How to Take Niacin Supplements to Lower Your Cholesterol

 Niacin, also known as B₃, is widely used and recommended for its cholesterol-lowering effects. Though niacin is available as a prescription, it is also available on the shelves of any health food store. It has been researched in depth and is accepted for this use by even the mainstream medical community. Niacin will simultaneously lower LDL or "bad" cholesterol and raise HDL or "good" cholesterol. Consequently, niacin supplementation also helps prevent heart disease and artherosclerosis.

 Niacin accomplishes all this by stopping the body from releasing triglycerides into the bloodstream. It also keeps the liver from making more triglycerides. Niacin also dilates blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more freely and preventing artherosclerosis.

An important note: Niacin is available as both nicotinic acid and nicotinamide. You must take nicotinic acid to lower cholesterol as nicotinamide does not convey this same benefit.

Well, first you need to decide how much your going to take. This depends on what your doctor says first and foremost. You need to research it for yourself. I wish I could just say, "Take X amount daily" but the truth is, lower doses work for some people and a lot is going to depend on your own thoughts and how reliable you consider the information to be depending on the source.

From my own experience, I recommend anywhere from 1500-3000 mg per day. As I looked around on the Internet to confirm my thoughts I found that this seemed to be a fairly normal suggestions. As you can see though, this is quite a range. As always, I recommend starting at the lower end of a range and seeing how it works for you. If you don't see the results you're looking for, slowly increase the amount you are taking. This is the best way to proceed, in my opinion, because you are less likely to see unwanted side effects with this method. So start with 1500 mg a day and go from there.

The last (but very important) piece of information you need to consider is where you will get the niacin and which brand you will buy. If you already buy vitamins or supplements at a particular store, then by all means go there. I've personally found a local health food store in my city where I know and trust the people who work there. I think it's great because if I ever have a question, they always seem to know the answer. They are also a great resource for recommending certain products and explaining why (I'm a control freak -- I always want to know why) -- a nice advantage when you're standing there looking over a shelf with a dozen or so bottles of basically the same thing.

In summary, nicotin supplements are a well documented, safe and effective means of lowering you cholesterol and increasing your cardiovascular health in general. Be sure to use the correct form to see results (nicotinic acid) and do a little of your own research before deciding on a starting dose. Good luck and here's to better health!