Niacin (Vitamin B3)

What is Niacin or Vitamin B3?

Along with thiamin, riboflavin, and others, niacin is an essential B-complex vitamin your body needs to convert macronutrients from the food you eat into the energy your body needs for all your daily activities. It's also needed for your digestive system to function properly and for normal skin and nerve function. The average adult needs about 14 milligrams per day.

A niacin deficiency results in a disease called pellagra. People with this condition have digestive problems, inflamed skin, and mental impairments. However, pellagra is very rare and currently, it's only seen in undeveloped countries.

The vast majority of people don't need to take niacin supplements because there's plenty of niacin the foods found in a typical diet, even diets that aren't all that healthy. For example, nuts, legumes, eggs, poultry, beef, and seafood are all high in niacin, and it's found in smaller amounts in most other foods, so as long as you're eating every day, you're getting plenty of niacin.

Niacin can also be taken as a natural medication or supplement to reduce the risk of heart disease and atherosclerosis. Large daily doses of niacin may help to lower LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and increase the HDL cholesterol (the good form of cholesterol).

What is a niacin flush?

Niacin dilates the blood vessels and increases blood circulation which carries more nutrients to the cells. It assists to expel radiation and toxins from the body with a tingling skin flush or burning sensation which is harmless and disappears rapidly. It also increases the flow of blood to the joints and helps to flush toxin build-up in the joints.

A niacin flush is a side effect of taking a higher a dose of niacin supplements. Although a flush isn't dangerous, it can cause some itchiness and redness to the skin for a short period of time. Here's how it happens: When the body responds to higher doses of nicotinic acid, the capillaries expand, which increases blood flow to the skin's surface. A flush appears as red, warm skin. Symptoms normally appear about 15 to 30 minutes after taking the supplements and start to disappear after about an hour.

Even though the niacin flush is harmless, you should talk to your healthcare provider, if you have any underlying medical conditions, before flushing with niacin.