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Editorial Review: 2001 UPDATE: PAUL HARVEY STILL LIKES THIS BOOK! On his 2/14/01 newscasts, Paul Harvey again referred to CHOLESTEROL CONTROL WITHOUT DIET! THE NIACIN SOLUTION. He cited a recent report at the American Heart Association annual meeting in which a combination of niacin and simvastatin (Zocor) reduced heart attacks and other coronary events by 70% in a 3-year study of persons who already had coronary disease. Then he asked his listeners not to say that Paul Harvey said they didn't have to diet and should take niacin, but he told them to have their doctors watch the New England Journal of Medicine later this year for the report.
He went on to say, "Meanwhile, YOU can read about the cholesterol matter in a book by Dr. William B. Parsons Jr." At this point he DID NOT give the book's title, sending listeners to their bookstores or to AMAZON.COM with just the author's name. He was right in saying that the book is readable by the general public and gives its readers a handle on the choles...
Customer Reviews:
0 of 0 found this review helpful:
Incomplete Information, 2008-03-12
Dr. Parsons has written a book that is valuable to consumers and healthcare providers for many reasons. One of the main strengths of the book is a debunking of the myth, perpetuated by "Big Pharma", that statins are the best agents to reduce cholesterol, when niacin clearly wins the cholesterol-control battle for the entire lipid profile, hands down. Parsons does a good job pointing out flaws in the statin studies and also exposing the huge financial role Big Pharma plays in pushing statins. The main problem with statins, which many MDs as well as the general public still do not understand, is they don't do much for several important lipid parameters faced by a huge majority of the population these days, which are elevated triglycerides and low HDL ("good") cholesterol, along with small-particle LDL. Fact is, statins do not tackle these parameters well- they are only moderately successful lowering high triglycerides, and are almost worthless raising HDL. Niacin, on the other hand, tackles these lipid factors head-on, and remarkably well. Of course, you'll never learn this from your statin companies, because niacin is a common vitamin and cannot be patented for huge profits like statin drugs can. Hence, the relative obscurity of promoting niacin's clinical superiority in the popular medical ads...
But never count out Big Pharma. Aware that niacin is clinically superior as an HDL-raising (and all-around lipid improvement) agent, they have been very busy exploring ways to make money off of niacin. One way, obviously, is to pair niacin with one of the patented statins, which boosts profits. And indeed this is what happened with Advicor(tm) and other niacin-statin combinations. So now, to get around the inferiority of statins doing the job right, statins are paired with niacin and drug companies can claim much better results. Another strategy for drug companies to boost profits is to add something else to niacin that CAN be patented. Niacin manufacturers have long wanted an agent that reduces the so-called "niacin flush", and research has gone into possible anti-flushing compounds that could be added to the niacin and thus become a proprietary combination that could- you guessed it- once again be patented for mega bucks. For example, look for Merck's new "Cordaptive"(tm), a niacin/laropiprant combination, to be available soon. But once again, there are common supplements, at a much lower price, that could be used instead. For anti-flushing, check out recent research on flavonoids such as quercetin and luteolin.
So, why only my 3-star rating (actually, I give it 3.5 stars)? For one thing, Dr. Parsons seems to share the "old-school" medical view that cholesterol itself is the main target for heart health, whereas recent research implicates more fundamental root problems, which concern one's endothelial health in general. In short, there is a growing recognition that low-grade inflammation, often linked with high-processed-carb,low-fat diets and resulting insulin resistance, produces free radicals that cause a lot of damaging effects throughout the body. Cholesterol production is not a villian; in fact, cholesterol is vital to many bodily functions. When cholesterol goes haywire, such as LDL fractions shooting upward, it is indicative of a more basic problem, and cholesterol, far from being the bad guy, is actually the body's attempt to RESPOND to the problem. Parsons' breakdown into "good" vs. "bad" cholesterol, and his niacin solution to both these parameters, is vastly simplistic. Researchers moving in the direction of inflammation control, reduction of free radicals, improvement of general endothelial health, optimizing nitric oxide production (supplemental arginine, etc.), promoting reduction of damaging carbohydrates in the diet, etc., are focusing on a much larger, more fundamental, picture than Parsons is. Niacin is great, but the public should be concerned about the larger picture, which is how to clean up one's diet, get more active physically, and maximize one's endothelial health with appropriate supplements and other measures. Parsons' book does not, unfortunately, address any of these issues adequately.
0 of 2 found this review helpful:
cholesterol , 2007-09-28
Not a bad book at all. Pretty good one to learn about cholesterol etc..
BUT one must go to a dr. and be under a drs supervision for niacin . It is not good to take OTC niacin without a drs consult > This is all stated in the book of course..
SOme folks could do the prescription niacin well , others might not be able to. Check with your dr.
0 of 2 found this review helpful:
Couldn't finish it, 2007-09-07
I started this book but simply couldn't continue. The author spends most of his time telling us how wonderful he is for having discovered this mode of treating high cholesterol. The actual content is worth only a magazine article worth of space. If you need this treatment, go to a doctor and have him explain to you how to take the niacin and what the side effects will be -- you can't use the treatment except under a doctor's supervision anyhow. The book is a waste of money.
2 of 2 found this review helpful:
You Need To Read This!, 2007-08-26
I can tell you everything stated in this book is true! The lab tests proved it to me! Statins could not do this, and only irritated my liver. I pretty much ate what I wanted, and in only 3 months, my cholesterol dropped from 160 to 91, and triglycerides were almost cut in half! To be fair, I also used red yeast rice supplements, and omega 3 oil, but I can tell you Dr. Parson's knows what he is talking about, and I recommend all physician's read this book as well!
9 of 13 found this review helpful:
An excellent read, sound advice, though studies are lacking, 2005-08-08
The one big reason why we use statins in daily clinical practice is not for the cholesterol lowering ability, but for the dramatic reductions shown in cardiovascular morbidity (disease occurence) and mortality (death). The Coronary Drug Project (1966-1975) was a randomized controlled trial that enrolled men between the ages of 30 and 65 who had already had one or more heartattacks, and randomized them to receive either niacin or placebo. Despite the impressive numbers that Dr. Parsons cites in his book, there were some significant drawbacks. The study did not enroll women or men of non-caucasian backgrounds, nor did it show impressive mortality benefit until about 6 or 7 years AFTER starting the drug. Statins have shown a role in both prevention of the first MI and prevention of recurrence, and separates from placebo at a much faster rate than Niacin did in its study.
To be fair to niacin, it does remarkable things for the HDL which is the good cholesterol. I have not had success with it in the past because I was probably dosing people wrong (too little, and all at once. His book suggests using higher doses and splitting the dose with meals), but I do have a fair share of patients who are quite leery of statins due to the press they have received with things such as memory loss, muscle aches, liver failure, etc. A recent study shows that niacin in addition to statins reduces risk further than a statin alone, but I have not seen head to head studies with niacin and statins. Although I do not do inpatient medicine, I know that people who are discharged with an MI from the hospital are put on statins. There is strong evidence to back up use of statins in patients with a prior MI, much more so than niacin. I believe that if you are relatively young, have a bad family history, and have other risk factors for heart disease (obesity, smoking) then niacin may be a good alternative. However, for people who are diabetic or who have already had an MI or a stroke, the rapid onset of protection with statins is much preferred. As always, talk with your doctor to see if niacin is right for you (ha ha, sounded like a commercial there).
