This is one of the best ways to combine the best of nutrition w/ the best of Western medicine. But don’t hold your breath waiting for it to become standard prescription practice.
Investigational studies of a formulation of extended release niacin and lovastatin show that the combination is safe and well-tolerated and that it improves a number of lipid profile markers. Dr. Moti L. Kashyap of Long Beach Veterans Administration Medical Center, in California, presented findings from a study of combination therapy in 814 patients in a dose-escalating open-label study during the 49th scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology. Dosages ranged from niacin 500 mg + lovastatin 10 mg to niacin 2,000 mg + lovastatin 40 mg. Dr. Kashyap said that the combination drug, Nicostatin (Kos Pharmaceuticals, Miami Lakes, Florida), has additive effects over monotherapy with either of the two drugs alone, especially in lowering LDL cholesterol, raising HDL cholesterol and lowering triglycerides.
Whoa!! Very important news. We all know that NSAIDs (ibuprofin and it’s kin…) have damaging side effects on the stomach, liver, joints and kidneys. But increasing your risk of congestive heart failure? If a natural remedy had even 1/10th of the dangers of NSAIDs, it would be yanked off the market faster than you could say “Celebrex”. Remember the tryptophan contamination way back when? A handful of deaths were attributed to a contaminant in the supplement (not the supplement itself) and it was yanked off the shelves and still can’t be sold; yet, an estimated 15,000 people die from NSAIDs per year!!!
More benefits of monounsaturated fats…