Niacin Lowers Cholesterol Better than Prescription Drugs
A new study out shows vitamin B3, also known as niacin, lowers bad cholesterol more effectively than common statin drugs.
A new study out shows vitamin B3, also known as niacin, lowers bad cholesterol more effectively than a common statin drug, ezetimibe, sold as Zetia. Statins inhibit the absorption of cholesterol from the intestine, which then reduces the amount of LDL (bad cholesterol) in the blood stream. Since high cholesterol has been linked to cardiovascular disease, lowering LDL levels has been widely adopted as good preventive medicine.
However a new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, not only shows niacin contributing to a more significant drop in bad cholesterol (LDL), but also shows increases in the amount of good cholesterol (HDL). Niacin seems to reduce the plaque-like build up in veins and arteries when compared to ezetimibe. Most importantly, the study concluded “The incidence of major cardiovascular events was lower in the niacin group than in the ezetimibe group (1% vs. 5%, P=0.04 by the chi-square test).”
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