Vitamin B3 (Niacin) is a water-soluble vitamin, that is not stored in the body. Excess Vitamin B3 is excreted by the body through your urine.
This vitamin is mainly found in the foods you eat and has many functions in the body. Most importantly it keeps the nervous system and metabolism functioning properly.
However, other functions include:
- Digestive health – Niacin helps to maintain a properly functioning digestive system, where it one of its roles is to break down fats, carbohydrates and alcohol in the digestive system.
- Heart health – the vitamin helps to regulate cholesterol to keep your heart healthy. It lowers LDL cholesterol and raises HDL cholesterol levels and improve triglyceride levels. It also acts as an antioxidant which further helps to protect the heart.
- Skin health – Vitamin B3 may help to protect the skin from sun damage and and may protect the skin from skin cancer.
- Brain health – if the brain doesn’t get enough Vitamin B3 it could lead to brain fog.
Foods Vitamin B3 can be found in:
- Meat, poultry and fish
- Portobello mushrooms
- Brown rice
- Avocados
- Green peas
- Sweet potatoes
- Peanuts
- Nutritional yeast
