Vitamin B group is one of the most complete and necessary, and as its name suggests, vitamin B3 is inside. This vitamin is also known as niacin and it is much more important for the body than we can come to think. If we have a varied and balanced diet, we should not worry about nutritional deficits, but it never hurts to know which foods are rich in each vitamin and mineral.
Vitamin B3 is also known as niacin and it is quite important for our body, not only because we are not able to synthesize it, but it is only obtained through a few foods. There are some of animal origin and of plant origin, but they are scarce.
Throughout this text we are going to learn the importance of vitamin B3, what it is for, the recommended daily amount and the main foods rich in niacin. To the latter we have to say that, if we have a balanced and varied diet, there would be no problems, it does not matter if we are omnivores, vegans, vegetarians, etc.
Why is taking niacin so important?
Let’s get into context, and it is that vitamin B3 is an essential micronutrient for our health and its scarcity causes quite a few problems. B3 helps transform food into energy so that the different systems of the human body can use it, it also facilitates the maintenance of nerves, the health of the skin, reduces cholesterol , is part of the cellular respiratory chain, collaborates in the synthesis glycogen, is responsible for producing steroid hormones, helps eliminate toxins from the body, etc.
Several functions to each more important and that is why we should never take vitamin B3, but always in a natural way, unless a doctor recommends supplementation.
A B3 deficiency causes diarrhea, sores, a swollen tongue, bad breath, digestive problems , poor circulation in the hands and feet, high cholesterol, type 1 diabetes, ringing in the ear, dermatitis, pellagra (skin condition) and even dementia
An average adult should take about 16 mg every day and if we are pregnant about 18 mg a day and when we are breastfeeding we go down to 17 mg per day.
Nor do we have to obsess, having a balanced and varied diet, there should be no nutritional deficit, but it never hurts to know foods rich in a specific vitamin as is the case today with niacin.
Foods rich in vitamin B3
We are going to tell what are some of the main foods rich in B3 that we surely already eat in our daily diet and others that we can add to give more variety to our diet. Almost all foods are easy to find in a standard supermarket, so we won’t have much trouble adding them to our weekly meals.
Fish
Fish, and more specifically blue fish, are a source of essential vitamins and minerals that will improve our health naturally and effectively. Fish has omega 3 and 6 essential oils which makes it a heart-healthy food and also a great variety of nutrients, among which we find high-quality proteins.
If we want to obtain vitamin B3 through fish, we must know that the best options are anchovies, tuna, swordfish, mackerel and sturgeon . A wide variety where we can choose a different fish every week or every few days, and even mix several in the same day if we buy them packaged instead of fresh.
Liver
Many times we have heard the advertisement of La Piara that it is about pork liver pate, since both that, chicken and beef are the 3 foods that have the most B3. Without forgetting the lamb liver that provides almost 20 mg of vitamin B3 per 100 grams of product.
The good thing about liver is that it can be eaten in various ways, although the most common is pate because of its high content of iron and other essential minerals. Now we know that they are an exquisite source of vitamin B3, easy to access and simple to prepare. If we want to complicate ourselves a little more, we can go to a butcher shop and then cook the liver in a stew with a traditional recipe.
meats
The B3 makes an appearance in different meats, and is closely related to the previous section of the liver. The meats richest in this vitamin are veal with 60% of the daily amount of niacin for every 100 grams of product, chicken (white meat) that provides approximately 183% of the daily amount of B3 for every 100 grams of product and Bacon, also known as bacon or bacon, which provides 58% of the recommended daily amount of niacin .
Meats are not very healthy if eaten in excess, and it is even proven that red meat can cause cancers, so it is better to choose white meat such as chicken that almost has a good amount of B3 in it.
Peanuts
These nuts are among the healthiest that we can choose along with walnuts (of any kind). It is true that sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are also excellent options, or cashews, or almonds that are almost perfect, but in this case the protagonists are peanuts.
In addition, for a nut to be healthy it must be lightly toasted or toasted whole and without salt and not fried. Raw nuts are poorly digestive and some are even toxic, so there are two variants: lightly roasted that are sold as natural or roasted that usually go with salt and there are also some without salt.
Peppers
In other countries it is known as paprika, be that as it may, it is a food very rich in nutrients such as vitamin A, E and essential minerals such as iron. The amount of vitamin B3 that 100 grams of paprika bring is 77%, but obviously we cannot eat that in one day, so when calculating how much niacin a tablespoon of paprika has, it gives us 2% of the niacin we need each day.
This ingredient can be used in a multitude of dishes, so we are completing our diet in a natural and healthy way. For example, the chorizo already has paprika included, we can add it to meat dishes, rice dishes, sweet potato sticks, pork shoulder, roast legs, snails, to make homemade ketchup, fish dishes such as hake, etc.
