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Thursday, August 20, 2009

Few cholesterol-lowering supplements work

This is a terrific and educational article on supplements for cholesterol lowering. It is well researched and unbiased.

My take on all this:
1. Red rice yeast extract is a natural version of a statin. It will help lower LDL. However, it is unmonitored and each pill has varying amounts of active ingredient. Prescription statins are safer.
2. Niacin works. It has a lot of efficacy data on not just effecting cholesterol but for lowering "hard events" (reducing heart attacks, death...). It can cause serious liver problems, so liver function tests need to be monitored closely.
3. Fish Oil lowers triglyceride levels at high dosages but has other beneficial effects.

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_health/~3/HF_YJmo0ZMM/index.html

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