Is Niacin the next wonder compound?
Niacin: the latest vitamin already known to be good for you, confirmed again as good for you
Niacin is one of the essential vitamins that a person has to consume, and recent studies have shown it to help decrease bad cholesterol, and boost the good kind. That means people might go so far as to throw a few payday loans in beefing up their supply. You can get your niacin from your diet – a lot of foods already pack plenty. You probably already get enough, and don’t even know it.
Also known as Vitamin B3 – Even if you only ate fast food, you’d still get some
Niacin is one of the vitamins that is present in so many foods that most people already eat, so unless you basically only eat McDonald’s Dollar Menu or Ramen noodles (look out college students) then you probably already receive close to if not more than your daily share, so don’t bother buying supplements. Niacin is present in the following foods:
- Tomatoes (a lot of people already know this)
- Avocados
- Dates
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Sweet potatoes (Thanksgiving is coming up!)
- Asparagus
- Leafy veggies
- Chicken
- Beef
- Eggs
- Milk
- Tuna and Salmon
- Beans/Legumes (the musical fruit!)
- Nuts
- Mushrooms
- Brewer’s Yeast
HOLD THE PHONE – Did you just say BREWER’S YEAST?
That’s right, I said it; Brewer’s yeast has Niacin in it. Sweet, delicious beer can give you SOME vitamins and minerals, and IN MODERATION can be healthy – 1 to 2 drinks a day (no more than that) is healthy, and moderate drinkers outlive heavy drinkers and teetotalers on average. That said, if you want to have a brew or two (1 -2 glasses a day are good for you) and get the benefits of the yeast, you are better off with a craft ale. Craft ales usually have yeast in the bottle as part of the conditioning process, and it will taste far better than that pathetic yellow water that gets advertised on TV as beer, which is almost fraud in some people’s opinion. If you’re interested, two breweries that make excellent craft ale that will get you right hooked on great beer, and are very widely available are Sierra Nevada and Deschutes Breweries. However, this is only to say there are some benfits of moderation, and beer is NOT a reliable source of niacin – the niacin content is a bonus.
Hold on – what about the good cholesterol?
High Density Lipoprotein, or HDL cholesterol can be boosted by niacin (the good kind!) and can help to rid the body of lower density cholesterol (low density lipo proteins are the bad kind). There are 5 vitamins you need to get daily to ward off certain diseases. Niacin deficiency causes the disease Pellagra, which is not fun to get. (other examples are Vitamin C and scurvy, Vitamin D and rickets, Thiamin – another B vitamin – and beriberi, and Vitamin A and Vitamin A Deficiency Syndrome, an unimaginatively titled disease.) Less bad cholesterol is good for you (so lay off the bad beef and the bacon) and the more you can get rid of, the better.
“Miracle” Vitamin Crazes are not that bright
There are plenty of foods that already contain your daily recommended amounts. Don’t put any payday loans in niacin pills or other nutritional supplements. Do a bit of research, and you can figure out for yourself how to get more vitamins and minerals into your diet, and eating better will have you feel better, and live better too.
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Tags: Niacin, payday loans, Reduce cholesterol, Vitamin B3