Niacinamide has been generating headlines in the nootropic community over the past few months

Niacinamide has been generating headlines in the nootropic community over the past few months. Niacin and niacinamide – better known as Vitamin B3 – have shown some surprising cognitive benefits during recent scientific studies. Should you add niacin and niacinamide to your nootropic stack. What kind of unique benefits are offered by niacin and niacinamide. Can you really improve your orgasms by taking a niacin supplement. Today, I’m going to explain why Vitamin B3 is a big deal for the nootropic community.

Niacin and niacinamide are two different forms of Vitamin B3. Vitamin B3 is a naturally-occurring vitamin found in foods like yeast, meat, fish, milk, eggs, beans, and green vegetables. It’s also commonly found in vitamin B complex supplements – along with other B vitamins like vitamin B12.

Vitamin B3 works by increasing niacin levels in the body. When our bodies produce more niacin than we can use, that niacin is converted into niacinamide. Both niacin and niacinamide have high bioavailability and can easily be dissolved in water, making them a straightforward supplement to take. Many health problems occur because our diets don’t have enough niacin. A niacin-deficient diet can lead to malnutrition, high cholesterol, and even dementia. It’s a serious medication condition.

Vitamin B3 essentially acts as a coenzyme. That means it helps other substances convert proteins, carbohydrates, and fat into energy. This makes our digestive systems more efficient, helping us maximize nutrient delivery and get more benefits from the foods we eat.Many of these foods include the amino acid tryptophan – yes, the same tryptophan found in turkey. Our bodies convert tryptophan into niacin as part of a natural digestive process. For every 60mg of tryptophan you consume, your body will produce about 1mg of niacin.

Niacin causes the blood vessels to dilate or open up near the skin, which results in a hot, tingling

Niacin causes the blood vessels to dilate or open up near the skin, which results in a hot, tingling sensation accompanied by a red flushing of the skin. Generally, by starting with low amounts of niacin (50 to 100 mg a day) and gradually increasing the dosage, a person can quickly build up a tolerance and avoid the flush. Taking niacin immediately following a meal will also lessen the flushing sensation. (Niacinamide, the alkaline form of niacin, doesn’t cause flushing and it works just as well for most things. These people are very sensitive to niacinamide and they need to take less. As their nausea clears their liver enzymes will return to normal and never has there been any liver damage resulting from this transient elevation of liver enzymes.

Niacin lowers cholesterol and triglycerides. It reduces the blood fats called “very low density lipoproteins,” which have been linked to heart disease and cancer. It improves the blood sugar problems that can lead to damage of the arterial walls. It dilates blood vessels, which improves the circulation to areas starved of oxygen and nutrients. The list of benefits goes on and on—and if that wasn’t enough, the stuff is dirt cheap. Niacinamide is also known to pass readily into the brain across the so-called blood-brain barrier, a natural defense that limits what can penetrate the brain.  As a result, it is likely that niacinamide would exert the same anti-inflammatory effect in the brain.

Niacinamide, on the other hand, does not cause flushing at any dose nor does it lower cholesterol. However, it is readily converted to an enzyme called NADH that is needed for metabolism and energy production. Unlike other vitamins, the body is able to make its own niacinamide using tryptophan as the raw material.  Tryptophan is an amino acid the body also uses to make serotonin, a critical neurotransmitter for moods, sometimes referred to as the “happy brain chemical.”  Since tryptophan is often in short supply in the body, taking niacinamide can help spare it and make more available for serotonin production.

Niacin or niacinamide is used for preventing vitamin B3 deficiency and related conditions

Niacinamide (nicotinamide) is a form of vitamin B3 (niacin) and is used to prevent and treat niacin deficiency (pellagra). Niacin deficiency can cause diarrhea, confusion (dementia), tongue redness/swelling, and peeling red skin. Niacinamide is often used instead of niacin because it causes fewer side effects (e.g., flushing). Unlike niacin, niacinamide does not help correct blood fat levels and cannot be substituted for niacin if you are being treated for a blood fat problem (e.g., high cholesterol).

Niacin or niacinamide is used for preventing vitamin B3 deficiency and related conditions such as pellagra. Each of these forms of vitamin B3 is used for schizophrenia, hallucinations due to drugs, Alzheimer’s disease and age-related loss of thinking skills, chronic brain syndrome, depression, motion sickness, alcohol dependence, and fluid collection (edema).

Niacin and niacinamide are required for the proper function of fats and sugars in the body and to maintain healthy cells. At high doses, niacin and niacinamide can have different effects. Niacin might help people with heart disease because of its beneficial effects on clotting. It may also improve levels of a certain type of fat called triglycerides in the blood. Niacinamide has no beneficial effects on fats and should not be used for treating high cholesterol or high fat levels in the blood.

Niacin (or nicotinic acid as it’s referred to in medical circles) was the third B vitamin to be discovered (hence the name B3). It wasn’t until about 1943, though, that a couple of doctors reported that niacin worked wonders in relieving the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis. Unfortunately, their research was never well publicized, since that was around the time that drug companies were promoting their own miracle “cure” for arthritis—cortisone.