High levels of an essential B-vitamin may raise the risk of heart disease.

The vitamin niacin has been added for years to foods we eat every day. However, new research from the Cleveland Clinic shows that getting too much can put people at risk for cardiovascular disease.

Niacin is made by the body to turn food into energy. The problem is many of the foods people eat are highly processed, researchers said.

People are getting too much, and some of the excess is broken down through metabolism into byproducts that normally wouldn’t be seen in a health diet in which people were getting niacin naturally.

The recommended daily allowance of niacin for men is 16 milligrams a day and 14 milligrams for women who are not pregnant.