarrhea and can result in death.
How can I increase my niacin intake?
Foods with Niacin
- Liver. Both beef and chicken livers are some of the best natural sources of niacin. …
- Chicken. Chicken meat, particularly chicken breast, is an excellent source of protein as well as niacin. …
- Turkey. …
- Ground Beef. …
- Fish.
How does niacin help cholesterol?
When taken at prescription-level doses, niacin has been shown to improve “good” HDL cholesterol levels and lower triglyceride levels. It works by blocking the enzyme responsible for making cholesterol in the liver.
How much niacin can you take in a day?
Adults and children older than 16 years of age—At first, 500 milligrams (mg) per day, taken at bedtime. After 4 weeks, your doctor will increase your dose to 1000 mg per day, taken at bedtime. However, the dose is usually not more than 2000 mg per day.
Does niacin burn fat?
The average reduction in those who experienced improvement was 27%, and the degree of fat loss was significantly associated with the degree of increase in HDL cholesterol (niacin is given to people with elevated cholesterol to increase levels of `good` HDL cholesterol), and a reduced Total Cholesterol/HDL cholesterol …
Is a niacin flush good for you?
While niacin flush in and of itself isn’t typically harmful, it may be accompanied by other unpleasant side effects like headache or low blood pressure ( 1 ). Even higher doses may cause liver damage or other severe side effects ( 1 ).
Does niacin help you lose weight?
Consuming higher doses of niacin by taking supplements is likely effective for treating high cholesterol — and possibly effective for helping with osteoarthritis, hardening of your arteries, heart attack risks, diabetes and cataracts. But taking niacin supplements does not cause weight loss.
Is niacin good for arteries?
Niacin, or Vitamin B3, is the best agent known to raise blood levels of HDL, which helps remove cholesterol deposits from the artery walls.
What happens if you take 1000 mg of niacin?
At much higher doses (1000 to 2000 mg per day) niacin is used as a treatment for high cholesterol. These higher doses of niacin cause an intense flushing or “prickly heat” sensation to the face and upper body, usually 15-30 minutes after taking a relatively large dose (e.g. 500 mg).
Does niacin raise blood sugar?
One potentially important side effect known to occur on niacin is a rise in glucose levels in those with diabetes. 5 Findings from a post-hoc analysis of the Coronary Drug Project suggested that this effect also occurred in those without diabetes, leading to an increase in the risk of developing diabetes.
Is niacin Safe for Kidneys?
The authors concluded that niacin supplementation mitigates the upregulation of oxidative stress and the inflammatory system in the kidney. However, in another study, niacin treatment (1 g/d for 4 weeks and advanced to 2 g/d for 20 weeks) in patients with CKD (i.e., Stages 2–3) did not show renoprotective effects [20].
Should I take niacin in the morning or at night?
In general, the immediate-release form of niacin should be taken after your evening meal and the extended-release form should be taken at bedtime after a low-fat snack. Taking it in the morning or on an empty stomach might cause you to experience more side effects such as flushing and stomach upset.
Does niacin help you sleep?
Niacin can be very useful for adrenal support, working with the adrenal gland to make stress-reducing hormones, thereby helping the body relax by reducing anxiety and depression. It can be used as a natural sleeping aid.
Who should not take niacin?
People with any health condition including liver or kidney disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, or cardiovascular problems need to talk to a doctor before using niacin supplements. Do not treat high cholesterol on your own with over-the-counter niacin supplements.
How does niacin affect the heart?
Niacin has long been used to increase people’s levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or the “good” cholesterol, and has been a major focus of research into heart disease prevention for several decades. However, clinical trials have not shown that taking niacin in any form actually prevents heart problems.
What happens if you take niacin on an empty stomach?
Taking niacin on an empty stomach increases side effects (such as flushing, upset stomach). Follow all directions on the product package. If your doctor has prescribed this medication, take it as directed.
What is the best brand of niacin to take?
Best Niacin Supplements
- Best Niacin Supplement Overall: Transparent Labs B Complex.
- Best Niacin Supplement for Pre-Workout: Kaged Muscle Pre-KAGED.
- Best Niacin Powder: BulkSupplements Niacin.
- Best Niacin for Slow Release: ENDUR-ACIN Niacin.
- Best Bulk Niacin Supplement: BulkSupplements Niacin.
Does oatmeal have niacin?
Just 100 grams of oats contain: 51 percent of the daily recommended intake of thiamine. 8 percent riboflavin. 5 percent niacin.
What is niacin toxicity?
While it’s not possible to overdose on niacin simply by eating too many niacin-rich foods, taking too much over-the-counter or prescription niacin can be dangerous. Niacin overdose signs and symptoms include: Severe skin flushing combined with dizziness. Rapid heartbeat. Itching.
Is niacin stored in the body?
Niacin is a type of B vitamin. It is a water-soluble vitamin. It is not stored in the body.
Can niacin hurt you?
When doses of over 3 grams per day of niacin are taken, more serious side effects can happen. These include liver problems, gout, ulcers of the digestive tract, loss of vision, high blood sugar, irregular heartbeat, and other serious problems. Some concern has been raised about stroke risk in people taking niacin.
Does coffee contain niacin?
The niacin content of weakly roasted commercial coffee is about 10 mg/100 g (American coffee) and it reaches 40 mg in heavy roasted coffees, i.e. Italian coffee. Caffeine-free coffee is lower in niacin than the corresponding raw coffee.
What causes niacin flush?
A ‘Niacin flush’ is a side effect of taking high doses of supplemental niacin (Vitamin B3). The flush happens when niacin causes the small capillaries in your skin to dilate, which increases the flow of blood to the surface of the skin.
What vitamin helps make red blood cells?
Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia is a condition in which your body does not have enough healthy red blood cells, due to a lack (deficiency) of vitamin B12. This vitamin is needed to make red blood cells, which carry oxygen to all parts of your body.