On call: Niacin for cholesterol
On call
33In the doses needed to improve cholesterol, niacin is a drug — and a potent drug at that. On average, it can lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels by 10%–25%. The statins and other lipid-lowering drugs can do even better, but niacin outshines them all for lowering triglyceride levels (down 20%–50%) and raising HDL ("good") cholesterol levels (up 15%–35%).
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