Vitamin B-3, or niacin, helps your body metabolize nutrients. Around 200 enzymes in your body require niacin for reduction and oxidation reactions, which provide most of your energy. Niacin helps your body produce energy from carbohydrates, fats, proteins and alcohols. Your body uses niacin to make stress-related and sex hormones in your adrenal glands and other body parts. Niacin assists in digestive system, skin and nerve functioning.
Sources
You can obtain niacin from food, tablets or capsules. Dairy products, poultry, fish, lean meats, nuts and eggs contain niacin. The best meat sources of vitamin B3 are beef liver, beef kidney, fish, salmon, swordfish and tuna. Tablets and capsule sources of niacin come in regular and time-released doses. The timed-released tablets and capsules may have fewer side effects but may be more likely to cause liver damage. Doctors recommend periodic liver function tests when using more than 100 mg of niacin per day.
Treatment
Clinicians may use niacin to reduce the amount of cholesterol and fatty substances in your blood. Treatment with nicotinic acid, a form of niacin, can help protect your cardiovascular system from cholesterol-related problems. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, nicotinic acid can increase HDL cholesterol levels, decrease Lp(a) concentrations and change small, dense LDL particles to large, buoyant LDL particles. Niacin is also used to prevent and treat niacin deficiency, known as pellagra, which is caused by inadequate diet or medical problems. Symptoms of pellagra include inflamed skin, digestive problems and mental impairment.
Side Effects
Side effects are associated with pharmacologic forms of niacin, including nicotinic acid and nicotinamide. Side effects of nicotinic acid include skin flushing and itching, nausea and vomiting. Some people who took 750 mg of nicotinic acid a day for less than three months developed liver cell damage and jaundice. Timed-release nicotinic acid doses of 500 mg per day for two months may lead to hepatitis. Nicotinic acid may elevate uric acid levels and lead to attacks of gout in susceptible individuals. Reports of blurred vision and other eye problems developed with doses of 1.5 to 5.0 g per day. Nicotinamide may be tolerated better than nicotinic acid, but doses of 3 g per day can still produce nausea, vomiting and signs of liver toxicity.
Recommendations
Specific recommendations depend on age, gender and other factors, such as pregnancy. Ask your doctor which amount is best for you. Medline Plus recommends eating a balanced diet, which contains a variety of foods, to get vitamin B-3 instead of pharmacologic supplemental forms of niacin. Infants up to six months old may need around 2 mg each day, and 4 mg between seven and 12 months. Between ages one and three, 6 mg per day is recommended; 8 mg per day is recommended between ages four and eight. Preteens between ages nine and 13 should get around 12 mg of vitamin B-3 each day. Females 14 and older should get 14 mg each day, and males the same age should get 16 mg per day.
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