Vitamin B3 Rich Foods

Introduction

One of the most essential nutrients for human health is niacin, better known as Vitamin B3. Adult men need approximately 20 mg per day, while women will need a bit less to sustain: 15 mg per day. A deficiency can have some nasty consequences both mental as physical: Depression, diarrhea, alcoholism and suicidal tendency. Therefore, it is recommended that if you are vulnerable for deficiencies, to note down every day how much niacin you have consumed. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to give some practical information about niacin rich food.

Deficiency

There are some conditions that will aid in developing a deficiency. For example, alcoholism can destroy Vitamin B3 in your body. So if you go on vacation and binge drink for a week without eating healthy foods, you could easily develop the symptoms of a niacin shortage. Some people falsely assume that if you eat niacin rich foods once a week in bulk, this will be enough for the whole week. This is not true, since the body cannot store Vitamin B3, and therefore it is advised to stick to 15-20 mg per day. Other things that can have a negative influence on niacin are: Caffeine, nicotine and refined sugars.

Niacin rich food

You can consume niacin both naturally and in supplement form. However, it is recommended to obtain your niacin dose naturally, since these foods generally also contain other vitamins you will need to function properly. The following foods are recommended to boost your niacin intake:

1. Chicken Breast
2. Tuna and Salmon
3. Shiitake mushrooms
4. Milk, yoghurt and quark
5. Eggs

Fortunately, there are also some foods for vegetarians that contain lots of Vitamin B3. These foods contain less niacin than the previously described sources, but are still very good for your health:

1. Liver
2. Asparagus
3. Halibut
4. Venison

Niacin side effects

However, it is recommended to note everything you eat down in a notepad. If you consume too much niacin, it can lead to some uncomfortable feelings. If you eat more than 50 mg per day, the phenomenon of niacin flushing may occur. This entails that your skin will redden and you will feel a tingling and burning feeling in the chest. These feelings can last for approximately 30 minutes, depending on the intake. Read the rest of this entry »

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Vitamin B Rich Foods

The subject of Vitamin B can be quite confusing as there is so many of them. Most of them tend to do the same job within the confines of the body, although there are some subtle differences between each one. As with a lot of vitamins the stomach or the intestine takes out what it needs, and Vitamin B is a soluble vitamin that is easily absorbed into the body’s system.

In most cases if you digest too much vitamin B the excess is normally simply washed out in your urine, but in rare cases it can cause problems. Things like headaches and a general feeling of weakness are common, which can also lead to nausea and diarrhea.

To get the right Vitamin B rich foods I suggest that you always look for organic grown food, and that especially applies to vegans, or vegetarians. For meat eaters and for people that consume dairy produce there is normally enough Vitamin B to maintain a staple diet.

There has been much publicity about vegan and vegetarian especially with the regard to vitamin b12 or the lack of it, which can cause several problems in the way of anemia. But again this has been put right by most of the vitamin producers who now make a Vitamin B compound which has a good mixture for a healthy diet. Going on further with the subject vegans, and vegetarians if they look around they will find plenty of Vitamin B rich foods on the market, and it’s a simple case of doing your homework to find the right ones.

The main job of Vitamin B rich foods is to break down the carbohydrates we eat into sugar glucose. This part is normally put down to Vitamin B1 or as most of us know as Thiamine which is used for the proper function of the nervous system. Vitamin B1 is found in a multitude of foods such as meat, egg yolk, fresh fruit and vegetables. The only people to get in trouble with the lack of Vitamin B1 are people that have more than their share of alcohol.

Vitamin B2 or as it’s known as Riboflavin is also used for the breakdown of carbohydrates, fats and protein, and it has the job of looking after healthy skin, and the various mucous membranes in the body. Vitamin B3 or Niacin is also responsible for having healthy skin which can be found in most protein rich foods such as meat, potatoes and peanuts just to name a few. Vitamin B6 is like all the other vitamins, although it does have the job of maintaining the production of red blood cells which are vital for a healthy life to fight off any problems that may occur in the body.

Finally we come to Vitamin B12 which like Vitamin B6 is vital for the production of the red blood cells, which are the bodies natural defense mechanism for fighting off disease.

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