Excess Niacin in body

  New Research # 23

Excess  Niacin in body  is not good for heart. Niacin is needed for a healthy nervous system. Having enough niacin  in the human body is necessary as our body use it to turn food into  energy. It gives strength to our nervous system, digestive system and skin.

Excess Niacin in body- New research #                                  23

Contents:

• What is Niacin ?
• How we get niacin ?
• New study.
• Common effects of Niacin.
• How much niacin we need ?

What is Niacin ?

Many years ago scientists know that there is only one vitamin B. As the time passed, now they  know that there are  8 vitamin B. Every vitamin B has unique functions. These functions help human body to work properly. Human body uses Niacin to turn food into energy. Human nervous system and  digestive system needs niacin to work properly. Our skin also need niacin to remain healthy . Vitamin B 3 and Niacin are  the same. Keeping the right amount of all vitamins in the body will keep us in good health. To know about  deficiency of vitamin B 12  , pl. read our article  ” Vitamin B 12 deficiency “.

How we get niacin ?

Typically, we get more than enough niacin from our daily food we eat. Poultry , red meat, brown rice, fish, nuts, seeds and bananas are common sources of niacin. In the case of deficiency of vitamin B3, a disease called ” Pellagra ‘ occur. Pellagra is defined by the systemic disease resulting from niacin deficiency, and it is characterized by diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia, and death, which usually appear in this order. GI tract symptoms always precede dermatitis, “Pellagra begins in the stomach”.

Long time ago, when due to deficiency of  vitamin B3,   pellagra spread in the U.S., The food industry of U.S. started adding niacin to bread, flour and corn products to prevent pellagra disease. Now Pellagra is unknown.

New study.

Although, preventing deficiency of niacin in our body  is a good thing, a new study published 19th February, 2024 in Nature Medicine  , suggested that excess amount of niacin  in the diet may have a disadvantage . Such condition may increase the risk of cardiovascular  disease due to excess niacin in body.

The study researchers focused at a metabolic byproduct of excess niacin . This byproduct is known as 4PY. Its full name is N1-methyl-4-pyridone -3-carboxamide. N’-methyl-4-pyridone-3-carboxamide (4-py).  However, because it is complicated to determine 4-py in humans, there is only one report on its excretion.

During the  research, the researcher found 4PY as a possible marker in the blood for cardiovascular risk. The researchers found this compound is the result of excess niacin in human body.

Another fact was traced that the participants of the study, who have highest levels of  4PY have twofold increased risk of  heart attack or stroke as compared to those who have lowest levels of 4PY.

Dr. Stanley Hazen , chairman of cardiovascular and metabolic science at Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute in Ohio said in his own words as”

” One in four people in our cohorts had high levels of 4PY, and are at significantly higher risk for adverse cardiovascular events”.

The researcher disagree that 4PY increases cardiovascular risk through inflammation in the blood vessels, known as vascular inflammation. Vasculitis is an inflammation of the blood vessels. It happens when the body’s immune system attacks the blood vessel by mistake. It can happen because of an infection, a medicine, or another disease. The cause is often unknown. Vasculitis can affect arteries, veins and capillaries.

Common effects of vitamin B3 ( Niacin).

Vitamin B3  (Niacin) has some good effects as under :

• Vitamin B3 lowers the low-density lipoprotein , known as LDL or ” bad ” cholesterol and Triglycerides.
• Vitamin B3 raise high-density lipoprotein, known as HDL or “good ” cholesterol.
• Vitamin B3 ( niacin) is used to treat/preventing cardiovascular disease. A new medicine called “Statin”  has taken the vitamin B3’s place.
• There are some researches show that taking Vitamin B3 (niacin) has no effects to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
• Another study claims that Vitamin B3 will show no effect if taken together with Statins. Statins are a group of medicines that can help lower the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood. LDL cholesterol is often referred to as “bad cholesterol”, and statins reduce the production of it inside the liver.
• One study found that there is a slightly increased risk of dying early, if niacin is taken every day.
• Beside the above studies, another study found that excess niacin may counteract some of the benefits of smaller amount of niacin  such as supporting nervous system.
• Dr. Cheng-Han Chen, International Cardiologist and Medical Director of the Structural Heart Program at Memorial Care Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hill, California , said in his own words as under :
• ” While niacin was previously prescribed as a cholesterol-lowering medicine, its use has fallen out of favor, as multiple studies did not find as much benefit to cardiovascular health as initially thought, This new study will put another nail in the coffin for the use of niacin in heart disease. “
• Dr. Chen suggest, some more research is needed to understand the relationship between different amount of excess niacin and cardiovascular disease, especially in people taking niacin supplements,

How much niacin we need ?

You will agree that what we need for our health, that should have limitation. No less, no excess. This rule also apply to niacin too. The specialists recommend  taking the following amount of niacin  every day to avoid deficiency of niacin in our body.

An adult needs 14 to 18 milligrams of niacin per day. The said amount of niacin can be obtained in

• 6 ounces of Tuna fish.
• 4 ounces of peanuts.
• For lowering cholesterol in clinics, under doctor’s supervision, 1,500 to 2,500 milligrams of niacin per day,  is a common practice in the clinics.

Dr. Hazen pointed out that taking of excess amount of niacin, in shape of compound or supplement, available over the counter, increase 4PY levels, and breakdown product 2PY. All these informations have already shown well before.

In this study , 2PY , known as N1-methyl-2-pyridone-5-carboxamide found no link to inflammation or a higher risk of cardiovascular disease events.

Last words:

Researchers of the study agreed that people having higher amount of excess niacin’s breakdown product will have a higher risk of adverse cardiovascular events , such as stroke and heart attack.

source: healthline.com

Achievements:

• Researchers found that a breakdown product of  excess niacin has a link to higher risk of cardiovascular events like stroke and heart attack.
• Niacin is needed for a healthy nervous system. We get  a good amount of niacin in our diet.
•  Some advanced countries add niacin in food products to  prevent deficiency of niacin in the body.