Vitamin C effect on Cholesterol

[Cobraman]

Reduced my cholesterol from 260 to 180 w/ regular niacin 1000mg, 3x day(Dr. uses old system of cholesterol values). Have been taking vitamin c 15g, proline 2g, lysine 6g for 2 months now. My question to the forum is how effective has the Pauling therapy been to reduce cholesterol? Would like to stop taking the niacin if possible since it makes me feel tired most of the day. Owen's book speaks anecdotally of needing 6 months to effectively reduce Lp a. I would like to hear of others' experience w/ this. Any comments would be appreciated.

[pamojja]

[Cobraman]

Thanks for the reply. I use immediate release w/ divided doses because it is easier on the liver. I intend to check my cholesterol w/o the niacin in a couple of months to see if the vit c w/ proline and lysine does, in fact, lower my ldl. In your case the niacin would have lowered the Lpa by itself. Immediate release also increases hdl whereas the slow release has little effect on this. Niacin has been shown to improve heart health despite the fact that it increases homocysteine levels. To remove this negative side effect you can just take an effective dose of TMG(tri methyl glycine), 500 to 2000mg a day.

[majkinetor]

[pamojja]

To remove this negative side effect you can just take an effective dose of TMG(tri methyl glycine), 500 to 2000mg a day.

Thanks. Though increasing TMG together with niacin hasn't worked yet for me. Therefore, at the moment I'm experimenting with a 1:1 niacin to TMG ratio. The next test will show.

[pamojja]

4. Niacin is one of the most effective cholesterol-lowering nutrients, outperforming many prescription medications. It also reduces blood fat levels and the risk of clot formation. Take 100 to 500 mg daily. Using the inositol hexanicotinate form will reduce the possibility of liver toxicity.

Sure, but Dr. Davis, who gave niacin to many patients, disadvises against inositol hexanicotinate because it never showed any effect on lipids in his clinical experience. To avoid the flushing-issue he recommends slow release forms, but because these taxes the liver for more hours each day - a once a day dose only.

IR niacin is much easier on the liver and, if I remember it right, I think Abrahm Hoffer never observed it in his patients for decades.

[majkinetor]

[Cobraman]

I agree w/ the inositol hexaniacinate. Studies have proven this to be ineffective in reducing cholesterol. Because some people anecdotally said it reduced ldl I tried it for 3 month w/ no reduction in cholesterol. The tiredness I am feeling is a common side effect of taking immediate release niacin. In fact, some use it for a sleeping aid. I would guess that it is somehow related to its effects on insulin(tends to reduce it) which is why niacin is contraindicated in diabetics. As far as the flushing goes I only flushed for 2 weeks and this was easily controlled w/ a low dose aspirin.

I need to take 1000mg 3x a day for effectiveness, safety, and eliminate the flushing/itching. For some reason the 3x works the best from my trial and error and from the book "The Niacin Cure".

Goes back to my original question of whether the vit c has reduced anyone's cholesterol profile. I do understand that too much emphasis is put on the numbers, but it does hold some indication of heart health.

Majkinetor, if I may ask, what country are you from?

[majkinetor]

Serbia.

Thx for the report.

[ofonorow]

First, to the poster whose Lp(a) is "back up to 50 mg/dl" - I would like to spend time on a separate thread. Do you trust that measurement?

Reduced my cholesterol from 260 to 180 w/ regular niacin 1000mg, 3x day(Dr. uses old system of cholesterol values). Have been taking vitamin c 15g, proline 2g, lysine 6g for 2 months now. My question to the forum is how effective has the Pauling therapy been to reduce cholesterol? Would like to stop taking the niacin if possible since it makes me feel tired most of the day. Owen's book speaks anecdotally of needing 6 months to effectively reduce Lp a. I would like to hear of others' experience w/ this. Any comments would be appreciated.

As you may have read in my book, I began to have a stronger confidence in Linus Pauling when my total cholesterol (measured for a life insurance exam perhaps 20 years ago) was 180 mg/dl. For this is the number Pauling has in his book (HTLLAFB) as "normal". You can find it in the cholesterol section discussing Ginters work (and we have posted many of Ginter's abstracts in our clinical studies forum.) Manhattan Project physicist Theodore Jorgenson (at that time 99 years old!) wrote that he had the same experience,

With this information in mind, I decided to eliminate sucrose in my diet as much as I could in our culture while I arbitrarily set my intake of ascorbic acid at five gram per day. Much to my doctor's surprise, my cholesterol level fell from 240 units down to 180 units. I know of similar experiments with similar results. Also I have not had a cold since I have been taking the larger amount of ascorbic acid.

http://www.vitamincfoundation.org/jorgensen.htm

[pamojja]

I would like to spend time on a separate thread. Do you trust that measurement?

Really don't know what to think of it. As already said, I heard Lp(a) test can be erratic, especially in mg/dl. Feel free to start a new thread on that.