⚡ Foods Highest in Niacin — TOP 30(per 100g)
Powers energy metabolism as the coenzymes NAD and NADP. Also supports skin and nerve health. Abundant in fish, poultry, and mushrooms. FDA Daily Value: 16mg.
1–30 of 7,348 foods
What Niacin Does
Niacin (vitamin B3) becomes the coenzymes NAD and NADP, which drive several hundred enzyme reactions — most of them in the pathways converting carbohydrate, fat, and protein into usable energy. It also supports skin and nerve health.
The ranking is led by yeast extract spread at 127.5mg per 100g, fortified bran flakes at 90.6mg, and fortified drink powders at 80mg. Apart from yeast, these figures come from enrichment rather than the food itself.
Among whole foods, yellowfin tuna leads at 22.1mg per 100g cooked, followed by anchovies (19.9mg), chicken breast (13.7mg roasted), dry-roasted peanuts (14.4mg), and dried shiitake (14.1mg).
Daily intake reference (FDA Daily Value)
FDA Daily Value: 16mg per day. Requirements are usually expressed in niacin equivalents (NE), which also count niacin synthesized from tryptophan at a ratio of roughly 60mg tryptophan to 1mg niacin.
Getting Enough Niacin
Adequate protein largely settles it
Because the body converts tryptophan to niacin, a protein-sufficient diet supplies far more niacin equivalent than a preformed-niacin table suggests. Eggs and milk show about 0.1mg yet still contribute.
Water-soluble but heat-stable
Niacin leaches into cooking water but tolerates heat well. Soups, stews, and pan sauces keep what boiling and draining would discard.
Canned tuna is the convenient option
At 13.3mg per 100g drained, canned light tuna delivers most of the Daily Value from a pantry staple requiring no preparation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why do fortified cereals top the niacin ranking?
A. US enrichment standards add niacin to refined flour, breakfast cereals, and many formulated products, often at multiples of the Daily Value per 100g of dry product. That is a real dietary contribution but says nothing about the food itself.
Q. What are the best whole-food niacin sources?
A. Yellowfin tuna (22.1mg per 100g cooked), anchovies (19.9mg), dry-roasted peanuts (14.4mg), dried shiitake (14.1mg), chicken breast (13.7mg), and turkey light meat (11.8mg).
Q. Is niacin deficiency a concern in the US?
A. Rare. Niacin is widespread in animal protein, the body makes it from tryptophan, and flour has been enriched since the 1940s. Pellagra, the deficiency disease, is now very uncommon here.
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Data source: USDA FoodData Central (Public Domain) — fdc.nal.usda.gov