Niacin, or vitamin B-3, is one of eight B-complex vitamins. Like other B vitamins, niacin plays a key role in energy metabolism and helps convert carbohydrates into usable energy. All B vitamins are water-soluble, so the body cannot store them. You must therefore consume sufficient amounts of niacin in the diet to meet your nutritional needs. Niacin needs vary slightly between males and females and change with age.
Infants
The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine maintains dietary reference intakes for all nutrients. Recommended Daily Allowances are set when there is substantial evidence that a certain amount of a particular nutrient meets the nutritional needs of at least 97 to 98 percent of a given age group. When there is insufficient scientific evidence, the IOM generally provides an Adequate Intake value, or an amount believed to be sufficient. Like most vitamins, there is no RDA for infants for niacin. The AI for infants aged 0 to 6 months is 2 mg per day, while the AI for infants aged 6 to 12 months is 4 mg per day.
Children
As children get older and consume more, their needs for the B-complex vitamins increase. Children aged 1 to 3 need about 6 mg of niacin a day and children aged 4 to 8 should consume 8 mg a day. There are no sex differences in the RDA for niacin until about the age of 13, when puberty typically occurs and boys and girls experience changes in body type and size, hormone levels and caloric requirements.
Adolescents and Adults
Both boy and girl adolescents aged 9 to 13 need about 12 mg of niacin each day. After this age, males being to need slightly more niacin than females. Males over the age of 13 generally need about 16 mg of niacin each day, while girls and women over the age of 13 need 14 mg each day. Lactating women need about 17 mg of niacin a day, and pregnant mothers need more still, with the RDA set at 18 mg of niacin each day, regardless of age.
Dietary Sources
You can find niacin in a variety of natural animal and plant sources. Red meat, fish and poultry all contain niacin, as do beets, seeds and nuts. Products that are fortified with niacin, such as breakfast cereals, generally contain the highest doses of niacin, while tuna is the highest natural source. You can also meet your niacin needs by consuming niacin supplements, or multivitamins that include niacin.
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