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Niacin Cholesterol Vitamin Raises HDL
Niacin, or vitamin B-3, is effective in lowering cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
Niacin can increase HDL as much as 35 percent when taken in high doses, usually about 2,000 milligrams per day. It also lowers LDL, though not as sharply as statins do, and it has been shown to reduce serum levels of artery-clogging triglycerides as much as 50 percent.
Expensive statin drugs have their down side. They can make men limp and women dry. In other words, one of the side effects of statins is a lousy libido. Save your sex life! Instead of statins, eat oatmeal for breakfast, take niacin and Advanced Cholesterol.
Despite its effectiveness, niacin has been the ugly duckling of heart medications, an old remedy that few scientists cared to examine. But that seems likely to change.
“There’s a great unfilled need for something that raises HDL,” said Dr. Steven E. Nissen, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic and president of the American College of Cardiology. “Right now, in the wake of the failure of torcetrapib, niacin is really it. Nothing else available is that effective.”
Torcetrapib was designed to increase the amount of good cholesterol in the blood. Pfizer was testing the drug. One group took torcetrapib and Lipitor -- a drug that reduces bad cholesterol. The other took Lipitor alone. A Pfizer official said the group taking the torcetrapib experienced too many heart problems and deaths for the study to continue.
In 1975, long before statins, a landmark study of 8,341 men who had suffered heart attacks found that niacin was the only treatment among five tested that prevented second heart attacks. Compared with men on placebos, those on niacin had a 26 percent reduction in heart attacks and a 27 percent reduction in strokes. Fifteen years later, the mortality rate among the men on niacin was 11 percent lower than among those who had received placebos.
“Here you have a drug that was about as effective as the early statins, and it just never caught on,” said Dr. B. Greg Brown, professor of medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. “It’s a mystery to me. But if you’re a drug company, I guess you can’t make money on a vitamin.”
By and large, research was focused on lowering LDL, and the statins proved to be remarkably effective. The drugs can slow the progress of cardiovascular disease, reducing the risk of heart attack or other adverse outcomes by 25 percent to 35 percent. Common side effects, however, are headache, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, headache, rash, weakness, poor libido and muscle pain.
But recent studies suggest that the addition of an HDL booster like niacin may afford still greater protection.
After analyzing data from more than 83,000 heart patients who participated in 23 different clinical trials, researchers at the University of Washington calculated that a regimen that increased HDL by 30 percent and lowered LDL by 40 percent in the average patient would reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke by 70 percent. That is far more than can be achieved by reducing LDL alone.
Other small studies have produced similarly encouraging results, but some experts caution that the data on increased HDL and heart disease are preliminary.
Researchers at 72 sites in the United States and Canada are recruiting 3,300 heart patients for a study, led by Dr. Brown and financed by the National Institutes of Health, comparing those who take niacin and a statin with those who take only a statin. This large head-on comparison should answer many questions about the benefits of combination therapy.
Many cardiologists see no reason to wait for the results.
One side effect of taking Niacin is flushing. It becomes less pronounced with time, and often it can be avoided by taking the pills before bed with a bit of food.
Some people, especially those that need Niacin, may experience reddening (flushing) of the skin and possibly some itching. No need to be alarmed, it usually lasts for 20 to 30 minutes and a relaxed feeling is usually obtained from this. The Hexanicotinate part of this Niacin can help ward off much of this flushing. Start with one capsule each day and take it with breakfast. Later some can take two or three in divided doses with food and a fourth at bedtime if desired.
Taking a B-Complex along with Niacin will make its effect better. Some of the important improvements in the health as a result of taking Niacin are: helps counteract arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), helps reduce cholesterol, helps increase circulation, helps reduce high blood pressure, helps reduce migraine headaches and helps reduce confusion.
Ingredients: Niacinamide (Kosher), Hexanicotinate Niacin.
“If you can just get patients to take niacin, HDL goes up substantially,” said Dr. Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic. “Most of the evidence suggests they’ll get a benefit from that.”
60-3 Niacin 90 Capsules 500mg $9.95
83-5 High Potency B-Complex Vitamins 120 tablets $14.95
44-6 Advanced Cholesterol 650mg 90 Capsules $28.95
877-493-5987 U.S. Toll Free Order Line 9-6 Eastern
Oatmeal Superfood
Oatmeal adds healthy fiber to your diet and helps with lowering cholesterol, weight loss, diabetes, constipation and heart disease.
Oatmeal contains B complex vitamins, protein, fat, minerals and soluble fiber. When eaten daily, oatmeal helps to lower total cholesterol levels by up to 25% within a month or two. Oatmeal also helps to reduce the bad LDL and raise levels of good HDL cholesterol.
Oatmeal contains both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber slows down the digestion of carbs which is beneficial to diabetics. It slows down the digestion of starch and you avoid the sharp rises in your blood sugar level that usually occur after a meal.
Oatmeal can also be added to muffins, cookies, pancakes, meatloaf and homemade bread. Our favorite oatmeal is Great Value Instant Oatmeal Real Apples & Cinnamon. Use 2 packets if you're really hungry and sweeten with stevia or honey if desired.
For a double whammy of goodness, add some fresh or frozen berries on top and/or eat a slice of wholewheat toast with honey or berry jam.
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