Cholesterol levels along with heart disease are soaring in this country. Our unhealthy lifestyles of fatty, processed foods along with a lack of exercise are primary causes. Nevertheless, there are natural health products that can help you lower your cholesterol levels both safely and naturally!

Niacin is a member of the B vitamin family and there is plenty of research supporting its use to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides and to increase HDL (good) cholesterol. Niacin therapy on its own may be sufficient to have marked improvements on cholesterol levels, and many people have benefited from switching to Niacin:

“I took Zocor for 2 months (40mg / day). No more. There were several mild side effects, and that was bad enough. After learning that Niacin is typically more effective than the statin drugs anyway and has fewer (if ANY) side effects, and after learning that statin drugs cause cancer in lab animals, and after learning that statin drugs have been known to lead to Transient Global Amnesia, loss of mental acuity, insomnia, depression …DUH! It was a no-brainer to find another solution to managing cholesterol.” (From JoeLitton.net)

However, some physician’s recommend niacin therapy in concert with cholesterol lowering drugs. The niacin is thought to enhance the benefits of the prescription medications, and even experts that are proponents of Niacin suggest that it should only be taken under the supervision of a physician.

“Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center reports that the vitamin should be used as a first-line cholesterol-lowering medication, provided it is taken with the supervision of a physician.

Treatment with it not only induces a significant reduction of LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. and an increase of HDL cholesterol but also converts easily oxidized small, dense LDL particles to larger, buoyant, oxidation-resistant particles.” (From You-and-Your-Cholesterol.com)

One study examined the impact on the levels of LDL cholesterol when niacin is combined with a cholesterol lowering drug.-1 In this particular study, they found that the cholesterol lowering drug neomycin on its own provided a 23 percent reduction in LDL cholesterol. However, when they combined neomycin with Niacin, the reduction is LDL cholesterol induced a 48 percent decline.

If you are concerned about your cholesterol levels or you are already on cholesterol lowering medication, talk to your doctor about niacin therapy. Niacin therapy and prescription medication should only be taken under the strict guidance of your Physician. Niacin is available from your local health store or click here to purchase from Physician’s Preference.

1. Guraker A, Hoeg JM, Kostner G, Papadopoulos NM, Brewer HB Jr., Levels of lipoprotein Lp(a) decline with neomycin and niacin treatment. Atherosclerosis: 1985 Nov;57(2-3):293-301

This entry was posted on Monday, August 14th, 2006 at 1:29 pm and is filed under Health & Wellness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.