Many big Pharma commercials start their ads by asking you if you have any of the symptoms that require their drug. I'm not pushing drugs, but suggesting foods that contain certain nutrients your body needs.

Our bodies are extremely complex beyond our full understanding. Every year, new things are revealed as researchers plumb the depths of its intricacies. When I was in nursing school decades ago, our anatomy book gave us an understanding of the scientists of the 1950s. The anatomy books of today are more like encyclopedias of information by comparison.

I'm going to share with you some of your body needs for niacin which is one of the B complex vitamins. It's vital to your health. So, let's start by looking at a list of symptoms of deficiency. See if you can relate to any of these.

Low energy, depression, anxiety, irritability, memory loss, insomnia, poor digestion sometimes leading to diarrhea, photosensitivity, dermatitis, problems with joint mobility, frequent mouth sores, migraine headache, brown spots on exposed areas of the skin, swollen-reddened tongue, muscle weakness. www.nim.nih.gov. "Niacin Deficiency-StatPearls"(for some of these.)

Some of those symptoms can be caused by other deficiencies as well. If a person has a niacin shortage, they're likely to also be lacking in a number of other vitamins. Many of these people will have a lack of appetite which will lead to even stronger symptoms as the body signals that it needs help.

We could not run a car on gas fumes. However, some people severely restrict their diet for one reason or another. If this is done for very long, it can lead to deficiencies of all kinds.

So, what foods would be helpful? Turkey for one. Turkey contains a protein called tryptophan. If you have other B vitamins and small amounts of iron, your body is able to convert tryptophan to niacin.

Other foods are salmon, tuna, anchovies, nuts (including peanuts),sunflower seeds, various beans, peas, avocados, brown rice, mushrooms, chicken white meat, beef and beef liver. So what do you do if you don't have access to or like these foods? You can take niacin supplements, but there is a problem.

Some people balk at eating liver because it's an organ that takes care of toxins in the body. Because of this, some recommend eating calf liver. It's more tender and would have less exposure to toxins.That still seems barbaric to some. If you look online, liver does come in tablets. That may seem a better option for some. (Essential Liver Tablets)

Long-term use of niacin can act like an overdose in the body. It starts out rebuilding the body but can overload the system causing other symptoms. For people who are sensitive to niacin, they may consider taking niacinamide. It's another member of the family. While it doesn't have all of the major benefits of niacin, it doesn't cause overdose symptoms.

In my book, "How To Stay Healthy in a World Gone Mad," I describe a niacin flush. Depending on how much a person has consumed, it can be most unpleasant. The moral to this is to look at what some alternative physicians suggest for dosage. It is often more than that recommended by the FDA. But it will be within reason to do the job without overdosing.

One of my family members is a medical doctor, so I'm proud of the work that many physicians do. However, I know from first-hand experience that nutrition isn't very high on the list of studies at most medical schools.

Of 127 medical schools in the US, only 26 required an actual nutrition course, in 2004 (aamc.org). In 1995 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill developed a free, nutrition curriculum for medical students.. nim.nih.gov)

Some people use niacin to control their cholesterol levels. There are symptoms of overdose. Skin flushing, Rapid heartbeat. A sense of itching (where skin is flushed and swollen), and nausea.

The National Library of Medicine (nim.nih..gov) has an article under continuing education that tells of studies using niacin to help people with heart issues as well as severe nerve disorders. Namely: Alzheimers, Schizophrenia, Muscular atrophy, Parkinson's, and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease).

One of the ways niacin works in the body is to help it use the foods we eat to build healthy muscles and organs. It works especially with protein to transform the beef burger or pea protein (or any other protein) into healthy new muscles as old ones wear out.

It takes work to stay healthy in our world today.
Nancy L Pidutti, PhD, RN, Author