ontheedgeofeverything

When it comes to genetics, I inherited most of my bodily traits from my mom and her side of the family. My mom, my aunt, and a few of my cousins all deal with poor circulation, as do I; my mom recently saw a specialist who recommended Niacin to her, so I wanted to do a bit of research on it and share my findings with all of you.

The following information comes from healthline.com.

“Niacin is a type of B vitamin that offers benefits for you whole body, from your brain to your skin. You can get it from meat, fish, and nuts, or in supplement form.

“The key role of niacin in your body is to synthesize the coenzymes nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP), which are involved in over 400 biochemical reactions in your body — mainly related to obtaining energy from the food you eat.

“Niacin is water-soluble, so your body does not store it. This also means that your body can excrete excess amounts of the vitamin through urine if they are not needed.

“Your body gets niacin through food, but it also makes small amounts from the amino acid tryptophan, which can be found in protein sources like turkey and other animal foods.

“Niacin may help to improve your blood fat levels by:

• increasing your HDL (good) cholesterol
• reducing your LDL (bad) LDL cholesterol
• reducing your triglyceride levels

“One role of niacin is to release prostaglandins, or chemicals that help your blood vessels widen — improving blood flow and reducing blood pressure. For this reason, niacin may play a role in the prevention or treatment of high blood pressure.

“Your brain needs niacin — as a part of the coenzymes NAD and NADP — to get energy and function properly. In fact, brain fog and even psychiatric symptoms are associated with niacin deficiency.

“Niacin helps protect skin cells from sun damage, whether it’s used orally or applied as a lotion,” the web page explains.

The more you know…

Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash