6 Things Niacin Does to Help Your Heart and Health

Vitamin B3 or Niacin, is among the main essential nutrients the body needs to function well. It can also benefit your heart and overall health.

Nutritional experts recommend a daily intake of 13 to 17 milligrams for a normal adult, and people who eat the right foods can get all the Niacin they need without using dietary supplements.

According to FitDay, foods that are high in Niacin include wheat bran, fish, pork chops, beef, chicken, turkey, peanuts and fortified breakfast cereals.

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Here are six things Niacin does to help your heart and health:

1. Consuming a Niacin-rich diet or taking Niacin supplements might raise your good cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein, or HDL) levels by up to 35 percent while also lowering levels of bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein, or LDL) and triglycerides, another type of unhealthy fat, according to SFGate.

Such changes in blood cholesterol could reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.

2. Niacin helps widen your blood vessels, which helps relax your arteries, thereby improving your circulation, according to Wellness Resources.

3. Niacin plays a key role in helping your body obtain energy from the food you eat, reports SFGate. Your body converts Niacin into a compound called nicotinamide, which is then modified to form two compounds called NAD and NADP.

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Your cells and tissues use more than 200 enzymes to convert nutrients into energy, and most of these enzymes require NAD or NADP to function.

4. Niacin helps with digestion and the regular functioning of the nervous system.

5. Niacin may relieve the joint pain and swelling caused by arthritis, according to Livestrong.

6. According to Health AliciousNess, a deficiency of Niacin leads to pellagra, a condition characterized by diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia, inflammation of the mouth, amnesia, delirium and — if left untreated — death.

Even a slight deficiency of Niacin can lead to irritability, poor concentration, anxiety, fatigue, restlessness, apathy and depression.

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