What Does Niacin Do In The Body?

Niacin is a B vitamin that’s made and used by your body to turn food into energy. It helps keep your nervous system, digestive system and skin healthy. Niacin (vitamin B-3) is often part of a daily multivitamin, but most people get enough niacin from the food they eat.

What is the most common side effect of niacin?

A common side effect of niacin is a flushing reaction. This might cause burning, tingling, itching, and redness of the face, arms, and chest, as well as headaches. Starting with small doses of niacin and taking 325 mg of aspirin before each dose of niacin will help reduce the flushing reaction.

Why does niacin make you flush?

A ‘Niacin flush’ is a side effect of taking high doses of supplemental niacin (Vitamin B3). The flush happens when niacin causes the small capillaries in your skin to dilate, which increases the flow of blood to the surface of the skin.

Is 500mg of niacin too much?

Niacin in the form of nicotinamide has fewer side effects than nicotinic acid. However, at high doses of 500 mg/day or more, nicotinamide can cause diarrhea, easy bruising, and can increase bleeding from wounds. Even higher doses of 3,000 mg/day or more can cause nausea, vomiting, and liver damage.

What part of the body does niacin help?

Like other B vitamins, niacin helps the body break down carbohydrates, fats and proteins into energy, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. In addition, it plays a role in gland and liver function.

Does niacin clean your arteries?

Niacin, or Vitamin B3, is the best agent known to raise blood levels of HDL, which helps remove cholesterol deposits from the artery walls.

What is niacin used to treat?

Research on the use of oral niacin to treat specific conditions shows: High cholesterol. Prescription niacin is used to increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol — the “good” cholesterol that helps remove low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the “bad” cholesterol, from your bloodstream.

Is a niacin flush good for you?

Niacin flush is harmless. However, high doses of niacin can cause other, more dangerous side effects, although these are rare (20). The most harmful of these is liver damage. High doses of niacin may also cause stomach cramping, so don’t take them if you have a stomach ulcer or active bleeding ( 9, 21, 22, 23, 24 ).

Does niacin help you lose weight?

The average reduction in those who experienced improvement was 27%, and the degree of fat loss was significantly associated with the degree of increase in HDL cholesterol (niacin is given to people with elevated cholesterol to increase levels of `good` HDL cholesterol), and a reduced Total Cholesterol/HDL cholesterol

Why do bodybuilders take niacin?

Vitamin B-3 is also known as niacin and is part of the vitamin B complex. The growth hormone is important for everyone, but most especially for athletes and bodybuilders as it boosts cell generation in muscles, bones and vital organs, allowing muscles to grow, as well as rehabilitates injured tissues.

Is it safe to take 1000mg of niacin a day?

Niacin is well established as a medical treatment for hyperlipidemia (3) and available by prescription in 50-mg to 500-mg tablets or capsules. The initial recommended therapeutic daily dose is 100 mg, three times a day, titrated to a maximum daily dose of 1,000 mg (4).

Is it okay to take niacin everyday?

At the low DRI doses, niacin is safe for everyone. However, at the higher amounts used to treat medical conditions, it can have risks. For that reason, children and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not take niacin supplements in excess of the DRI unless it’s recommended by a doctor.

How does niacin affect the brain?

A severe niacin deficiency has been associated with cognitive decline such as memory loss and dementia. Niacin is believed to protect brain cells from stress and injury. It is not yet clear though if smaller variations in dietary niacin intake can negatively affect brain function.

Is niacin safe for liver?

Niacin can cause mild-to-moderate serum aminotransferase elevations and high doses and certain formulations of niacin have been linked to clinically apparent, acute liver injury which can be severe as well as fatal.

Is niacin good for blood circulation?

Also called niacin, vitamin B3 is helpful for improving blood flow, reducing inflammation, and reducing bad cholesterol. The nutrient is critical for heart health, as inflammation in the blood vessels can lead to a narrowing called atherosclerosis.

Does niacin increase blood flow?

Vitamin B-3, or niacin, can help improve blood flow in several ways. For example, it can: increase blood vessel function. reduce blood levels of bad cholesterol.