Vitamin Supplements

How Much Vitamin B3 Do You Need?

The body’s requirements for vitamin B3 can be met in part by the conversion of tryptophan to niacin. Even so, most people need to consume additional niacin to meet the RDA guidelines.

Optimal Daily Vitamin B3 Allowance

To select an optimal daily allowance (ODA) of niacin, we examined the energy needs of men and women and chose a level to meet the needs of the most active individuals. We believe that 20 NE (niacin equivalent) per day—the highest RDA—is an optimal amount.

Vitamin B3 Food Sources

Meats and nuts are good sources of niacin. So are poultry, fish, and whole-grain and enriched breads. Many cereals are also enriched with niacin.

Keep in mind that the amino acid tryptophan, after going through a conversion process in the body, also provides us with niacin. Milk, eggs, and corn have limited amounts of niacin in them but are good sources of tryptophan, and are therefore wise choices for maintaining a high niacin level.

Niacin is a stable vitamin and withstands high temperatures and exposure to oxygen. Because it dissolves in water, though, cooking in liquid will partially leach niacin content from food.

How Much Vitamin B3 Are You Getting?

Before you decide that you need to take vitamin supplements or change the way you eat, you should know where you stand and how much improvement you really need. To help you analyze your current diet, we’ve developed a system you can use to calculate your approximate niacin intake. Following is a list of niacin food sources, arranged according to the percentage of our Optimal Daily Allowance (20 mg) of niacin contained in them. Since an 8 ounce glass of canned prune juice contains 2 mg of niacin and the ODA for niacin is 20 mg, we’ve listed prune juice in the 10 Percent category. (We have erred on the conservative side when rounding off percentages.)

To determine your average daily intake of niacin, start by keeping an accurate food diary for three or four days. The longer you keep the diary, the more accurate your calculations will be. Write down exactly what you eat and drink, together with an estimate of the serving size. Don’t concern yourself with precisely how much niacin each food item contains; simply use the list to find the food item and the percentage of the ODA that it provides. Then add up all these percentages to see if you reach 100 percent each day.

If a particular item in your meals is missing from this chart (it would be impossible for us to include every food item here), use the nutritional information on the food packaging. Most packaged foods are required to list their vitamin contents on the label.

After you’ve determined how much niacin you are obtaining from your diet each day, you can calculate whether you need to take supplements to reach the ODA. Let’s say that you determine that you are getting 50 percent of your niacin target through diet alone. You are consuming 10 mg of niacin in your diet (50 percent x 20 mg = 10 mg). To make up the difference, we would advise you to supplement your diet with 10 mg of niacin in tablet form (20 mg —10 mg =10 mg).

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