Could this be the reason for the niacin study hype?
The new niacin study may have an underlying motive. Hmm, a new drug for Lp(a)?
Is There an Alternative Motive for the Recent Niacin Study?
I recently sent out a substack reviewing a recent niacin study in which the authors suggested that niacin is harmful and increases CVD risk.
I am a skeptic when it comes to medical professionals' claims that nutrients are harmful. As I stated in the previous post, we were left wondering what forms of niacin they examined.
Was it from whole foods, added to processed foods, or supplements?
What forms of niacin did they examine?
Was there any difference to nicotinic acid, nicotinamide, niacinamide, inositol haxanicotinate, NAD, slow-realease niacin or niacin that causes flushing?
We have no clue because they never provided this information.
According to the National Institute of Health, Niacin is Beneficial for CVD and Reducing Lipoprotein a.
(In bold is by me)
Very high doses of nicotinic acid—more than 100 times the RDA—taken for months or years are effective treatments for dyslipidemias. Nicotinamide does not have this effect because, unlike nicotinic acid, it does not bind to the receptors that mediate nicotinic acid’s effects on lipid profiles [1].
Studies conducted since the late 1950s show that these doses can increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL; good) cholesterol levels by 10%–30% and reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL; bad) cholesterol levels by 10%–25%, triglyceride levels by 20%–50%, and lipoprotein(a) levels by 10%–30% [12]. Together, these changes in lipid parameters might be expected to reduce the risk of first-time or subsequent cardiac events, such as heart attacks and strokes, in adults with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
However, despite dozens of published clinical trials, experts do not agree on the value of nicotinic acid to treat cardiovascular disease, especially given its side effects, safety concerns, and poor patient compliance [25].
In one large clinical trial from the 1970s, 8,341 participants age 30 to 64 years who had had one or more heart attacks were randomized to take one of five lipid-lowering medications, including 3,000 mg/day nicotinic acid, or a placebo for an average of 6.2 years [26]. Those taking nicotinic acid lowered their serum cholesterol levels by an average of 9.9% and triglyceride levels by 26.1% over 5 years of treatment.
Nine years after the study ended, participants who had taken the nicotinic acid experienced significantly fewer (11%) deaths from all causes than those who had taken the placebo [27,28].
What is Lipoprotein a (Lp(a)), and why don’t doctors test it?
Doctors never had a medication to treat elevated lp (a), so there was no reason for them to test for it since there was nothing in their toolkit to address it.
Medical professionals did not address this genetic CVD risk factor, even though the NIH has shown there are numerous studies indicating niacin therapy can reduce Lp(a).
Lp(a) is a form of LDL cholesterol that is “stickier” than other types, making it easier for the build-up to occur and arteries to become blocked.
A person’s genetic history and ethnicity determine their system's Lp(a) amount.
This Medical News Today article states:
About 20–25% of people around the world have a genetic version of ‘bad’ cholesterol called lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a) for short.
How can that be true when many doctors do not test for this marker? Do more people than we are aware of have this genetic CVD risk factor?
There is currently no cure or approved specific treatment for lowering Lp(a) levels.
By treatment, they mean no medication. Does that mean nothing exists to address this biomarker? Research indicates otherwise.
Researchers in Australia have now found a new potential oral medication developed to target Lp(a) can lower levels by up to 65%.
Ah hah, there it is!
They have now discovered a drug for Lp(a).
Granted, a 65% reduction is better than a 30% reduction via niacin. If they cared about CVD risk, they would have used niacin therapy in the past before a drug ever existed.
Instead, they did nothing! They didn’t test, and they did not use niacin therapy.
They go on to state:
Because Lp(a) is genetic, lifestyle changes like diet and exercise that may benefit other types of cholesterol do not help. There is currently no cure or approved specific treatment for lowering Lp(a) levels.
Again, none mention all the niacin studies that indicate a reduction in Lp(a).
Are they ignorant of niacin benefits or intentionally ignoring the research?
The New Drug
“Muvalaplin essentially blocks that binding from happening in the liver and therefore prevents the formation of Lp(a). It would provide an oral option for the treatment of patients with high Lp(a) levels to reduce their risk of heart disease.”
– Dr. Stephen Nicholls
The article concludes by stating that Lp(a) testing should be increased in those with CVD risk factors; however, (they state) there is not much a person can do since the new drug may still not be approved and available for another four years.
To me, this sounds a lot like C-19. The message was, “Not much you can do but wait for the new injection to save you.”
Bottom Line
Previous research indicated niacin is helpful for those with elevated Lp(a), a genetic CVD risk factor.
Doctors have not been testing for Lp(a) when they run a lipid panel because they do not have a drug to treat it.
A new drug to reduce Lp(a) will hit the market within several years.
Doctors state there is nothing you can do for Lp(a) but now encourage other doctors to test for this biomarker in their CVD-risk patients.
Patients will have to live with the fact that they have elevated Lp(a) and wait for the new drug to lower it.
What do you think? Is there an underlying agenda to the new niacin study, or am I a conspiracy theorist?
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This is NOT information allopathic practitioners will share with you.
I know of an entire family (all grown and with their own kids now) who was repeatedly getting skin cancers. They all started taking niacin and solved it!
What's the current lag time between being considered a conspiracy theory and being accepted as factual? I know it keeps getting shorter all the time.