Heart disease remains the No. 1 killer of adults in the United States, and your cholesterol levels play a big role in your heart health.
For many people, especially those who didn’t hit the genetic jackpot, a heart-healthy diet, regular exercise, quality sleep and managing stress may not be enough for their cardiovascular health and to control their cholesterol. If you’re one of those individuals, you’re not alone, and there’s help out there. Your doctor or cardiologist may prescribe a statin to help lower your “bad” cholesterol levels, and they’ve long been proven to be safe and effective for most patients who need them.
That said, there are some lifestyle adjustments you may want to make if you’re taking a statin. That includes potentially changing up your diet and whatever supplements you may be taking to stay healthy, because there are some that do more harm than good. In fact, there is one specific vitamin supplement that you’ll want to avoid if you’re taking a statin, because not only will it not improve your heart health, but it may interact poorly with your cholesterol medication and potentially even cause organ damage.
Find out what supplement cardiologists are urging you to stop taking if you’re taking cholesterol medications and why.
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What Supplement Should You Avoid if You’re on a Statin?
Niacin, or vitamin B3, is the one supplement you’ll want to skip if you’re taking a statin for your cholesterol levels. And here’s the thing—we absolutely get why you’d want to try using it, because niacin can lower triglycerides and is often used to control blood lipids. However, if you’re using a statin, niacin won’t improve anything, and cardiologists typically only recommend prescription niacin for patients who can’t take statins.
“Routine niacin supplementation is not recommended in people taking statins,” board-certified cardiologist Dr. Kevin S. Shah, MD, FACC, FHFSA, board-certified cardiologist, tells Parade. “Earlier studies suggested niacin could improve cholesterol numbers, but large clinical trials found that adding niacin to statin therapy did not meaningfully reduce heart attacks or strokes for most patients.”
Related: Cardiologists Are Begging People To Stop Ignoring This Important Cholesterol Number
“Taking niacin supplements (especially higher doses of more than one gram per day) while on statins poses a serious risk of muscle injury (myopathy and rhabdomyolysis) and liver toxicity,” adds board-certified cardiologist Dr. David Rhee, MD. “We’ve known this for the past decade, and the data consistently shows that adding niacin to statin therapy provides no additional cardiac benefit.”
“Niacin can also lead to side effects such as flushing,” Dr. Shah adds.
(We should note that the flushing of the skin that sometimes comes with niacin intake isn’t actually harmful, but many people can find it annoying!)
Related: This Popular Drink Could Be Clogging Your Arteries, a Cardiologist Warns
Can You Safely Consume This Nutrient at All if You’re Taking a Statin for Cholesterol?
While taking niacin supplements isn’t advised for people on some cholesterol drugs, it doesn’t mean you have to avoid niacin entirely—just get it from your food instead of a caplet.
“Most people should simply get niacin through a healthy, balanced diet, since it is naturally found in foods,” Dr. Shah advises. “Prescription-strength niacin should only be used when there is a specific medical indication and under close medical supervision, particularly for patients already taking a statin.”
Dr. Rhee agrees. “Ditch the niacin supplements and keep things simple,” he says. “The amount of niacin in food is insignificant and poses no risk.”
Bananas, eggs, lean beef, chicken, legumes (especially black beans, chickpeas, edamame, kidney beans, lentils, peas and peanuts), liver, salmon and tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts) are all healthy, safe sources of niacin that won’t interact your meds.
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Sources
Dr. David Rhee, MD, Manhattan Cardiology in New York City and contributor to LabFinder. Dr. Kevin S. Shah, MD, FACC, FHFSA, board-certified cardiologist and program director of Heart Failure Outreach at MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Long Beach Medical Center in Long Beach, Calif.Hence then, the article about cardiologists are begging people to stop pairing this common supplement with statins was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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