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How much niacin should I take to lower my cholesterol?
People use prescription niacin (Niacor, Niaspan) to help control their cholesterol. The recommended daily amount of niacin for adult males is 16 milligrams (mg) a day and for adult women who aren’t pregnant, 14 mg a day.
How long does it take niacin to lower cholesterol?
The problem is that sometimes high cholesterol can’t be lowered through healthy habits alone. Choosing between statins and niacin depends greatly on where your own levels stand, as well as the methods you have tried thus far. You should see changes within two to four weeks of taking statins or niacin.
Is niacin more effective than statins?
The difference is that statins do a better job than niacin of reducing LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood, while niacin raises HDL (good) cholesterol more than statins.
Is niacin considered a statin?
Lipitor and niacin belong to different drug classes. Lipitor is an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (a “statin” drug) and niacin is a nutrient.
Does niacin lower triglycerides?
Niacin’s effect on triglycerides is among the best of the agents available. In patients with hypertriglyceridemia and modest LDL-C elevations, niacin lowers triglyceride levels 20\% to 50\% and LDL-C about 20\% at a 2-g/d dose (Figure 2).
Is niacin worth taking?
Niacin, also known as vitamin B3, is an important nutrient. In fact, every part of your body needs it to function properly. As a supplement, niacin may help lower cholesterol, ease arthritis, and boost brain function, among other benefits. However, it can also cause serious side effects if you take large doses.
Does niacin actually work for raising HDL?
Niacin can raise HDL cholesterol by more than 30 percent. There’s currently some debate about the exact role HDL plays in the body and in the development of heart disease. But HDL has generally been thought to pick up excess “bad” cholesterol in your blood and take it to your liver for disposal, which is why HDL is dubbed the “good” cholesterol.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the recommended daily value of niacin is 20 mg for a 2,000-calorie diet. However, this amount isn’t nearly enough to affect cholesterol levels. Therapeutic dosages of this B vitamin can range anywhere between 1,500 and 3,000 mg a day to improve your numbers.
What foods raise good cholesterol levels?
Nuts.
Is niacin for cholesterol reduction a good idea or dangerous?
Niacin, or vitamin B3, is too dangerous and should not be used routinely by people looking to control their cholesterol levels or prevent heart disease, doctors say. The warning comes following recent evidence showing the vitamin does not reduce heart attacks or strokes, and instead is linked to an increased risk of bleeding, diabetes and death.