I understand what you are saying sunnibel but the point was never "good enough". It was relevance to this forum. And any member is free to express comments on inappropriate use of the forums at any time. The forum focus is well defined: This forum is for the discussion of issues involved in the growing of vegetables--choosing varieties, methods of planting, maintaining plants, etc. The focus here is growing vegetables, vegetable gardening. It isn't a health forum, it isn't a healthy eating forum, it isn't a natural health food website or a medical forum. Those exist in great numbers but this isn't one of them. So since you clearly share this individuals interest in these topics, why not go discuss those issues on those forums where it is appropriate rather than here? Not only do relevant topic discussions get bumped off the forum with each of these posts but someone new to the forum looks at the front page and sees all these posts on controlling your cholesterol, diabetes, and lowering your blood pressure, etc. rather than posts about vegetable gardening. And if quality and accuracy of of the linked websites posted, as Flora mentioned, isn't relevant, then what is? Dave

I've used the parafin based niacin; I think it's also called nicotinic acid. The therapeutic effect takes place between 1500mg to 3000mg/day. With me, 2500mg works. I use the Enduracin product. Must take it with food. I take 1000 @ breakfast, 1000@lunch & 500@ dinner. I had to build up to it: 250 1st wk, 500 2nd & 3rd wk, 1000 2nd month, etc. The oatbran book by Kowalski mentioned it and that's how I learned of it. Been on it since the early 1980's. The great thing about it is it raises the HDL (good chol), reverses blockages & lowers total chol & the bad LDL. Diet does not solve the problem, because with most of us, our body produces it no matter what we eat. I was disappointed in first 6 months: my chol. dramatically increased....but that was because the chol was being released from the tissues into the bloodstream, for destruction by the liver. I think the niacin uses up the bile, and the liver pulls in cholesterol to make more bile. Not sure why it works. When started, my total chol was over 400, the HDL was 11, and LDL was up off the charts. After 9 months, and to the present time, my tot chol is 104, HDL 50+ & LDL less than 40. It's a nuissance, but it works. REMEMBER, regular blood tests & consult with your MD.

I also have HP and statin drugs were prescribed but, I exhibit side effects pretty quickly with a lot of drugs and did so with Lipitor. I stopped them and went the diet route to help lower my cholesterol. Several months later I was discussing this with a friend and she told me about the red yeast rice and how much it helped her. She gave me a website and I ordered some. I guess I took the recommended dose for a week or so before side effects kicked in and I had to stop. I then went online to research it a little more and discovered that RYR has a naturally occuring statin which has recently caused the FDA to place it in the controlled substance group. This friend had told me that her original supplier no longer carried it but she found it on another website. I don't know if the new website was selling the same product (with statins) or one where the statins had been removed. I just know that I could not take it because of the side effects. She had no problems though and said that the new source product worked just as well as the old one and continued to lower her cholesterol. I just know that if I take it I end up with every bone in my body hurting the same as if I take Lipitor. All I can say is, give it a try. Get your cholesterol monitored before starting and then again after being on it for awhile and see if it helps. As I said, she swears by it and I wish it worked as well for me as it seems to work for her.

I have an alternative diet too and my numbers are amazing! I eat a lot of fats too (olive oil, walnut oil, avocadoes, egg yolks, meats, nuts) but no processed fat foods ever. I will have a dessert though and eat chocolate (85% dark). Sorry, my numbers are different in Canada. Chol - 3.81 HDL - 2.06 LDL - 1.55 Chol/HDL ration - 1.8 Before when I used to eat low fat (standard diet) I felt horrible! Harvard created their own pyramid and I would trust that one over the SAD one. My weight hasn't changed ever so it's not from losing weight either. I always kept my weight at a healthy one. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/pyramid/