Cancer Articles (Dr. S.N White)

What are fibrates?  Another class of drugs is called fibrates, and the one most commonly used in the United States has been gemfibrozil. Fenofibrate is another fibrate that has just begun to be used here. Physicians use these two drugs to help lower triglycerides, and fenofibrate also is effective in lowering LDL. Physicians tend to prescribe fibrates for people with high triglycerides as the first line of treatment, although, as we’ve already said, niacin will also lower triglycerides. It’s important to note that the natural way of lowering triglycerides is to use only a moderate amount of alcohol, exercise regularly, stay close to your ideal weight, and eat a diet rich in vegetables and grains and other foods that are very low in sugar. Replacing some breads, potatoes, rice, and com with soy, seeds, nuts, avocado, and olive oil may aid in lowering triglycerides. This involves a partial replacement of carbohydrate rich foods with so-called good fats.

Niacin is nicotinic acid, one of the B vitamins. It’s found in many foods, especially whole grains and milk products. As a vitamin, you need only about 15 milligrams of niacin a day. However, when used to lower cholesterol niacin is used in what are called pharmacological levels rather than in vitamin amounts. One positive side to niacin is that it’s the least expensive of all cholesterol lowering medications available, although the drug does have a high rate of side effects. The pharmacological levels can range from a few hundred up to 6,000 milligrams per day. If you take 100 milligrams, the only side effect you may experience is some flushing and warmth for a few minutes (this dosage is too low to lower blood cholesterol). When you are taking 1,000 to 6,000 milligrams a day, the rate of side effects is very high. The minimum dose for any real effect on cholesterol is about 1,000 milligrams. One usually starts with 100 milligrams (or a few hundred milligrams), slowly increasing t...