Vitamin B3, commonly referred to as niacinamide, is made and used by your body to convert carbs, fats and proteins into energy, and known to help boost brain and digestive functions, improve arthritis, among other things; it's one of the eight B-complex vitamin. The body can also produce niacin from the amino acid.
Also known as vitamin B3, niacinamide is a water-soluble vitamin found naturally in yeast, meat, fish, milk, eggs, green vegetables, beans, and cereal grains. Topical application of niacinamide has been shown to strengthen skin's moisture barrier and reduce the appearance of discoloration and blotchiness.
Daily recommendations for niacin in the diet of healthy individuals are:
Pediatric
-
Infants, birth to 6 months: 2 mg (adequate intake)
-
Infants, 7 months to 1 year: 4 mg (adequate intake)
-
Children, 1 to 3 years: 6 mg (RDA)
-
Children, 4 to 8 years: 8 mg (RDA)
-
Children, 9 to 13 years: 12 mg (RDA)
-
Boys, 14 to 18 years: 16 mg (RDA)
-
Girls, 14 to 18 years: 14 mg (RDA)
-
Men, 19 years and older: 16 mg (RDA)
-
Women, 19 years and older: 14 mg (RDA)
-
Pregnant women: 18 mg (RDA)
-
Breastfeeding women: 17 mg (RDA)
Anti-Aging
Recommended dosage
-
5% Topical Niacinamide reduces wrinkling, red blotchiness, yellowing and hyper pigmented spots in aging facial skin.
-
Moisturization
-
In a small study, 2% topical Niacinamide shown to be more effective than Vaseline (petrolatum) for reducing skin water loss and increasing hydration.
-