Reverse Heart Disease Now by Sinatra Stephen T. & Roberts James C. & Zucker Martin

Author:Sinatra, Stephen T. & Roberts, James C. & Zucker, Martin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2010-12-05T16:00:00+00:00

B Vitamins

The Miracle of Niacin

Prior to his heart attack, Lou epitomized destructive type A behavior. He was a young, ambitious salesman for a major company. He traveled a lot, pushed himself, was under a lot of stress, worked long hours, and made a lot of money. He didn’t know how to relax.

At a routine physical checkup, his doctor picked up on a somewhat high cholesterol level (257) and a low HDL count. Lou was advised to follow a low-fat diet and he duly minimized his fat intake. In doing so, however, he fell into the common pitfall of a replacement diet loaded with processed foods high in trans-fatty acids and sugar.

After the switch, Lou’s cholesterol decreased to about 210. Nothing wrong with that. But his HDL level also dropped, from 33 to 29—the lowest in his life. We like to see men no lower than 35, and women no lower than 40. Low HDL is a serious risk factor for heart problems. It is the component of cholesterol that picks up harmful oxidized LDL and transports it back to the liver for removal.

Lou’s new diet was really a time bomb for disaster. Trans fats lower HDL and stoke free radical damage to cell membranes, injury that kindles inflammation, disease, and age-related changes. They also promote LDL oxidation and raise Lp(a).

Lou was extremely vulnerable because of his low HDL level, which became even lower on a poorly designed diet. Six months later he had a heart attack. It was his wake-up call.

Lou looked for a preventive cardiologist and started consulting with Dr. Sinatra. Today, seven years later, he looks great at age forty-two, the result of a lifestyle program designed to put him back on the health track. He still has the same demanding sales job but has infused more balance into his life. He makes time to exercise and play with his kids. He avoids sugar and processed foods while eating plenty of good protein and healthy fats from olive oil, walnuts, and almonds.

Plus he takes niacin (vitamin B-3), a fabulous supplement for raising HDL. When Dr. Sinatra first saw Lou, his HDL level was 31. At a recent checkup it was 68.

Niacin has been a pillar of our supplement program for years. Lars Carlson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm calls niacin a “miracle drug” for all the lipid disorders that are risk factors for atherosclerosis.

Niacin lowers the levels of LDL cholesterol and Lp(a), and, as Dr. Carlson points out, “it raises more than any other drug the levels of the protective HDL lipoproteins.”

Many studies have shown that treatment with niacin reduces progression of atherosclerosis and clinical events and mortality associated with coronary heart disease.

We prescribe the traditional form of niacin—the kind that causes the pins-and-needles flushing sensation. Some people feel discomforted by the flushing, but if you can tolerate it, and most people do, this is the way to raise HDL. It’s the only one we know of that does it consistently well.

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