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Niacin, also known as vitamin B3, may help treat nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in a number of ways, including:
- Reducing liver fat: One study found that higher niacin intake was associated with a larger decrease in liver fat.
- Preventing and reversing inflammation: Niacin may help prevent and reverse inflammation in the liver.
- Preventing & Reversing fibrosis: Niacin may help prevent & reverse liver fibrosis.
- Reducing liver enzymes: Niacin may help reduce liver enzymes and C-reactive protein.
- Lowering risk of mortality: A cohort study found that higher dietary niacin intake was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality in patients with NAFLD.
Niacin is a common vitamin found in many foods, including meat, fish, brown rice, bananas, and fortified foods. It has many functions, including converting nutrients into energy, creating cholesterol and fats, and DNA replication and repair. You will want to avoid sugars, corn syrup, processed foods such as flour & corn.
There are a few different kinds of Niacin: Nicotinic Acid (flush niacin), Nicotinamide also called Niacinamide and last, Inositol Hexanicotinate. Nicotinic Acid (Flush Niacin) will produce a flushing fever like effect that can last an hour even at small doses 125mg - 250mg may be too much for people to handle due to the heat / fever-like effects it has. I recommend taking very small ammont and working your tolerance up. You can use cold washcloth if flushing is too hot.
The second type of niacin, Nicotinamide/Niacinamide on the other hand does not produce the flushing effect and is reported to be effective.
The last type of Niacin: Inositol Hexanictinate may also have beneficial effects but I have found no studies backing its effectiveness for NAFLD.
The main caveat with using Niacin for NAFLD is that you can over do it. I would space out dosage and not exceed 300mg per day as higher doses have been reported to have adverse effects on liver. for this reason, I would definitely recommend trying Niacin as your last resort if other home remedies such as probiotics or lemon & apple cider vinegar water did not work
