Alternative medicine (2)
- Cholesterol-lowering supplements: Lower your numbers without prescription medication
- Red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus)
Definition (2)
- Cholesterol levels: What numbers should you aim for?
- Triglycerides: Why do they matter?
Lifestyle and home remedies (6)
- Cholesterol: The top 5 foods to lower your numbers
- Top 5 lifestyle changes to reduce cholesterol
- HDL cholesterol: How to boost your 'good' cholesterol
- see all in Lifestyle and home remedies
Prevention (1)
- Menus for heart-healthy eating: Cut the fat and salt
Tests and diagnosis (2)
- Cholesterol levels: What numbers should you aim for?
- Cholesterol test
Treatments and drugs (4)
- Niacin to boost your HDL, 'good,' cholesterol
- Statins: Are these cholesterol-lowering drugs right for you?
- Cholesterol medications: Consider the options
- see all in Treatments and drugs
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
continued:
Niacin to boost your HDL, 'good,' cholesterol
What about niacin side effects, like flushing?
Niacin comes in a variety of forms, ranging from fast-acting forms to those that are longer acting. Some forms of niacin, especially in high doses — 1,000 milligrams or more — do cause temporary flushing of the skin. The flushing can make your skin redden and possibly feel warm to the touch. While annoying, this flushing isn't harmful. If you have flushing, talk to your doctor about taking an aspirin shortly before you take your niacin. Aspirin can counteract this flushing effect. Also, avoiding hot drinks and alcohol can decrease the flushing. Versions of niacin with reduced flushing effects also are available by prescription.
Other possible side effects include:
- Upset stomach
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Liver damage
- Increased blood sugar
However, your doctor may be able to find the right dose and form of niacin that minimizes side effects. Also, taking niacin with food may help prevent side effects. Remember, don't take niacin — even in the over-the-counter form — without discussing it with your doctor first. Niacin can cause side effects when taken in high doses.
Who might consider taking niacin?
It depends. Niacin has been shown to increase HDL in otherwise healthy people who have normal LDL levels, so your doctor might suggest you take niacin, even if your LDL is relatively normal and you're healthy.
However, don't start taking niacin to raise your HDL without talking to your doctor. Niacin must usually be given at high doses to raise your HDL cholesterol, and the use of high-dose niacin needs to be monitored by your doctor to make sure it doesn't cause any harmful side effects.
Lifestyle changes are also helpful in boosting HDL. These include:
- Stop smoking if you are a smoker.
- Eat a healthy diet.
- Start an exercise program, with your doctor's OK.
If you try steps like this and your HDL is still too low, your doctor may suggest you take niacin.
Niacin is usually given along with statins or other medications to people who have high LDL levels and low HDL. Check with your doctor before taking niacin with another medication to avoid any dangerous drug interactions. However, in general, niacin seems to work even better when used in combination with statins, drugs used to lower your LDL cholesterol. In fact, when used with some statins, niacin can increase your HDL level by 50 percent or more, as well as reduce LDL levels more than when just statins are used.
Are over-the-counter niacin supplements just as good as prescription niacin when it comes to increasing HDL cholesterol?
Possibly. Supplements sold over-the-counter (OTC) are not regulated like prescription medications. The ingredients, formulations and effect of over-the-counter niacin can vary widely. Again, it's necessary to work with your doctor if you are considering taking niacin to avoid harmful side effects.
Previous page(2 of 2)
- Niacin and niacinamide (vitamin B3). Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Brewer HB. Increasing HDL cholesterol levels. New England Journal of Medicine. 2004;350:1491.
- Cholesterol-lowering drugs. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=163. Accessed April 20, 2009.
- Guyton JR, et al. Safety considerations with niacin therapy. American Journal of Cardiology. 2007;6:S22.
