From: drarwingnuttephd@gmail.com   
      
   The George Mateljan Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation with no   
   commercial interests or advertising, is a new force for change to help   
   make a healthier you and a healthier world.   
      
      
   niacin-B3   
      
   What can foods high in vitamin B3 do for you?   
      
   Help lower cholesterol levels   
   Stabilize your blood sugar   
   Support genetic processes in your cells   
   Help your body process fats   
   What events can indicate a need for more foods high in vitamin B3?   
      
   Generalized weakness or muscular weakness   
   Lack of appetite   
   Skin infections   
   Digestive problems   
   Excellent sources of vitamin B3 (niacin) include crimini mushrooms and   
   tuna. Very good sources include salmon, chicken breast, asparagus,   
   halibut, and venison.   
      
      
   For serving size for specific foods, see Nutrient Rating Chart below   
   at the bottom of this page.   
      
   Description   
   Function   
   Deficiency Symptoms   
   Toxicity Symptoms   
   Cooking, storage and processing   
   Factors that affect function   
   Drug-nutrient interaction   
   Nutrient interaction   
   Health conditions   
   Supplements   
   Food Sources   
   Public Health Recommendations   
   References   
   Description   
   What is vitamin B3?   
      
   Vitamin B3, also commonly called niacin, is a member of the B-complex   
   vitamin family whose discovery was related to work by the U.S. Public   
   Health Service in the early 1900's. At that time, a disease called   
   pellagra, characterized by cracked, scaly, discolored skin, digestive   
   problems, and overall bodily weakness was increasingly prevalent in   
   the southern region of the country. The Public Health Service   
   established a connection between the prevalence of the disease and   
   cornmeal-based diets, and addition of protein to these diets was found   
   to cure many cases of pellagra.   
      
   Several years later, vitamin B3 was formally identified as the missing   
   nutrient in the cornmeal-based diets that had led to the symptoms of   
   pellagra. We now know that corn as a whole food contains significant   
   amounts of vitamin B3, but that vitamin B3 cannot readily be absorbed   
   from corn unless corn products (like cornmeal) are prepared in a way   
   that releases this vitamin for absorption.   
      
   For example, the use of lime (as in limestone, the mineral, not lime   
   juice in the fruit) can help release vitamin B3 from corn and make it   
   available for absorption. Native American food practices that involve   
   the addition of ash from cooking fires ("pot ash" or "potash") to corn-   
   based recipes are one type of cooking technique that helps make   
   vitamin B3 available for absorption.   
      
   The term "niacin" used interchangeably with vitamin B3 is actually a   
   non-technical term that refers to several different chemical forms of   
   the vitamin. These forms include nicotinic acid and nicotinamide.   
   (Nicotinamide is also sometimes called niacinamide.) The names   
   "niacin," "nicotinic acid," and "nicotinamide" are all derived from   
   research studies on tobacco in the early 1930's. At that time, the   
   first laboratory isolation of vitamin B3 occurred following work on   
   the chemical nicotine that had been obtained from tobacco leaves.   
      
   How it Functions   
   What is the function of vitamin B3?   
      
   Energy Production   
      
   Like its fellow B-complex vitamins, niacin is important in energy   
   production. Two unique forms of vitamin B3 (called nicotinamide   
   adenine dinucleotide, or NAD, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide   
   phosphate, or NADP) are essential for conversion of the body's   
   proteins, fats, and carbohydrates into usable energy. Niacin is also   
   used to synthesize starch that can be stored in the body's muscles and   
   liver for eventual use as an energy source.   
      
   Metabolism of Fats   
      
   Vitamin B3 plays a critical role in the chemical processing of fats in   
   the body. The fatty acid building blocks for fat-containing structures   
   in the body (like cell membranes) typically require the presence of   
   vitamin B3 for their synthesis, as do many fat-based hormones (called   
   steroid hormones).   
      
   Interestingly, although niacin is required for production of   
   cholesterol by the liver, the vitamin has repeatedly been used to   
   successfully lower total blood cholesterol in individuals with   
   elevated cholesterol levels. This cholesterol-lowering effect of   
   vitamin B3 only occurs at high doses that must be obtained through   
   nutrient supplementation, and most likely involves a chemical feature   
   of vitamin B3 that is not directly related to fat or fat processing.   
      
   Support of genetic processes   
      
   Components of the primary genetic material in our cells, called   
   deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) require vitamin B3 for their   
   production, and deficiency of vitamin B3 (like deficiency of other B-   
   complex vitamins) has been directly linked to genetic (DNA) damage.   
   The relationship between vitamin B3 and DNA damage appears to be   
   particularly important in relationship to cancer and its prevention.   
      
   Regulation of insulin activity   
      
   Although experts cannot agree on the precise mechanism though which   
   vitamin B3 affects blood sugar regulation and function of the hormone   
   insulin, the vitamin has repeatedly been shown to be involved in   
   insulin metabolism and blood sugar regulation. Some (but by no means   
   all) researchers support the idea of a "glucose tolerance   
   factor" (GTF) molecule that includes vitamin B3 and must be present   
   for optimal insulin activity.   
      
   Deficiency Symptoms   
   What are deficiency symptoms for vitamin B3?   
      
   Because of its unique relationship with energy production, vitamin B3   
   deficiency is often associated with general weakness, muscular   
   weakness, and lack of appetite. Skin infections and digestive problems   
   can also be associated with niacin deficiency.   
      
   Toxicity Symptoms   
   What are toxicity symptoms for vitamin B3?   
      
   Use of high-dose, supplemental niacin to lower serum cholesterol   
   levels has given nutritional researchers a unique opportunity to   
   examine possible toxicity symptoms associated with this vitamin. In   
   the amounts provided by food, no symptoms of toxicity have been   
   reported in the scientific literature. In 1998, the Institute of   
   Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences set a tolerable upper   
   limit (UL) for niacin of 35 milligrams. This UL applies to men and   
   women 19 years or older, and is limited to niacin that is obtained   
   from supplements and/or fortified foods.   
      
   Impact of Cooking, Storage and Processing   
   How do cooking, storage, or processing affect vitamin B3?   
      
   Vitamin B3 is one of the more stable water-soluble vitamins and is   
   minimally susceptible to damage by air, light, and heat.   
      
   Factors that Affect Function   
   What factors might contribute to a deficiency of vitamin B3?   
      
   Intestinal problems, including chronic diarrhea, inflammatory bowel   
      
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