Reducing Cholesterol Experiment

[Pale1]

I've battled the cholesterol problem for years. Dietary changes seem to do very little to improve my levels, but I still eat clean 90% of the time anyway. Probably Paleo 90% of the time & I NEVER eat any processed sugars. I do still eat yams, even though Paleo guidelines do not allow it, but it grows in the ground & is un-processed so I really don't think they're all that bad.

Over the years, I have slowly introduced new supplements & always get the bloodwork done after each increase so I know whether or not what I'm doing is actually working or not. This supplement is slightly pricy, but had a nice effect on my cholesterol levels:
Naturally Lower Your Cholesterol By 30 Pts. In 30 Days
I have titrated my way up to 6 caps/ day. Although it helped a lot, I still had room for improvement, so I started SLOWLY adding in niacin, 200mg's at a time. I'm now up 900 mg's niacin/ daily. This has my levels right where I want them.

Niacin users, I will tell you this: DO NOT use niacinamide! It does nothing to help lower cholesterol! Check your niacin to make sure that is not what is in it. & also get your liver values checked after each dosage increase, but give yourself at least 3 months before checking to both give the niacin time to work & to also give your liver time to adjust, b/c your liver values will get a little spikey in the short term but seem to level back off over time.

Here is the niacin I use:

Lindberg - Niacin 100 Mg 100 Tablets - Save 33%

[kelkel]

I've battled the cholesterol problem for years. Dietary changes seem to do very little to improve my levels, but I still eat clean 90% of the time anyway. Probably Paleo 90% of the time & I NEVER eat any processed sugars. I do still eat yams, even though Paleo guidelines do not allow it, but it grows in the ground & is un-processed so I really don't think they're all that bad.

Over the years, I have slowly introduced new supplements & always get the bloodwork done after each increase so I know whether or not what I'm doing is actually working or not. This supplement is slightly pricy, but had a nice effect on my cholesterol levels:
Naturally Lower Your Cholesterol By 30 Pts. In 30 Days
I have titrated my way up to 6 caps/ day. Although it helped a lot, I still had room for improvement, so I started SLOWLY adding in niacin, 200mg's at a time. I'm now up 900 mg's niacin/ daily. This has my levels right where I want them.

Niacin users, I will tell you this: DO NOT use niacinamide! It does nothing to help lower cholesterol! Check your niacin to make sure that is not what is in it. & also get your liver values checked after each dosage increase, but give yourself at least 3 months before checking to both give the niacin time to work & to also give your liver time to adjust, b/c your liver values will get a little spikey in the short term but seem to level back off over time.

Here is the niacin I use:

Lindberg - Niacin 100 Mg 100 Tablets - Save 33%

Did you consider "Slo-Niacin" at all Pale?

[thisAngelBites]

Just to be clear - I meant I cut out all forms of sugar and grains from my diet and only ate protein and healthy fat. Not that I ONLY ate fruit.

[thisAngelBites]

Did you consider "Slo-Niacin" at all Pale?

Kelkel, what's the benefit of slo niacin? I had a look but didn't see it explained in thread.

[Pale1]

....

[Pale1]

Did you consider "Slo-Niacin" at all Pale?

I did, but I decided against it after reading that it may further stress the liver.

[kelkel]

I did, but I decided against it after reading that it may further stress the liver.

Well, pretty much everything goes through the liver. Consider NAC as a daily supplement for liver support. It's an extremely healthy thing to take for many, many reasons.

[Pale1]

Well, pretty much everything goes through the liver. Consider NAC as a daily supplement for liver support. It's an extremely healthy thing to take for many, many reasons.

That was a really informative article that you linked to above Kel. & it looks like maybe you & I may both be taking the wrong approach in dosing. I'm spreading mine out, which it advises against, & you're using slo niacin, which it also advises against.

Extended-release niacin is a time-release preparation, but does not act as slowly as slow-release niacin. This makes it safer than the slow-release preparations that can cause liver side effects. Extended-release niacin also provokes fewer hot flushes than immediate-release niacin.

EDIT!!!: I see that you ARE IN FACT using one of the suggested forms of niacin. I was confusing SLO & SLOW. Not the same apparently.

[thisAngelBites]

That was a really informative article that you linked to above Kel. & it looks like maybe you & I may both be taking the wrong approach in dosing. I'm spreading mine out, which it advises against, & you're using slo niacin, which it also advises against.



EDIT!!!: I see that you ARE IN FACT using one of the suggested forms of niacin. I was confusing SLO & SLOW. Not the same apparently.

I thought the same thing! How tragic that they called it Slo Niacin instead of extended release or something, it is a confusing at first glance.