Niacin: The Cholesterol Fighting Alternative

(Extraído de nightcaptv.com)

by Barry Carpenter

Doug Furgerson has taken medicine for the past seven years to fight his cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

It’s not one of the better known or new statin drugs–nope–its niacin which has been around for decades.

“It seems to be working okay,” Doug said. “I don’t have any problems with it and every time I get my cholesterol checked the cholesterol is looking pretty good.”

Good as in way down. Baylor All-Saints cardiologist Dr. Mohanakrishnan Sathyamoorthy said vitamin B3–also known as niacin–used to be option number one but not anymore.

“It’s not the shiny brand new car right?” Dr. Sathyamoorthy said. It’s just lost itself in the public conscience but in terms of medicine it’s a drug that is very important to the way in which we treat patients.”

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The new kids on the block–statins now get all the attention because they’re so effective in treating cholesterol–but so is niacin.

A study published in the Journal of The American College of Cardiology found that prescription strength doses of niacin increased good cholesterol by up to 35% and reduced triglycerides by up to 50%.

Dr. Sathyamoorthy said it can be used to treat specific cholesterol problems.

“For instance patients with very low good cholesterol tend to be treated with niacin,” Dr. Sathyamoorthly said. “Patients with very high triglycerides tend to be treated with niacin and for those very specific patients niacin is actually a preferential drug.”

And here’s the kicker; a recent study found that at 7 cents per pill niacin is the cheapest, most effective and safest treatment for cholesterol.

It does come with possible side effects including headache, dizziness, liver damage and flushing of the skin which Doug said occasionally happens to him.

Dr. Sathyamoorthy said niacin is worth discussing with your doctor.

As for Doug the alternative is old school niacin.

“I think I would rather take something that is well known rather than something that is not so well known,” Doug said. “I’ll just keep on taking it.”

Read more: http://nightcaptv.com/2013/09/12/niacin-the-cholesterol-fighting-alternative/#ixzz2f88peHwF