Niacin is a vitamin that is also known as vitamin B3. Another name for niacin is nicotinic acid. Niacin is found in many foods, including eggs, milk, meat and green vegetables. It can also be found in cereal grains. It is produced in the body by converting ingested tryptophan, an amino acid. The Mayo Clinic rates the evidence as strong or good for several health benefits of niacin.
High Cholesterol
The Mayo clinic rates niacin as effective in treating high cholesterol. Niacin helps to increase the levels of HDL, or good, cholesterol. Niacin also decreases the levels of LDL, or bad, cholesterol. The Mayo Clinic notes that the effects on LDL cholesterol are not as pronounced as the effects on HDL cholesterol.
Pellagra
Pellagra is a nutritional disease that results from the body not getting enough niacin or tryptophan, the amino acid that the body uses to produce niacin. Niacin has proven effective at treating pellagra. The symptoms of pellagra include diarrhea, dementia, depression and skin disease.
Second Heart Attack Prevention
The Mayo Clinic rates niacin as effective in the prevention of a second heart attack. Niacin is effective because it reduces the levels of cholesterol, fibrinogen and lipoprotein. Fibrinogen is a blood-clotting agent, and lipoprotein is an agent that increases the risk of blood clots. Lipoprotein can also cause thickening of artery walls, which increases the risk of a heart attack.
Atherosclerosis
There is good evidence, according to the Mayo Clinic, that niacin is effective in reducing the risk of developing atherosclerosis, which is hardening of the arteries. Niacin is effective in reducing this risk because it reduces the levels of cholesterol and lipoprotein.
Other Benefits
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, all B vitamins assist the body's conversion of food into energy. Niacin, along with the other B vitamins, also works in the body to help the proper functioning of the nervous system, metabolize proteins and fats and produce hormones that are sex- and stress-related.
