Category Archives: Niacin

Niacin, or vitamin B3, remains a confusing issue for many people. It shouldn’t be. It doesn’t help that most physicians and many pharmacists also do not understand the basic issues surrounding niacin. The only reason why there is any level … Continue reading →

Here’s a telling situation. Liz had been on prescription niacin, Niaspan, 1500 mg per day (3 x 500 mg tablets) for several years to treat her severe small LDL pattern and familial hypertriglyceridemia (triglycerides 500-1000 mg/dl). Because her health insurance … Continue reading →

In the Track Your Plaque program, we often resort to niacin (vitamin B3 or nicotinic acid) to: –Raise HDL cholesterol–Reduce the proportion of small LDL particles–Shift HDL towards the healthy larger fraction (HDL2b or “large”)–Reduce lipoprotein(a), the most aggressive risk … Continue reading →

Here, I re-post a conversation I’ve posted before, that of the scam product, “no-flush” niacin, also known as “flush-free” niacin. I find this issue particularly bothersome, since I have a patient or two each and every week who forgets the … Continue reading →

Joe was a Track Your Plaque Success Story. With a starting heart scan score of 278, he dropped it 12 months later to 264, a 5% reduction. Though not a huge reduction, Joe’s risk for a heart attack or other … Continue reading →

Gwen was miserable and defeated. No wonder. After a bypass operation failed just 12 months earlier with closure of 3 out of 4 bypass grafts, she has since undergone 9 heart catheterization procedures and received umpteen stents. She presented to … Continue reading →

Many people know about niacin’s curious effect of the “hot flush,” a feeling of warmth that covers the chest and neck, occasionally the entire body. However, many people are unaware of the fact that hydration can block this effect. In … Continue reading →

Niacin: –Raises HDL and shifts HDL towards the healthier large (HDL2b) subclass.–Reduces total LDL.–Reduces small LDL particles.–Reduces triglycerides and triglyceride-containing particles like VLDL and IDL (intermediate-density lipoprotein). –Reduces fibrinogen.–Reduces inflammatory responses. Weight loss achieved through a low-carbohydrate (read “wheat-free”) diet: … Continue reading →