It is estimated from the Wrong Diagnosis Website that 101 Million Americans suffer from high cholesterol. That means that one in every three Americans has high cholesterol and has the potential to have life-threatening issues in the future. The reaction that many Americans have taken to fight against this life-threatening issue is to take prescription drugs such as blood thinners or low-dose aspirins. To many times have I heard about serious reactions to taking these prescription and over-the-counter drugs though.
For instance, a friend of the family found out that after years of high stress and bad eating habits his cholesterol level was at very dangerous levels. So, after following instructions from his doctor, he started to take one pill to thin his blood while also taking a baby aspirin each day. Well, a few months later he found out that his kidneys were falling and the main cause was the previously prescribed medicine.
So, what can one out of three Americans do to prevent future high cholesterol levels and prevent a heart attack? Well, the answer is much easier than first thought. The answer is Vitamin B3. Yes, that is correct the natural supplement that Canadian psychiatrists used to use to prevent schizophrenia is also an effective treatment to cholesterol. Scientists are now finding that Vitamin B3 actually lower cholesterol, free fatty acids and lower triglyceride levels. All three of these things are risk factors in heart disease.
There are two forms of Vitamin B3, so be careful. What you want to look for in a good vitamin B3 product is that it contains niacin, not niacinamide. Many natural food stores now contain supplements that contain this vitamin in the richest form, many store purchased drugstore brands do not. The daily dosage that is needed is 500-1000mg to help lower cholesterol (LDL) and raise good cholesterol (HDL) levels.
It is important to mention though that there are some side-effects, although minimal and rarely seen. The largest side-effect is itchy skin. This will happen for about an hour because the supplement is causing for histamine to being released from your skin. If this does occur do not worry because it diminishes with daily usage. But compared to kidney damage from prescription drugs, I will gladly itch for an hour or so for a few days. If you worry about this itchy skin effect, try getting an inositol hexaniacinate form. It has the same cholesterol-lowering effect however does not make you itch. If you choose this form, try taking 2000-4000mg daily.
