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Vitamin B3 (Niacin) Deficiency

SumptuousTuna For Niacin.
Sumptuous Tuna For Niacin.

What Is Vitamin B3 (Niacin)?

Niacin is an essential water-soluble B vitamin that is required by all cells of the body.

During digestion of food containing it, niacin (the form in food) is changed in the small intestines to the active form niacinamide (niacin plus an amide group), which is then absorbed into the bloodstream. 

Niacinamide is converted by the body into co-enzymes which are present in all cells. These are niacinimide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and NADP. NADP is formed when the body adds a phosphate to NAD.

Q: How do these enzymes work?

A: These enzymes function in oxidation-reduction reactions essential for release of energy from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins and are needed as components for more than 200 enzymes involved in metabolism.

In addition to producing energy, niacinamide is essential for healthy skin and the mucosal lining of the digestive tract, normal functioning of the brain and nervous system, and production of steroid hormones in adrenal glands and hormones in sex glands.  Functions are more fully described below.

Urinary excretion of niacin cannot be detected when vitamin intake is below the required levels. On the other hand, when intake exceeds saturation in the body, the vitamin and/or its metabolites are actively excreted into urine to prevent excessive toxicity of the vitamins.1

What Is Niacin Deficiency In Celiac Disease and/or Gluten Sensitivity?

Sources:
  1. Shibata K, Hirose J, Fukuwatari T. Relationship Between Urinary Concentrations of Nine Water-soluble Vitamins and their Vitamin Intakes in Japanese Adult Males. Nutr Metab Insights. 2014 Aug 5;7:61-75. doi: 10.4137/NMI.S17245. eCollection 2014. [↩]

The Truth About Soy for a Gluten-Free Diet

Is soyglutenfreesafesoy safe and healthy if you’re gluten-free? Do you consider soy milk to be healthier than regular milk? Do you worry about GMO soy? Or perhaps you’re concerned about rumors of soy being dangerous and disruptive to your hormones?

These are all great questions I find myself answering often. Though I don’t believe the story on soy is quite as cut and dry as some out there (like those in the Paleo world), I firmly feel that those of us who are gluten-free for whatever the reason —be it celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, gluten intolerance, thyroid issues or autoimmune problems— have tremendous reason to be wary and skeptical of the notion that soy is a safe alternative to

Hyperprolactinemia: definition

Elevated level of prolactin hormone in blood signifies too much prolactin, which  is produced by the anterior pituitary gland and causes impaired estrogen production in females and impaired androgen production in males.