Dietary Niacin (Vitamin B3)

Niacin is involved in energy metabolism and occurs in different forms, including nicotinic acid and nicotinamide. A niacin entry represents recorded intake mass and does not identify the form or a treatment effect. Apple defines this type as cumulative intake in mass units. It is entered or imported through a source that supplies nutrition data. An Apple Watch does not sense the nutrient amount in a meal.

Niacin equivalents (NE) account for niacin plus a contribution from tryptophan, which the body can convert to niacin. Total protein grams cannot identify the tryptophan contribution. Check whether a source exports niacin mass or NE before comparing its values with a reference intake. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements explains the nutrient background and distinctions.

The reviewed example data contained no raw samples or stored aggregates for this type in the 365-day window from October 2025 through September 2026. There is no measured range, recording cadence, outlier distribution or daily trend to plot. Missing records do not establish zero intake, deficiency or absence of supplement use.

This HealthKit type is not in the current PulsHealth sync catalog. An empty database result therefore does not establish that Apple Health on the phone has no entries.

A nutrition source can export only selected nutrients. Check the source app, its Health permissions and whether the food entry contains this nutrient before treating an empty chart as a dietary finding.

Keep units visible: 1 mg equals 1,000 mcg, and 1 g equals 1,000 mg. Here mg is the presentation unit; inspect the unit supplied in an export before adding values. Sum compatible contributions from a source after checking serving size, repeated imports and whether each entry is a serving, meal or already a daily total.

Report both the total and how many days contain logs. An average over logged days differs from an average over all calendar days; filling gaps with zero changes the question. A source switch can create an apparent intake change through a different food database or export policy.

Without records for this nutrient, the review could not estimate relationships with other nutrient logs.

When records are available, compare compatible sources and days with adequate logging. Similar timestamps for B vitamins may indicate a shared food or supplement entry, but explicit meal membership requires a stored link. Related intake types provide bookkeeping context rather than a test of absorption or health status.

Review the unit, serving count, source revision and duplicate candidates before drawing a health conclusion. Preserve the original record while investigating it. The nutrition log can help organize a conversation about food or products; its amounts are not blood-test reference ranges or individualized supplement instructions.