Vitamin B3 – Niacin Foods, Benefits and Deficiency Symptoms

Vitamin B3 is part of the eight B vitamins and is going to assist with energy generation and maintenance of a proper metabolism. Each B vitamin that’s represented in this complex has slightly different functions and responsibilities in the body, so it’s vital that you making sure to get in enough of the specific forms each and every day.

Being a water soluble vitamin, vitamin B3 will not be stored within the body, meaning that toxicity risks are lower but on the other hand, you must consume it each and every day. Since any excess taken in will be excreted daily, if you aren’t eating enough of this regularly in your diet plan or using a supplement, you could run the risk of deficiency.

Let’s have a closer look at what vitamin B3 is all about so you can learn more about this important nutrient.

A List of Foods High In Vitamin B3

Some of the best foods to eat to improve your consumption of vitamin B3 include:

  • Asparagus
  • Beans
  • Eggs
  • Fish
  • Green leafy vegetables
  • Lean meats
  • Legumes
  • Liver
  • Milk products
  • Nuts
  • Peanuts
  • Poultry
  • Seeds
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Whole grains

How To Consume More Vitamin B3

Eat more healthy fats like nuts

To help improve your intake of vitamin B3 in your day, focus on eating plenty of healthy fat rich foods. Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and pecans are all great sources of healthy fat and will go a long way towards helping you meet your intake for vitamin B3.

In addition to this, adding some sunflower seeds to your salads or poppy seeds to any muffins you’re baking is another great way to boost your intake so something to consider.

In addition to those techniques, also be sure to increase your intake of green vegetables as these not only help you meet your requirements but will also help you maintain a reduced calorie diet for weight loss or weight control.

Parts of the Body Affected By Vitamin B3

  • Nervous system
  • Skin
  • Digestion
  • Liver
  • Brain

What Role Does Vitamin B3 Perform In The Human Body?

One of the most important roles of vitamin B3 in the body is going to be for cell respiration. In addition to this, while some other B vitamins assist in the breakdown of the various nutrients that you eat from the foods consumed in your diet, vitamin B3 is going to be important for release of the energy created.

Without enough vitamin B3 being taken in, you may not utilize the fuel you’re eating as well, thus you may experience feelings of being sluggish on a day to day basis.

In addition to helping with energy generation, vitamin B3 is also going to important for foster better circulation throughout the body, so for active individual especially this will be a key nutrient.

Without enough circulation throughout the tissues your working muscles would not get the oxygen and nutrients they require for proper performance and a fast recovery.

Vitamin B3 is also going to play an important role in keeping your nervous system healthy, ensuring that all messages get sent to the right location in the body and it will aide with the normal secretion of bile in the stomach, which helps with fat breakdown after a meal.

Vitamin B3 is also going to have a role in the development of the sex hormones in the body, testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone, so without sufficient levels coming in, especially in the puberty years, development could be delayed.

Finally, vitamin B3 is also an important nutrient that is going to help to boost the memory and for this reason is often used to treat anyone who has various mental illnesses or issues with poor memory ability.

The Health Benefits of Vitamin B3

Vitamin B3 helps increase your energy levels
Vitamin B3 helps increase your energy levels

Since vitamin B3 is one of the key nutrients that is involved with utilizing the energy that you take in through the foods you eat, the biggest benefit from its consumption is going to be maintaining higher overall levels of energy on a day to day basis.

In addition to this, vitamin B3 has also been used to help reduce cholesterol levels in those suffering from high cholesterol, so this may be an added benefit that you’ll want to look into if you’re currently out of a safe range.

Finally, vitamin B3 may help to delay on the onset of insulin dependent diabetes, so if you’re someone who’s at risk for this, you might want to speak to your doctor about the potential advantages of supplementation.

Vitamin B3 Recommended Daily Amount

The recommended daily dosage for vitamin B3 is set as the following:

  • 0-6 months: 2 mg
  • 7-12 months: 4 mg
  • 1-3 years: 6 mg
  • 4-8 years: 8 mg
  • 9-13 years: 12 mg
  • 14-18 years (males): 16 mg
  • 14-18 years (females): 14 mg
  • 19 years and older (males): 16 mg
  • 19 years and older (females): 14 mg
  • Pregnant females: 18 mg
  • Breastfeeding females: 17 mg

Some individuals who are being treated for high cholesterol may be told to increase the dosage upwards but should only do so on the recommendation of their doctor and should be increasing the dosage over time to allow their body time to adapt.

Anyone who is planning on using a vitamin B3 supplement should be taking it with their meals as well to prevent an upset stomach.

Vitamin B3 Deficiency Symptoms

Those who are suffering from a deficiency of vitamin B3 will put themselves at risk for a variety of different negative health side effects.

These include the development of pellagra, which is characterized by suffering from diarrhea, dementia, as well as bilateral dermatitis, and they may also experience other negative side effects such as:

  • Canker sores
  • Dizziness
  • Halitosis
  • Headaches
  • Poor digestion or stomach upset
  • Insomnia
  • Low appetite levels
  • Low blood sugar levels
  • Feeling a general sense of weakness or malaise in the body, as well as inflammation
  • Feelings of depression

So there you have the information that you need to know about vitamin B3. Along with all the other vitamins in the B class, it’s definitely one that you won’t want to miss out on eating daily. If you’re making sure to eat a varied diet that’s rich in protein, vegetables, and dairy products, you should have no issues meeting your needs.

About Tony Rogers 46 Articles
I have a keen interest in fitness and nutritional topics. I like to know which are the very best foods I can consume to help me reach optimal health. I also believe in the healing power that foods can provide us with, and that by eating a diet which is both balanced and rich in essential nutrients, we can fully experience optimal health.

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