Cholesterol Control Without Diet!
The Niacin Solution

For comment on Bill Clinton's bypass surgery and about the danger of deaths from new (July 2004) cholesterol guidelines, scroll to the bottom of list of questions.

You say, "You don't have to diet to control cholesterol." What is the background for this statement?

Who should have his/her cholesterol level measured?

Why is it important to know one's cholesterol level and treat it if abnormal?

What factors have been found to lead to heart attacks?

Does quitting smoking help to prevent heart attacks and strokes?

Does control of high blood pressure help to prevent heart attacks and strokes?

Does reducing cholesterol levels help prevent heart attacks and strokes?

Why is that?

What are these favorable actions which other drugs do not share with niacin?

Can you simplify the language of LDL and HDL for us?

What makes some cholesterol "bad" and other cholesterol "good?"

Can you give us an easy way to remember which is which, the "bad" and "good cholesterol fractions?

Do we actually know that these changes reduce heart attacks and strokes?

How much did niacin reduce heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular events?

Did niacin also reduce the death rate from all causes?

Your book says that in clinical practice a doctor should achieve even better results than in the CDP. Why is this so?

Why has this good news not been publicized more widely over the years?

How have the diet advocates managed to dominate medical opinion?

What do diet advocates say about cholesterol-lowering drugs?

Your book states that many diet advocates complain that "all drugs have side effects and toxic effects," which implies that diet must be safe. What do you say about that?

Has there been any landmark study of diet and heart disease, comparable to the CDP for drugs?

What did the diet feasibility study show?

Getting back to niacin, what is your most important advice to patients?

How can the patient know his doctor is good at using niacin?

Does niacin have important side effects which limit its use?

Can the flush be lessened or eliminated in any way?

Are there any other problems with niacin treatment?

If not properly supervised, what sort of harm can niacin cause?

Are there other side effects?

With so many advantages and so few problems, why aren't more doctors prescribing niacin?

Is niacin's status as a leading cholesterol-control drug recognized in any policy- making statement for physicians?

Can you briefly summarize the NCEP guidelines? What are the goals of treatment?

What is Lp(a)? How is it treated?

Do you ever use diet as a cholesterol-control measure?

How do you present the diet vs. drug question to your patients?

How important is the long-term safety record of niacin, compared to drugs introduced more recently?

Click photo to read information about Bill Clinton's coronary bypass surgery.

Why are the new (July 2004) cholesterol guidelines unwise and dangerous?

What are the dangers of the new guidelines?

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