Another hyped-as-blockbuster drug has just bit the dust. Pfizer’s withdrew its new statin drug torcetrapib, after trials revealed an increased risk of heart problems and death.1

This was the first statin designed to raise your levels of HDL (good cholesterol). Conventional statins work to lower levels of LDL (bad cholesterol). 

Drug companies have tried to set up their studies to downplay the importance of HDL until now because their drugs don’t work very well to raise HDL. When they find a drug to boost HDL, for the first time, scientists and researchers will focus on the importance of HDL in heart health. But relying on toxic drugs to boost HDL is not only dangerous – it’s unnecessary.

Niacin – a simple B vitamin – raises HDL better than any drug. And it’s completely natural with no dangerous side effects. Decades after the first clinical tests linked niacin and heart health, the medical establishment has still never given it the recognition it deserves.

With an adequate dose, niacin boosts your HDL by as much as 35 percent. This usually requires a higher dose – about 2,000 milligrams per day. It also lowers your LDL and reduces artery-clogging triglycerides by as much as 50 percent.

Niacin can cause a flush when your blood vessels dilate. But there are no serious side effects to this common vitamin.

Back in the 1970s – long before statins – a landmark study of over 8,000 heart attack victims found that niacin was the only treatment among five tested that prevented second heart attacks.

Compared with people who took placebos (dummy pills), those on niacin lowered their risk of heart attacks by 26 percent. And their risk of stroke dropped by 27 percent. Fifteen years later, the mortality rate among those on niacin was 11 percent lower than those who had taken placebos.

The power of HDL can mean the difference between having a heart attack, or not. The fifty-year Framingham Heart Study – the most reliable and unbiased source of heart research – found that HDL is your “trump card”  for long-term heart health.

The drug companies would have you believe that taking a statin to lower your LDL is your best strategy. But the Framingham Heart Study shows that high levels of HDL are directly related to lower risk of heart disease. In fact, it revealed that increased HDL can reduce your risk of heart disease independent of your LDL cholesterol level.

Here’s the real eye-opener: If your HDL is above 85, your total cholesterol could be as high as 350, or as low as 150 and your risk of heart disease is the same.

Niacin is a simple way to raise HDL. But if you’re going to use this strategy long term, it’s best to have a doctor monitor your cholesterol levels while you do it.

Here’s another option: L-carnitine. This nutrient produces energy in your cells. Carnitine brings fat into the energy centers of your cells (mitochondria) to make energy. This fat burning prevents the accumulation of excess fat in your heart, liver and muscles. If allowed to build up, this fat can trigger heart disease, diabetes and high triglyceride (blood fat) levels.

More than 20 clinical studies support L-carnitine’s role in protecting your heart. Carnitine reduces arterial plaque, lowers LDL cholesterol and boosts your HDL levels. And it’s free of side effects.

You can get carnitine from your diet by eating red meat and dairy. But it’s very easy to take a supplement as well. 500-mg a day is all you need. And it’s effective for both prevention and treatment of heart disease.

It’s important you choose the naturally occurring L-carnitine and not the synthetic D, L-carnitine. The D-form interferes with the natural action of the L-carnitine.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD