Niacin, also known as vitamin B3, is a super important part of our diet, and it comes in two common forms: nicotinic acid and nicotinamide. 🧵(1/27)
Did you know that niacin has a big role to play in turning the food we eat into energy for our cells? Did you know that insufficient or deficient amounts of niacin can impair your #mitochondria? (2/27)
Niacin, or vitamin B3, is essential for producing two important coenzymes: nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP). They play a crucial role to help produce #energy. (3/27)
NAD and NADP play important roles in various chemical reactions that occur during cellular respiration, especially in the citric acid cycle and the electron transport chain, which mainly take place within the mitochondria. (4/27)
When there's insufficient or deficient niacin in the body, the production of NAD and NADP is negatively affected, leading to lower levels of these coenzymes. (5/27)
With lower levels of NAD and NADP, the chemical reactions in the citric acid cycle and the electron transport chain become less efficient. As a result, the mitochondria's ability to produce ATP is compromised, leading to decreased energy production for the cell. (6/27)
Niacin is also crucial for building complex lipids like cholesterol, as well as helping with DNA synthesis and repair, not to mention its antioxidant properties. (7/27)
How is niacin and antioxidant?! I will tell you. It's super interesting. Keep reading. (8/27)
As an essential component of NAD and NADP, niacin helps our cells maintain their redox balance. Redox balance involves the transfer of electrons between molecules, which can neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative stress. (9/27)
NAD and NADP play a crucial role in the production and regeneration of other antioxidants in our body, such as glutathione. (10/27)
Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant that helps protect our cells from damage by neutralizing free radicals and detoxifying harmful substances. By supporting #glutathione production, niacin indirectly contributes to our body's #antioxidant defenses. (11/27)
Niacin can also help prevent the formation of free radicals in the first place. For instance, NAD is involved in an enzyme system called the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) system, which helps repair damaged DNA. (12/27)
By supporting #DNA repair, niacin helps prevent the accumulation of DNA damage that can lead to the generation of free radicals. (13/27)
Now, niacin deficiency might be really rare in developed countries, but when it does happen, it can cause pellagra, a nasty condition that can lead to depression and memory loss. Subclinical states are also no joke and suck. (14/27)
You may want to learn more in this past thread I did about clinical and subclinical Pellagra. You can find it here. ⬇️ (15/27)
So, how does niacin intake relate to cognitive functions and Alzheimer's disease (AD)? Well, the data isn't that impressive in humans. It's all FFQs and epidemiological studies. So I won't bother. But let's look at some cool animal studies. (16/27)
Green and his team investigated the effectiveness of nicotinamide in reversing cognitive impairments linked to Alzheimer's disease pathology in triple-transgenic Alzheimer's disease (3xTg-AD) mice. (17/27)
"preclinical findings suggest that oral nicotinamide may represent a safe treatment for AD" - This was a mouse study: (18/27)
jneurosci.org
jneurosci.org
These next researchers decided to give NAD+ supplementation a try in 17-month-old wild-type mice (WTs) and in a special group of mice with Alzheimer's disease and DNA repair deficiencies. (19/27)
They used a form of NAD+ called nicotinamide riboside and kept at it for six months. And here's the amazing part: it totally restored their spatial, recognition, and contextual fear memory! (20/27)
doi.org
doi.org
Many of you know what microglia are and that I tweet about them often. For those new to the scene, they're like the brain's personal clean-up crew and are a type of immune cell called macrophages that live there. (21/27)
When brains are in distress, they jump into action to protect us and they do this partly by using something called the niacin receptor (HCAR2) to help protect our brain cells. (22/27)
Now, imagine what might happen if these HCAR2 receptors aren't working properly. Researchers found that in Alzheimer's disease mice with defective HCAR2 receptors, things can get pretty bad. (23/27)
They saw more amyloid plaque buildup, more brain cells dying, less help from microglia in clearing away those plaques, and an even faster decline in the mice's memory and thinking skills. (24/27)
science.org
science.org
So why am I making such a long thread about Niacin? Because I want it on your radar. I want you to know you need bioavailable forms to keep your #mitochondria healthy and increase the chances that you will keep your #brain healthy. (25/27)
I want you to know some of niacin's important roles and that you need to not mess around with making sure you get plenty of bioavailable nutrients. (26/27)
A healthy brain is THE very best way to experience this wonderful life! And I sincerely believe you have the right to know all the ways you can feel better. And this is information you can use towards that goal.💜(27/27)
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