Nutrition 101: Niacin | Food List

Niacin, also known as vitamin B3, is one of eight B vitamins.  All of the B vitamins are water-soluble, meaning that the body does not store them but excretes them in the urine. Other names for niacin include nicotinic acid and nicotinamide / niacinamide.

Reco​mmended Intakes

Note: Niacin can be made in the body from tryptophan (an amino aciid). Therefore, the recommended intake for niacin assumes that some niacin will be obtained from tryptophan.

What Does Niacin Do?

All B vitamins help release energy from carbohydrates, protein, and fat in food. B complex vitamins are also needed for healthy skin, hair, eyes, and liver³. They also help the nervous system function properly⁴. Niacin helps the body make various sex and stress-related hormones⁵ and helps to improve blood circulation and nerve functions.  Niacin has also been shown to regulate appetite⁶.

High doses of niacin supplementation are used to lower total blood cholesterol⁷ in individuals with elevated cholesterol levels. It does this by increasing the HDL, or the “good”cholesterol and decreasing the LDL, or the “bad” cholesterol.

It is rare for individuals in developed countries to acquire a niacin deficiency, as it is easy to meet the body’s needs through diet.  However, alcoholism can lead to a deficiency.  Inadequate intake of niacin through diet can lead to pellagra, a deficiency disease characterized by diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia, and even death.

Top Food Sources of Niacin

Meats and alternatives are the richest sources of niacin followed by fortified enriched grains.  Because niacin can be made from tryptophan, which is found in protein, any diet which includes a regular amount of protein is unlikely to be lacking in niacin

Nutrition Facts Label and the % Daily Value

In the US: The daily value for niacin is 16 mg NE⁸, which is higher than the DRI for most age groups, especially children and women. The % daily value gives you an idea of how much niacin is in the food you eat. However, the % daily value number is only required by the FDA for foods that have been fortified with niacin.

The number you see on the Nutrition Facts label is a percentage calculated by dividing the amount of folic acid in one serving of the food by the daily value. To use an example from the food table above, a cup of Bran Flakes that contains 3.5 mg of niacin would have 18% of the daily value (DV) for niacin.

In Canada: The daily value for niacin is 16 mg⁹, which is higher than the DRI for all age groups. Listing the daily value for niacin on the Nutrition Facts label is optional. However, products that have been enriched with niacin, such as cereal and pasta, will most often have the daily value written on the label.

Nutrient Interactions

Riboflavin: Riboflavin is required for the formation of niacin.

Vitamin B6: Vitamin B6 is required for the formation of niacin.

Iron: Iron is required for the formation of niacin.

1. Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Choline. National Academy Press, 1998, https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/6015/chapter/1. ↩︎
2. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, National Academies. Dietary Reference Intakes: Applications in Dietary Planning. National Academies Press, 2003, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK278991/table/diet-treatment-obes.table17die/. ↩︎
3. Dattola, Annunziata, et al. “Role of Vitamins in Skin Health: a Systematic Review.” Current nutrition reports 9 (2020): 226-235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-020-00322-4 ↩︎
4. Gasperi, Valeria et al. “Niacin in the Central Nervous System: An Update of Biological Aspects and Clinical Applications.” International journal of molecular sciences vol. 20,4 974. 23 Feb. 2019, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20040974 ↩︎
5. Galescu, O A et al. “A pilot study of the effects of niacin administration on free fatty acid and growth hormone concentrations in children with obesity.” Pediatric obesity vol. 13,1 (2018): 30-37. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.12184 ↩︎
6. Li, Da et al. “Chronic niacin overload may be involved in the increased prevalence of obesity in US children.” World journal of gastroenterology vol. 16,19 (2010): 2378-87. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v16.i19.2378 ↩︎
7. Ganji, Shobha H., Vaijinath S. Kamanna, and Moti L. Kashyap. “Niacin and cholesterol: role in cardiovascular disease.” The Journal of nutritional biochemistry 14.6 (2003): 298-305. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0955-2863(02)00284-X ↩︎
8. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels.” FDA, 6 Feb. 2024, https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/daily-value-nutrition-and-supplement-facts-labels ↩︎
9. Health Canada. “Table of Daily Values.” Government of Canada, 19 Jan. 2022, https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/technical-documents-labelling-requirements/table-daily-values.html. ↩︎