A vitamin supplement costing just £1 a day could help millions of Britons suffering from poor blood circulation.
Researchers have found that nicotinamide riboside, a type of vitamin B3, can significantly increase mobility in people with peripheral artery disease. The disease is thought to affect 2.7 million people in the UK, mostly over 50 years old.
It develops when arteries (often in the lower legs, although it can occur in the arms) narrow due to fatty deposits, called plaques, which gradually restrict blood flow.
Poor circulation then causes chronic pain in the legs. Muscle and skin tissue also begins to die, leading to non-healing ulcers and, in the worst cases, amputation of the lower leg.
The main causes of peripheral artery disease include smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and simply aging. Most patients are given medications, such as aspirin, to thin the blood and reduce the risk of clotting. If that doesn’t work, a small tube called a stent may be inserted into the narrowed blood vessels to improve flow.
Researchers have found that nicotinamide riboside, a type of vitamin B3, can significantly increase mobility in people with peripheral artery disease (File Image)
A vitamin supplement costing just £1 a day could help millions of Britons suffering from poor blood circulation (File Image)
But one of the biggest problems for patients is that the pain affects their mobility, and they even find it difficult to walk a few steps.
Scientists at Northwestern University and the University of Florida tested nicotinamide riboside supplements on 90 men and women (mostly in their 70s) who suffered from the condition. They measured how far each volunteer could walk in six minutes.
Half of the group took the £1-a-day supplement for six months, while the rest took a placebo.
The results, published in the journal Nature Communications, showed that those who took the supplement, widely available in pharmacies and health food stores, were able to walk 23 feet further at the end of the trial. Meanwhile, the placebo group walked an average of 34 feet less.
The vitamin is believed to stimulate energy production within the body’s cells.
It has also been shown to accelerate DNA repair.