Brad Stanfield on Vitamin B3
21 episodes · 32 references · 2021–2025
- Stanfield takes 50 mg of vitamin B3 (niacinamide/niacin) daily to support NAD levels, but strongly warns against exceeding 50 mg without long-term safety data - Champions low-dose B3 for skin health (23% reduction in non-melanoma skin cancers) and anti-aging benefits like improved hydration, fine lines, and complexion - Cautions that high-dose niacin (1-3 g/day) is associated with 10% increased mortality, more strokes, and worsened diabetes control
Consumption
- Takes 50 mg of niacin/nicotinamide daily and states he "certainly wouldn't want to take any more than that" - Has carefully weighed pros and cons of dosing above the 16 mg RDI - Includes B3 as part of his regular supplement stack alongside zinc, magnesium, and vitamin K2
Benefits
- Nicotinamide reduced new non-melanoma skin cancers by 23% in a large phase 3 RCT of high-risk patients taking 500 mg twice daily - Supports NAD levels, leading to less DNA damage and lower cancer rates; improves skin barrier function by decreasing transepidermal water loss - Improves fine lines, wrinkles, pigmentation, blotchiness, redness, and elasticity; helps skin produce ceramides and reduces inflammation
Best Practices
- RDI for vitamin B3 is 16 mg; Stanfield personally supplements with 50 mg and recommends not exceeding that amount - Advises against supplementing beyond 50 mg in any form until long-term research is available - The skin cancer trial used 500 mg nicotinamide twice daily, but Stanfield does not recommend this dose for general use
Cautions
- High-dose niacin (1-3 g/day) associated with 10% increased all-cause mortality; the AIM-HIGH trial showed increased strokes and new diabetes cases - Nicotinamide riboside may be converted to niacin by gut bacteria, potentially carrying similar high-dose risks - Vitamin B3 may fuel existing cancer growth, and high doses can worsen arrhythmias and destabilize diabetes control
“Personally I take 50 milligrams of nicotinamide and I certainly wouldn't want to take any more than that.”
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“I'm 29 and I take niacin, it's about 50 milligrams or 100 milligrams.”
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“When I dose above the recommended daily intake for vitamin B3 for example, I've carefully considered the pros and cons.”
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“Personally I use 50 milligrams of niacin, which is also a form of vitamin B3, to support my NAD levels.”
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“I was sick of having to manage all of these different supplements I was taking: zinc, magnesium, vitamin K2, small dose of vitamin B3.”
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“Vitamin B3 or nicotinamide enhances the skin barrier function, increasing hydration and improving complexion.”
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“Nicotinamide helps many processes in our body. It can improve fine lines, wrinkles, spots, redness, and elasticity, and it also helps our skin make ceramides.”
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“In multiple clinical studies, vitamin B3 has been shown to improve signs of aging such as fine lines and wrinkles.”
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“Niacin used to be used in clinical medicine to lower cholesterol levels. It reduced triglycerides and at the same time it increases the HDL.”
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“This is in an effort to raise the NAD levels, a molecule central to our metabolism, to hopefully become more resilient against disease.”
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“The recommended daily intake for vitamin B3 is 16 mg.”
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“Until we have that long-term research, I would not supplement with vitamin B3 in any form beyond 50 mg.”
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“I've elected to supplement with a slightly higher dose of vitamin B3 of 50 milligrams.”
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“In a double-blind randomized controlled trial, half of the participants took 500 milligrams of nicotinamide twice a day to see if it could be protective against skin cancer.”
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“High niacin is associated with an increased risk of all-cause death rates by about 10%.”
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“The guidelines also do not recommend high dose vitamin B3 or niacin. The AIM-HIGH trial showed that there weren't any benefits, but there were increased numbers of strokes as well as new cases of diabetes.”
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