Niacin for cholesterol control

[mrcat]

Are many of you guys using this? My doc wanted to start me on it and I kind of put him off. My overall cholesterol is good, but HDL low. I took niacin in the past for tanning. I think it helped a lot, but it was hell. I got hot skin, tingling, and general discomfort. I could handle it once a week, but that was about it. Anyway to eliminate or reduce the sides? I felt so bad once I pulled the car off the road for a few minutes. I'm not a fing wimp or anything. The shit was just hell for me...

 

[slyder]

People obviously react differently...but the flush free does not work so it's all or nothing....

 

[Shelby]

Try taking a baby aspirin about 30 minutes prior.

Also, over time you build up a tolerance for it.

 

[Gunsmith]

10mg Nolvadex and Red Yeast Rice extract worked better for me than Niaspan did and had no ill sides.

Niacin is not real good for your liver so it can raise you liver enzymes this will also have adverse effects on the HDL. enter synthragine (sp) , run a bottle of that to get your liver all squared away then start your supps.

 

[ojs]

10mg Nolvadex and Red Yeast Rice extract worked better for me than Niaspan did and had no ill sides.

Niacin is not real good for your liver so it can raise you liver enzymes this will also have adverse effects on the HDL. enter synthragine (sp) , run a bottle of that to get your liver all squared away then start your supps.

I can vouch for both the liver and the HDL. I have lab work with elevated liver values and lowered values. I got off the SLO-Niacin (over the counter version of Niaspan), added 10 back yard chicken eggs a day and that liver cleaner and the Humanofort that Emeric recommends for 6 weeks. And I went and had my tests done again. Everything cleaned up nicely.

The egg yolks raised my HDL back to normal.

 

[anabolicscuba]

be cautious of fast release Niacin

I took the standard (quick) release niacin a couple weeks back and I thought I was going to die. My skin turned bright red and felt like it was burning. I quickly got ice packs and a cold towel and started rubbing it all over my skin. Then my chest got tight and I had trouble breathing. All these lasted about 30-45 minutes then it started subsiding. I later tried slo-niacin and barely get any sides from it, slight heated feeling and maybe a little redness but it doesn't last long.

Surprised to hear about the egg yolk thing though by OJS. I might have to give that a shot and drop the niacin for a while.

 

[fr8lnr01]

I can vouch for both the liver and the HDL. I have lab work with elevated liver values and lowered values. I got off the SLO-Niacin (over the counter version of Niaspan), added 10 back yard chicken eggs a day and that liver cleaner and the Humanofort that Emeric recommends for 6 weeks. And I went and had my tests done again. Everything cleaned up nicely.

The egg yolks raised my HDL back to normal.

Funny OJS, when I was bulking (running a cycle that included prophylactic letro-low-dose) and eating 8 whole eggs a day, my cholesterol levels were at their best.

 

[Rasa]

If you want to use niacin, you should start out with about a 50 mg dose every day and if you get the skin flushing take an aspirin before you take the niacin after some time you will not continue to get the skin flushing and you can increase the niacin dosage to 100 mgs/day. the skin flushing is vasodilation of blood vessels at the skin's surface and it burns like hell for about 20 to 30 minutes.

 

[ojs]

Funny OJS, when I was bulking (running a cycle that included prophylactic letro-low-dose) and eating 8 whole eggs a day, my cholesterol levels were at their best.

Haha!!! While on cycle I do 4 whole fertilized cage free eggs first thing in the morning and 4 whole fertilized cage free eggs right before bed.

 

[maldorf]

Try taking a baby aspirin about 30 minutes prior.

Also, over time you build up a tolerance for it.

Yep. The aspirin seems to help. Niaspan is the prescription and it seems many times more potent that the stuff you get over the counter.

 

[Quad-smack]

Other than the flushing which is uncomfortable, Niacin has two additional effects that I find less than desirable.
1st - Niacin suppresses lipolysis - not cool if you are in an all-out fat loss program.
2nd - Niacin also increases insulin resistance. 'nuff said.

I have found that 900mg / day of Pantethine and 1 Jarrow Formulas Toco-Sorb mixed Palm Tocotrienol keep my cholesterol in the ideal range. No flushing, no other side effects.

BTW, I'm almost 45, on HRT and my cholesterol is now 164, HDL 69 & LDL 95

I will say this - Niacin is the single most effective supplement in regards to improving ones cholesterol profile. If your profile is less than desirable, see your MD. If changing your habits and supplements do not provide adequate improvement - consider monitored pharmaceutical intervention.

 

[reebokrunner456]

There are MANY supplements out there beside niacin that are extremely effective in lowering cholesterol. Red Yeast Rice extract + CoQ10 is very effective and would be one of my top picks.

 

[kingpeon]

Another thing about niacin is it's been used to treat depression. Nice bonus if you get bummed out easily.

Real, free range egg yolks are good for the HDL. I like mine raw.

 

[kid1dakota]

When I was in pharmacology class my instructor said Niacin was the absolute best or the gold standard in cholesterol control.But... tolerance forced other drugs and versions to be developed.

Now doesn't this sound familiar?? testosterone which led to the creation of all the present AAS.
This is the reason there are soooo many drugs and classes of drugs etc...

 

[68 firebird]

There are MANY supplements out there beside niacin that are extremely effective in lowering cholesterol. Red Yeast Rice extract + CoQ10 is very effective and would be one of my top picks.

Niacin is used for raising HDL cholesterol, not lowering LDL. If the primary focus is lowering overall cholesterol, then I would agree with you, but the OP was specifically about Niacin and low HDL.