Something when you nied it
If you have followed a perfect vegetarian diet, have been generous with beans, vegetables, and grains, have been vigilant about hidden fats in pastries and snack foods, and still have a high cholesterol level, you are no doubt wondering if you should take additional steps. Between 5 and 10 percent of people with high cholesterol levels can blame the problem on genetics. If you are in this group, the best diet in the world will not overpower your liver’s tendency to make cholesterol.
Do not assume that your problem is genetic, however, until you have tested yourself by following a diet that avoids animal products com - pletely and keeps vegetable oils to a bare minimum. After six to eight weeks, a cholesterol test will show whether you are improving. Even small deviations from a vegetarian diet can cause cholesterol levels to climb in many people.
If your problem is genetic, avoiding cholesterol and fat in your diet is still a good idea. Evidence shows that consuming less cholesterol reduces your risk of heart problems, even if your blood cholesterol level does not decrease.7 It also reduces your risk of many other health problems.
If you are considering medications, at the top of the list is vitamin Вз, or niacin. Its benefits are now well established. It reduces total cholesterol levels by 15 - 20 percent, cuts triglycerides by 20 - 50 percent, and increases HDL (the good cholesterol) by 15 - 20 percent.
Niacin treatment usually begins at doses of 100 - 250 mg one to three times a day with meals and is gradually increased. Most people need one to three grams per day, split between two to three doses.
Its major side effect is an uncomfortable flushing or itching that occurs in almost everyone who takes it. These effects gradually diminish over time and can be further reduced by taking niacin with meals, using aspirin, and avoiding alcohol and hot liquids at the time you take it.
Less commonly, niacin can cause liver problems, gastritis, and gout and can aggravate diabetes. These effects are much more common at doses higher than three grams per day, and particularly when sustained - release varieties are used. Niacin should be used as an addition to a low - fat, vegetarian diet, never as a replacement for it.
