hi all,
i believe if you can tolerate the flushing with niacin it is one of the best things you can take. teri, i'm not sure i agree that all OTC niacin's aren't OK? particularly, to those who haven't tried niacin yet, you should! they can be taken with statins, but as teri says you must carefully monitor liver functions (with blood work each 6 months). but probs are few. you can take SR niacin, which is slowrelease and helps with the flushing. also "enduracin" which is SR and is great with that.
also, to lower bad cholesterol and raise good, lots of things we used to think were bad aren't. like certain nuts (almonds, walnuts), salmon, avocados, etc. eating moderate amounts of these, with canola or olive oil and oat bran/oatmeal products can help raise the HDL. so important for all, but seems to be harder for women to accomplish that with exercise. instead of only flour, try to use half flour half oat bran. also, smart balance "spread" has phytosterols which are research proven to be a big cholesterol-building blocker. that is, if you consume phytosterols in this form (it's also available in capsules) you can even have the occasional eggs and red meat. but i'm happy with egg beaters and fish.
there is by the way some new red meat, Belgian Blue, that is EXTREMELY low in fat, you can get it online, i've done this, it's excellent. and it has much less fat than chicken, etc. it's very moist, surprisingly. i've tried their ground beef and a sirloin steak.
everyone, these kinds of fats mentioned above, in moderation, will help lower total cholesterol and LDL and raise HDL, thereby lowering your ratio, which seems to be one of the most immportant indicators of CHD and preventing AND reversing it.