Vitamin B3 appears naturally in a variety of foods, including salmon, peanuts, beets and swordfish. You can also obtain vitamin B3 in pill form. Inositol hexanicotinate, one type of vitamin B3, provides uncertain benefits and risks. Two other types of vitamin B-3 -- niacin and niacinamide -- may cause liver damage. Before you take inositol hexanicotinate or any other dietary supplement, talk to your doctor.
Dose and Use
If you buy vitamin B3 in an over-the-counter supplement, it will contain either niacinamide or inositol hexanicotinate. You cannot purchase regular niacin without a prescription. Regular niacin, if taken in high doses -- 500 mg to 3,000 mg -- has proven effective in improving cholesterol levels, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medline Plus, a service of the National Institutes of Health. Niacinamide does not treat cholesterol. Inositol hexanicotinate remains under study for possible use as a cholesterol remedy ,but until -- or unless -- science supports a medical use for inositol hexanicotinate, you put your health at risk by taking it in supplement form.
Liver Damage
Side effects of both niacin and niacinamide include liver damage, so use caution if you take inositol hexanicotinate. If you take any form of vitamin B3 in doses higher than 50 mg daily, get your liver checked periodically. Although liver damage is more likely to occur after extended use, damage may occur quickly if you take niacin in high amounts. One person who briefly took very high doses -- 5,000 mg -- of niacinamide in an attempt to pass a drug-screening test required a liver transplant, according to an article in the April 2007 issue of "Annals of Emergency Medicine."
Other Potential Side Effects
Niacinamide and niacin, although they offer different benefits, present nearly identical risks. If these risks extend to inositol hexanicotinate, they may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and headaches. Regular niacin commonly causes skin flushes, an irritating but harmless condition marked by redness, itching, tingling and burning in your face and chest. Niacinamide is less likely than niacin to causes flushes. Inositol hexanicotinate also comes in no-flush formulas, but such claims remain unproven. If you take niacin or niacinamide, more serious effects, in addition to liver damage, include vision loss, gastrointestinal ulcers and gout.
Considerations
Niacin, obtained from dietary sources, helps promote healthy liver function. It also helps you convert carbohydrates to sugar in your bloodstream and to metabolize protein and fat. Niacin also improves the health of your hair, skin and eyes. However, unless you've been diagnosed with vitamin B3 deficiency or your doctor prescribes it to treat a specific medical condition, you don't need to take vitamin B3 supplements in any form, including inositol hexinicotinate.
