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The Virtues of Vitamin B!
Part 2 of 3
Part 2 of 3
Missed out on last week's thread, Vitamin B part 1? Click here
So, to continue our conversation....
Niacin (Vitamin B3)
Some nutritionists do not consider niacin to be an essential nutrient because our bodies can convert tryptophan into niacin as long as our intake of tryptophan is adequate. Tryptophan is that lovely amino acid that makes us sleepy during Thanksgiving after we’ve dined on turkey.
What’s so good about niacin?? It functions in the body as an important part of many coenzymes such as NAD and NADP, which are involved in many reactions within us such as fat and carbohydrate metabolism, detoxification reactions, and antioxidant reactions. They are also involved in energy production, making certain types of hormones, heart health, and the regulation of blood sugar. Other studies suggest that niacin will help with anxiety, depression, ADHD, etc.
Food sources include organ meats, dairy products, poultry, eggs, and peanuts. Other good sources include other legumes, avacados, and some seeds and nuts (sesame, sunflower, pine nuts, almonds).
Some deficiency signs? Severe deficiency of niacin & tryptophan causes pellagra, a skin disorder marked by cracked, scaly dermatitis as well as dementia, and diarrhea.
What else can niacin do? Plenty!!!
Niacin and a form of it, called inositol hexaniacinate, can lower cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL, and fibrinogen levels while raising HDL levels!! There have been many clinical trials of this since the 1950s. The other form of niacin is called niacinamide, and is mostly used in helping arthritis and type I diabetes.
Side effects—Niacin can cause the skin to flush about 30 minutes after taking the supplement. It also can cause sleepiness, nausea, and other gastric irritation. There are some niacin makers that produce “slow-release” niacin. Although it allows the body to gradually absorb niacin, thus reducing the flushing effect, it also has a greater chance of damaging the liver (ask me for journal articles). Therefore, do NOT take any type of time-release form of niacin!!! The best form to take is inositol hexaniacinate because it is the safest form of niacin that we know of. There have been many studies about this form of niacin, and they show that inositol hexaniacinate is virtually free of side effects.
What about niacinamide? It does not cause skin flushing like niacin, but it can cause you to be a little sleepy.
How much should you take?? The RDA for niacin is ~ 15 mg for adult women. However, if you are seeking some of niacin’s therapeutic effects, you’re going to have to take larger doses. If this is the case, increase your dosing slowly to help prevent some of the side effects. There are a variety of sources that state that the RDA is much too low for good health. Atkins, for example, believes that “for basic health maintenance, a daily dose of 100 mg tablet should suffice.” This was for niacinamide in his Vitanutrient book. For inositol hexanicotinate, he suggests taking 100-500 mg (I believe the grams was a typo in his book). For other uses, the dosage is higher.
Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6)
What's good about it? It’s very important in forming proteins and other compounds, neurotransmitters in our brain and nervous system, and prostaglandins. It also helps in maintaining proper immune function, helps in balancing hormones, and since it helps in cell multiplication, it helps in pregnancy, and keeping our mucous membranes, skin, hair, and red blood cells properly functioning and growing.
Food sources include legumes, seeds and nuts (especially sunflower and walnuts), most veggies, and beans.
Deficiency signs: depression, anemia, cracking of the lips and tongue, eczema, glucose intolerance, and convulsions. Some studies suggest that pyridoxine will also help with PMS, asthma, morning sickness, etc.
How much to take? The RDA is ~2.0 mg for adult females. The therapeutic dosage starts at 50-100 mg and go up from there. Studies so far consider pyridoxine at this dosage to be non-toxic and safe, even for long term use. When taking more than 50 mg, many suggest dividing the doses throughout the day so that the maximum amount can be processed by the liver. Taking more than 2000 mg a day for a long period of time can cause some issues with tingling in the feet and loss of muscle coordination. A side effect such as this is rare among the water-soluble vitamins, but it can occur with B6. If you wish to know the nitty-gritty science stuff, ask me. ☺
Biotin
What does it do? Helps in utilizing sugar, fats, and amino acids in our bodies by acting as a cofactor for some enzymes.
Food sources include cheese, organ meats, cooked eggs, veggies, nuts, and soybeans. For those that consume raw egg whites, your need for biotin increases because of a protein called avidin that binds to biotin and prevents your body from absorbing it.
Deficiency signs: Dry, scaly skin, seborrhea, and nausea. It is also believed to cause cradle cap in infants.
Most of the early research of biotin with improving hair and nails comes from veterinary science. Those studies found biotin increasing the strength and hardness of hooves in horses and pigs. In more recent literature of human studies, those suffering from brittle nails had an increase of 25% in nail thickness on average.
How much to take? There is currently no RDA for biotin, but some studies suggest that taking 30-100 micrograms is enough for good health. Other studies state taking even more for the healthy individual. For healthy nails and hair, most literature cites 1000-3000 mcg daily in divided doses. There are no reported side effects with biotin supplementation, but alcohol inhibit the absorption of it and antibiotics will decrease the biotin levels in your blood serum.
Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) and pantethine
What they do. It is helps in the production of coenzyme A (especially via panthethine) and ACP (a type of protein) that are important in the utilization of fats & carbs in energy production. Pantethine, is the most active and stable form of pantothenic acid, and it is used to lower serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Vitamin B5 is also believed to help with skin disorders, gout, obesity, autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disease, yeast issues, Crohn’s disease, and inflammation. Wanna list of journal articles or further details, please ask me.
Food sources: Many foods contain it, but the highest concentrations will be in organ meats, fish, and poultry. Legumes, mushrooms, pecans, broccoli, cauliflower, and strawberries are also good sources of this vitamin.
How much to take. The current RDA is 2mg, but some believe that 50 mg are needed for general health. No significant adverse reactions have been reported with either Vitamin B5 or pantethine. For trying to reverse damage, much higher doses are required. At this point, I would recommend reading Dr. Atkin’s Vitanutrient book for more information and details.
Next week, the rest of the B vitamins, "buddy nutrients", and the wrap up!
As always, feel free to ask any questions that you may have or want further info on anything posted here. I try to condense the info into a manageable size that is (hopefully!) easy to read and not full of jargon. If I don't know the answer, I'll let you know and then try to find out from reputable sources, aka journal articles, physiology texts, nutrition texts, and of course, my professors!
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