Niacin may do more than lower the risk of heart disease, it may reduce the risk of miscarriages and birth defects according to a new study. The research involved feeding pregnant mice with vitamin B3 supplements.
The mice previously produced pups with severe defects. When the litters were born, they were healthier and the pups' health depends on the strength of the dose. The mice that received the strongest dose of niacin gave birth to the healthiest pups. Poultry, liver, tuna, and grass fed beef are some of the best sources of vitamin B3.
Vitamin B3 dose can ‘prevent miscarriage’ – study
A large helping of vitamin B3 could prevent vast numbers of miscarriages and birth defects in children, according to a groundbreaking new study.Researchers from the Victor Chang Institute in Sydney, Australia, hailed their breakthrough as “one of the greatest discoveries in pregnancy research.”
“The ramifications are likely to be huge,”said Professor Dunwoodie, the leader of the study.
“This has the potential to significantly reduce the number of miscarriages and birth defects around the world, and I do not use those words lightly.”
The research, which has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, began in 2005 when Dunwoodie’s team analysed the genomes of a couple who had a child with serious defects in the heart and backbone. The tests found that the parents carried a mutation in the gene involved in the production of a developmental molecule known as NAD.
Image courtesy of: Berbera van den Hoek
