Prescription-strength niacin proves effective in improving your cholesterol levels, particularly HDL, or "good," cholesterol. But its ability to protect you against heart disease remains in doubt. All types of niacin may cause liver damage, and...
Lifestyle and disease can damage your liver. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, for instance, can damage your liver as can hepatitis A, B and C and Reye Syndrome, a condition associated with taking aspirin while infected with chickenpox. Some...
People who abuse alcohol may develop niacin deficiencies. Alcoholism is the leading cause of niacin deficiency in the United States, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Small amounts of niacin supplements may reverse...
Niacin, also known as vitamin B-3, occurs in several different forms that have different names, just to confuse the issue. Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid, niacinamide, also called nicotinamide and inositol hexanicotinate, also called...
Your body uses niacin in almost every cellular metabolic process, including the conversion of food into fuel, or glucose, which your body uses to produce energy. Niacin is also useful for helping your body metabolize protein and fats. Niacin and...
Niacin is a type of B vitamin that can be used to help reduce bad cholesterol, or low-density lipoprotein, levels while increasing good cholesterol, or high-density lipoprotein levels. While niacin can be found in certain foods, such as fish,...
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...
Niacin, also known as vitamin B-3. As a nutrient, niacin helps your body convert food to fuel. Niacin also helps to lower LDL, or bad cholesterol, and raise HDL, or good cholesterol. The high doses of niacin necessary to effectively control...
If you have high cholesterol or are at risk of heart disease, your doctor may recommend treatment with a natural, timed-release supplement called no-flush niacin. Niacin is a form of vitamin B-3 that works by dilating your blood vessels to allow...
Vitamin supplements can be used to increase your vitamin intake. They can be used to treat vitamin deficiencies and, in the case of niacin, reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular problems. Regular niacin and no flush niacin differ in the...
The body makes niacinamide from niacin in the diet. They are both considered to be forms of vitamin B3. This vitamin helps the body convert carbohydrates into fuel for energy, explains the University of Maryland Medical Center, or UMMC. Adult...
Having high cholesterol can increase your risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease and a stroke. There are many different ways in which you can lower your cholesterol levels, including the use of FDA-approved medications. Certain...
The most common use of niacin is in the treatment of high cholesterol. This B vitamin appears to have a three-fold effect on cholesterol levels. According to the Mayo Clinic, not only can it lower the amount of triglycerides, a type of fat, in...
Most people get enough niacin -- 14 mg to 16 mg a day -- from the foods they eat. Good sources include beef, salmon and peanuts. Foods that contain tryptophan, an amino acid that converts to niacin in your body, include dairy products and eggs....
Taking niacin, in the form of nicotinic acid, may help you reduce your cholesterol levels. Niacin not only lowers bad cholesterol, or LDL, but it can also raise good cholesterol, or HDL. But the high dosages of niacin necessary to reduce...
According to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, the liver has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, synthesis of protein and other chemical production for digestion. The liver's main function is to filter harmful...
Slo-Niacin is a vitamin the manufacturer formulates to slowly release into the body. As one of the "extended release" forms of niacin, it minimizes some of the vitamin's short-term side effects, but taking too much Slo-Niacin can damage your...
Most people get enough niacin, vitamin B-3, in their diets because it occurs naturally in such foods as beef, peanuts and tuna. Some foods, such as dairy products, eggs and poultry, also contain tryptophan, an enzyme that converts to niacin in...
Niacin is one of the B vitamins. Niacin and its amide form, niacinamide, form vitamin B3. Niacin is found in many foods, including yeast, eggs, poultry, nuts, meat, cereal grains, green vegetables, fish and milk. Tryptophan in the diet is also...
Niacin, also known as vitamin B-3, provides numerous health benefits when obtained from dietary sources such as peanuts, salmon, eggs, chicken and beets. It improves the health of your skin, eyes and hair; helps you convert carbohydrates to...
Before you take black cohosh supplements for menopause discomfort or nicotinic acid for cholesterol concerns, be aware that these supplements can cause serious liver toxicity. A concern with the dangerous side effects of some conventional...
High density lipoprotein, or HDL, is a form of good cholesterol that helps prevent the arteries from clogging. HDL acts as an artery cleanser and removes the low density lipoprotein, or LDL cholesterol, that accumulates in the blood. LDL is one of...
A study recently published in "Circulation," demonstrated that even early diabetes or prediabetes increases the risk of death from heart attack more than twofold. Healthy lifestyle habits and medications, such as niacin, are prescribed to manage...
You can purchase niacin, including flush-free formulas, without a prescription. Niacin -- vitamin B3 -- can help treat conditions such as high cholesterol. But self-medicating with niacin can prove both ineffective and dangerous. Persons with...
The milk thistle herb, which consists of the seeds harvested from the plant of the same name, is valuable for its potential role in keeping the liver healthy. Niacin, or vitamin B-3, assists in liver health, too, as well as in many other functions...
Niacin in high doses -- 100 mg or more daily -- poses several side effects, including lowering blood pressure. If you have low blood pressure, you should not take niacin, as it could make your blood pressure drop further. If you are thinking about...
Triglycerides are a type of fat present in your blood that provides your body with energy. When you consume more calories than your body needs, excess calories are stored as triglycerides in your fat cells. A normal triglyceride level is generally...
Niacin is a form of vitamin B3 that is sometimes used to treat high cholesterol, circulation problems, migraines, pellagra and a variety of other conditions, according to Medline Plus. Low-dose niacin usually causes only minor side effects, but...
Niacin, also known as B3 and nicotinic acid, is one of the eight B vitamins. Niacin is naturally found in plant and animal foods. Niacin helps the body convert food into energy. It also helps the body make sex and stress hormones. Niacin...
