Niacin

Overall Health Benefits

• Lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease [1-4]
• Improves lipid profile [5-6]
• Treats migraines and headaches [7-8]
• Improves kidney function [9-11]
• Boosts brain power [12]
• Prevents cancer [13-15]
• Prevents and treats pellagra [16-17]

Proven Health Benefits

Lowers the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Studies suggest that this essential form of vitamin B3 can help protect against cardiovascular disease:

1. In adults, niacin supplementation improved cardiovascular health. [1]
2. A study showed that niacin supplementation can help prevent blood vessel rupture. [2]
3. In adults, the combination of riboflavin and niacin reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease. [3]
4. A study suggested that niacin supplementation can be an option for cardiovascular disease prevention. [4]

Improves Lipid Profile

Niacin has also been found to lower fatty acids or lipids in the blood:

1. Administration of niacin in patients who are at higher risk for coronary artery disease resulted in lower lipid levels. [5]
2. In diabetic patients, niacin administration improved lipid profile without affecting their sugar levels. [6]

Treats Migraines and Headaches

Studies suggest that niacin has pain-relieving properties that can be beneficial in patients with migraines and headaches:

1. A study showed that niacin administration completely eliminated migraines and headaches in patients suffering from these conditions. [7]
2. In a 62-year-old female patient, niacin significantly reduced the incidence of migraine. [8]

Improves Kidney Function

The beneficial effects of niacin on kidney function are backed by a number of studies:

1. In Japanese patients, niacin treated kidney disease without any adverse side effects. [9]
2. In patients with chronic renal failure, niacin prevented elevations in lipids and phosphate. [10]
3. In rats with kidney failure, niacin inhibited inflammation, thus slowing down the progression of kidney disease. [11]

Boosts Brain Power

In one study, higher niacin concentration was found to reduce the risk of cognitive impairment. [12] This suggests that niacin supplementation can improve cognitive health and protect against various brain disorders.

Prevents Cancer

Evidence also found that niacin can combat different types of cancer:

1. In a rat model of cancer, niacin killed tumor cells and decreased the severity of side effects from chemotherapy. [13]
2. In mice, supplementation with niacin prevented cancer by protecting against DNA damage. [14]
3. In human breast cancer cells, niacin in combination with chemotherapy induced programmed cell death. [15]

Prevents and Treats Pellagra

Studies also found that niacin can be an effective treatment for pellagra, a condition characterized by skin inflammation and mouth sores:

1. In patients with pellagra due to vitamin B3 deficiency, administration of niacin treated the condition. [16]
2. A study found that niacin supplementation can help reduce the risk of pellagra. [17]

References:

1. Martens, C.R., Denman, B.A., Mazzo, M.R. et al. Chronic nicotinamide riboside supplementation is well-tolerated and elevates NAD+ in healthy middle-aged and older adults. Nat Commun 9, 1286 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03421-7.
2. Tetsuo Horimatsu, Andra L Blomkalns, Mourad Ogbi, Mary Moses, David Kim, Sagar Patel, Nicole Gilreath, Lauren Reid, Tyler W Benson, Jonathan Pye, Samah Ahmadieh, Allie Thompson, Nathan Robbins, Adrien Mann, Ashlee Edgell, Stephanie Benjamin, Brian K Stansfield, Yuqing Huo, David J Fulton, Gautam Agarwal, Nagendra Singh, Stefan Offermanns, Neal L Weintraub, Ha Won Kim, Niacin protects against abdominal aortic aneurysm formation via GPR109A independent mechanisms: role of NAD+/nicotinamide, Cardiovascular Research, Volume 116, Issue 14, 1 December 2020, Pages 2226–2238, https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvz303.
3. Available at http://www.kjcls.org/journal/view.html?doi=10.15324/kjcls.2019.51.4.484.
4. Available at https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(17)30158-4/fulltext.
5. Bays, Harold. “Safety of Niacin and Simvastatin Combination Therapy.” The American Journal of Cardiology, vol. 101, no. 8A, 2008, 3B-8B.
6. Xiang, Dan MM∗; Zhang, Qian MM; Wang, Yang-Tian MM Effectiveness of niacin supplementation for patients with type 2 diabetes, Medicine: July 17, 2020 – Volume 99 – Issue 29 – p e21235 doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000021235.
7. Prousky J, Seely D. The treatment of migraines and tension-type headaches with intravenous and oral niacin (nicotinic acid): systematic review of the literature. Nutr J. 2005;4:3. Published 2005 Jan 26. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-4-3.
8. Available at https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(11)62470-1/fulltext.
9. Taketani Y, Masuda M, Yamanaka-Okumura H, Tatsumi S, Segawa H, Miyamoto K, Takeda E, Yamamoto H. Niacin and Chronic Kidney Disease. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2015;61 Suppl:S173-5. doi: 10.3177/jnsv.61.S173. PMID: 26598845.
10. Available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/08860221003753323.
11. Available at https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajprenal.00126.2009.
12. Mousa TY, Mousa OY. Nicotinic Acid Deficiency. [Updated 2020 Aug 10]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2020 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557749/.
13. Available at https://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/8/4/725.
14. Ann C. Boyonoski, Jennifer C. Spronck, Robert M. Jacobs, Girish M. Shah, Guy G. Poirier, James B. Kirkland, Pharmacological Intakes of Niacin Increase Bone Marrow Poly(ADP-Ribose) and the Latency of Ethylnitrosourea-Induced Carcinogenesis in Rats, The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 132, Issue 1, January 2002, Pages 115–120, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/132.1.115.
15. Available at https://www.spandidos-publications.com/10.3892/or.2014.3661.
16. Peechakara BV, Gupta M. Vitamin B3. [Updated 2020 Jun 23]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2020 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526107/.
17. Matapandeu G, Dunn SH, Pagels P. An Outbreak of Pellagra in the Kasese Catchment Area, Dowa, Malawi. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 2017 May;96(5):1244-1247. DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.16-0423.