Diabetes

Benefits of Niacin for Diabetes Treatment – Ups or Downs the Risk?

It is normal for people to find alternative solution to deal with their health condition instead of only depending on modern medication. The reason is really simple actually because modern medication is mostly using chemical-based drugs and medications that have side effects while traditional and alternative medication is considered as more natural with fewer side effects. Some recent studies have found out the benefits of niacin for diabetes treatments as alternative solution.

What Is Niacin and Why It Is Good for Diabetes Treatment?

Niacin is another name of vitamin B3. One important thing you should know about niacin is this type of vitamin is only required in small dosage because niacin in large dosage could be a trigger to the raise of cholesterol level by reducing the amount of LDL and triglycerides. However, aside from that fact, niacin is still one of the most important nutrients required by human body and recently some studies also stated that possible for niacin to be used as part of diabetes treatment. To learn more about the benefits of niacin for diabetes treatment, you could see the list below for details information.

  1. Has Favourable Effects on the Blood Lipid

Patients who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are commonly suffering from the high level of blood lipids. This condition could lead to several severe conditions because lipids or fats in the blood could increase the risk of heart attack or stroke. Some studies have found out that the using of low dosage of niacin for diabetes treatments has favourable effects on the blood lipid. However, when niacin is used in high dosage the effect is the vice versa.

  1. Manages the Glycemic Control

Both types of diabetes are forcing the patients to always have a strict diet management in order to have manageable glycemic control. Avoiding foods with high glycemic is a must but sometimes even food with low glycemic level still able to cause the spice of blood sugar. Niacin is types of vitamin B mostly consumed through diet or multivitamin and in low dosage may help in managing the glycemic control for diabetic patients.

  1. Good for Heart

Diabetic patients were in high risk of heart problems because when the blood sugar level rises, the symptoms of high blood pressure are also occurring. That is why heart attack and stroke are common conditions suffered by diabetic patients as part of their complications. However, low dosage treatment of niacin has been proven to reduce the risk of heart conditions by improving the lipid profile in the blood for both cholesterol and triglycerides to maintain good heart health.

  1. Decreases the Bad Cholesterol (LDL) Level

There are two types of cholesterol, good cholesterol which is well known as HDL and bad cholesterol or LDL. Diabetic patients are likely in high risk of cholesterol because the production of LDL will be high. Diabetic treatments using low dosage of niacin may be helpful to lower or decrease the bad cholesterol level but high dosage of niacin may cause the spike of blood sugar level. If a person is suffering from diabetes and willing to take niacin treatment, dosage is really matter.

  1. Reduces Triglycerides

Some studies have found out that it is not only LDL or bad cholesterol that will be lowered when taking low dosage of niacin treatment but also triglycerides. Because both triglycerides and cholesterol are types of lipid commonly found to be in high level in the blood of diabetic patients. Having control of both of them is essential for diabetic patients though of course a close supervisor from doctor in managing the dosage of niacin is prominent.

  1. Aids Digestion

Healthy digestion is the key to healthy metabolism. Nutrients will be absorbed optimally especially for diabetic patients who are taking a strict diet management. Niacin will help your digestive system to work optimally.

  1. Recommended for Type 2 Diabetes

Cholesterol and cardiovascular conditions are types of condition commonly suffered by patients with type 2 diabetes. Health risk of obesity is also occurring in this type of diabetes as well. Taking low dosage niacin treatment is highly recommended for patients with type 2 diabetes due to its ability to manage and control the blood lipid, both cholesterol and triglycerides.

  1. Lowers the Risk of Type 1 Diabetes in Children

The number of children who are suffering for type 1 diabetes is likely to increase day by day. Niacin deficiency could lead to the high risk of several health conditions including diabetes. Making sure your children is fulfilling their daily intake of niacin could lower the risk of type 1 diabetes.

Cautions of Niacin

Some studies have been warning doctors who decided to prescribe niacin to their diabetic patients due to its ability to increase the blood sugar level when consumed in high dosage. That is why very important to find out about the cautions of niacin especially for diabetic patients.

  • As mentioned above, consuming niacin in high dosage could cause the spike of blood sugar level. So, dosage is really matter for diabetic patients. The RDI (Reference Daily Intake) of niacin is supposed to be based on gender and age or specifically prescribed by doctors.
  • One of the side effects from consuming too much niacin is niacin flush; a flush condition caused by blood vessel dilation. Some general symptoms are varying from tingling to burning sensation up to pain.
  • The use of niacin in long term may cause liver damage. That is why dosage is really matter when consuming niacin as additional supplement.

Since human body is only requiring small amount of niacin, the case like niacin deficiency is really rare to happen. Studies stated that foods that lower the cholesterol level contain enough niacin to fight the deficiency. However, as mentioned above, niacin or vitamin B3 is still one of the important and essential vitamins for human body. Instead of consuming the supplement is better for you to get it from the original source. Niacin is found in varieties of foods from meat, fish, poultry, legumes and nuts. The highest food source for niacin could be found in chicken breast and light tuna which is 53% – 59% RDI. Beef and salmon is also excellent source of niacin that could be consumed in regular basis. If you need lower source of niacin, you could consume lentils or peanuts.