10 Types of Foods That Are High in Niacin (Vitamin B3)
Key takeaways:
Niacin is a B vitamin that plays many important roles in the body, including helping to turn food into energy, making hormones, and making and repairing DNA.
Meat, poultry, and fish are all good sources of niacin. For vegetarians, the best plant-based sources of niacin include nutritional yeast, fortified grains, and legumes.
Niacin deficiency, known as pellagra, is rare in the U.S. since so many foods contain niacin. Most adults get more than enough niacin from foods each day.
Table of contents
Niacin is part of the B vitamin family, along with thiamine and riboflavin. Many people are interested in niacin because of the way it can help lower cholesterol. But it serves many different functions in the body. It’s an essential nutrient, which means your body requires it to function, but cannot make it, so you need to get it from food. Niacin is most abundant in meat, poultry, and whole grains. You won’t usually find much niacin in vegetables and fruits, though.
Here’s a list of foods where you can find this vital nutrient.
What is niacin?
Niacin, also called vitamin B3, helps turn protein, fat, and carbs from food you eat into energy that your body can use.
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To make sure you get enough niacin, you need to eat foods that contain it. That is easy to do since niacin is found in several foods. For this reason, niacin deficiency is rare in the U.S. and other industrialized countries.
Like all B vitamins, niacin is water soluble. This means that niacin that isn’t absorbed by your body won’t be stored, but instead will pass through your urine.
How much niacin should you get each day?
Niacin requirements are measured in niacin equivalents or NE. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of niacin is as follows:
RDA for niacin | |
Adult males | 16 mg NE/day |
Adult females | 14 mg NE/day |
During pregnancy | 18 mg NE/day |
While breastfeeding | 17 mg NE/day |
The daily value (DV) for niacin is 16 mg for all adults and for children 4 years and older. This is the number that’s used on nutrition facts panels. It’s expressed as a percentage. For example: If the nutrition facts panel on a product has 25% DV for niacin, it has 4 mg niacin.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data shows that daily niacin intake in the U.S. is about 31.4 mg in men and 21.3 mg in women. So most people get more than enough.
Top foods high in niacin
Most of the foods that are high in niacin are animal-based proteins. You can also get niacin from plant-based foods. But fruits and vegetables are not a key source of niacin.
Here’s a list of foods that are high in niacin.
What is “niacin flush”? Niacin supplements can cause a flush of red, warm, or itchy skin on the face, arms, and chest. But it’s not dangerous, and there are ways to prevent it.
Vitamins and supplements for energy: B vitamins are associated with energy levels. So, a vitamin B complex supplement may be able to improve energy and lessen fatigue if your levels are low.
Do vitamins work for high cholesterol? Prescription-level doses of niacin have long been used to treat high cholesterol. But it can come with some side effects.
1. Liver
Both beef liver and chicken liver are excellent sources of niacin. A 3 oz serving of pan-fried beef liver has 14.9 mg. That’s above the recommended intake for women, and close to it for men. Pan-fried chicken liver has 11.8 mg of niacin for the same size serving.
2. Nutritional yeast
Nicknamed “nooch,” nutritional yeast is a dietary supplement made from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a type of yeast (also called brewer’s yeast or baker’s yeast). It comes in the form of flakes or granules, and is used as a condiment or seasoning to add a cheesy, salty-savory flavor to rice, pasta, popcorn, or crispy homemade kale chips. Nutritional yeast is a great source of niacin, with 12.5 mg per tablespoon.
3. Poultry
Chicken and turkey are loaded with niacin. White meat (breast) tends to have more niacin than dark meat (thigh or drumstick). Here’s the amount of niacin you’ll find in different cuts of chicken and turkey (3 oz):
Roasted chicken breast: 11.8 mg
Roasted turkey breast: 10 mg
Roasted turkey thigh: 5.9 mg
Roasted chicken thigh: 5.3 mg
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Note that your body also has the ability to convert the amino acid tryptophan into nicotinamide, which is a form of niacin. Tryptophan is found in turkey in high amounts, and chicken in smaller amounts. It’s also present in beef and eggs.
4. Fish
Salmon, tuna, and other types of fish are a good source of niacin. Fresh and canned options are both excellent choices. Here’s the niacin content in different types of fish (3 oz):
Tuna steak (skipjack): 13 mg
Canned light tuna: 10.5 mg
Canned white albacore tuna: 9.9 mg
Altlantic farmed salmon: 7.4 mg
Canned sockeye salmon: 5.1 mg
Tilapia: 4.1 mg
5. Red meat
Of the different kinds of red meat, pork contains the most niacin. But beef and other meats aren’t far behind. A 3 oz serving of meat provides:
6. Fortified breakfast cereals
Some popular breakfast cereals are fortified with 25% daily value for niacin, which is about 4 mg per 30 g cereal (approximately 1 cup). Look for breakfast cereals that list niacin as one of the ingredients.
7. Rice
In the U.S., some rice is fortified with niacin. Enriched white rice has 3.5 mg niacin per cup. If you buy imported rice that’s not enriched, it has just 0.7 mg niacin per cup. So choose rice that’s labeled “fortified” or “enriched.”
Brown rice is another good option. Brown rice is a whole grain and naturally contains more niacin than unenriched white rice, at 2.9 mg niacin per cup. But only 30% of the niacin in brown rice is digested and absorbed. That’s because the niacin in brown rice is bound to compounds (like polysaccharides and glycopeptides) that prevent its absorption.
8. Legumes
Legumes such as beans, lentils, and peanuts are a great choice if you eat a plant-based diet. Legumes that contain niacin include:
Peanuts (1 oz): 3.5 mg
Lentils (1 cup, cooked): 2.1 mg
Split peas (1 cup, cooked): 1.7 mg
Kidney beans (1 cup, cooked): 1 mg
9. Fortified wheat products
Per U.S. law, white flour has been fortified with niacin since the 1940s. So, anything made from fortified white flour — including bread, pasta, and crackers — is a source of niacin. Here’s the niacin content in some fortified wheat products:
Whole wheat flour is different from white flour. By law, whole wheat flour doesn’t need to be enriched with niacin. It does naturally contain some niacin. But, similar to brown rice, the niacin from whole wheat is not absorbed well by the body. So, whole wheat products are not as good a source of niacin as those that use enriched white flour.
10. Vegetables and fruits
While vegetables and fruits are often high in vitamins A and C (among others), they are not known for being a good source of niacin. Most vegetables and fruits have less than 1 mg niacin per serving. But there are a few exceptions:
Portobello mushrooms (1 cup): 7.5 mg
Green peas (1 cup): 3 mg
Potato (1 medium): 2.3 mg
Avocado (½ cup sliced): 1.3 mg
Frequently asked questions
The upper limit (UL) for niacin for adults is 35 mg per day. This UL refers to the maximum amount of niacin you should consume from supplements or fortified packaged foods. It doesn’t refer to natural niacin that comes from the foods listed above.
Niacin is water soluble, so excess niacin from the foods you eat will come out in your urine. However, a high dose of niacin from supplements may cause a niacin flush. This is a reaction that causes a flush of red or itchy skin. It’s not dangerous, and tends to go away in about an hour.
Taking high doses of niacin (3000 mg/day) over the long term can cause liver damage and is not recommended.
Niacin deficiency is called pellagra. Symptoms of niacin deficiency include a scaly rash, diarrhea, and neurological problems or dementia. The deficiency can be treated with niacin supplements. But it’s uncommon in the U.S. since niacin is found in many foods and is added to wheat flour and rice.
The bottom line
With a varied diet, it’s easy to get enough niacin from foods. Some of the foods highest in niacin are animal-based proteins, such as meat, fish, or poultry. If you are plant-based, choose legumes and experiment with using nutritional yeast as a topping for pasta or other foods. Fortified grains (wheat and rice) and whole grains also contain niacin. With all of these options, niacin deficiencies are rare.
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