A vitamin supplement costing just £1 a day could help millions of Britons suffering from poor circulation

A vitamin supplement costing just £1 a day could help millions of Britons who suffer from poor circulation.

Researchers have found that nicotinamide riboside, a form of vitamin B3, significantly improves the exercise capacity of people with peripheral artery disease, which is thought to affect 2.7 million people in the UK, most of whom are aged 50 or over.

It occurs when fatty deposits called plaque narrow the arteries, gradually restricting blood flow, and can occur in the arms, but is more common in the legs.

This can lead to chronic leg pain due to poor circulation, muscle and skin tissue can also begin to die, leading to non-healing ulcers and, in extreme cases, amputation of the lower limbs.

The main causes of peripheral arterial disease are smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and aging. Most patients are prescribed medicines such as aspirin to thin the blood and reduce the risk of blood clots. If that doesn’t work, small tubes called stents can be inserted into the narrowed blood vessels to improve blood flow.

However, one of the biggest problems for patients is that the pain affects their ability to move, making even taking a few steps difficult.

Click here to resize this module

Scientists from Northwestern University and the University of Florida tested nicotinamide riboside supplements in 90 men and women with the condition, mostly in their 70s. They measured how far each subject could walk in a six-minute period.

Half the group took one pound of the supplement a day for six months, and the other half got a placebo.

The results, published in the journal Nature Communications, showed that participants who took the supplement, which is widely available at pharmacies and health food stores, had walked 23 feet further at the end of the study, while those in the placebo group had walked an average of 34 feet less.

This vitamin is thought to promote energy production within cells in the body.

It has also been shown to accelerate DNA repair.