A Comparison of Cholesterol Drugs

Scientific research has discovered various cholesterol treatment alternatives and doctors have over the years recommended to patients who have undergone cholesterol screening and found out that their cholesterol levels are dangerously high to use various cholesterol drugs that are available. The market offers various drugs, namely, statins, niacin, bile acid sequestrants and fibric acid derivatives.

Statins are usually a patient’s first choice of treatment, though said to have harmful side effects they are effective in reducing cholesterol levels as well triglyceride levels. The only setback is that it reduces bile acid sequestrants whose main function is to bind the acids and extract them in the stool and therefore preventing the recycle of bile acids through the intestines and liver. If the body has few bile acids, the liver is forced to convert the cholesterol to bile acids hence increasing the levels of low density lipoproteins (LDL) which is your bad cholesterol.

Niacin, fully known as Nicotinic Acid has been used since the 1950’s as treatment for high cholesterol, it effectively reduces LDL levels and raises your high density lipoprotein levels HDL, which is your good cholesterol. It has been said that if combined with other cholesterol drugs it could reduce you cholesterol levels by 60%. But like any other drug it is not without its impediment which is liver damage and abdomen discomfort if taken in large dosage.

Fibric acid derivatives are used to lower and maintain the levels of triglycerides by reducing their production by the liver. Triglycerides are a result of excess calories converted by the liver and usually stored as fat in body tissue. When the body has excess saturated fats the liver produces cholesterol in the blood circulation. Their major setback is they do not lower your LDL levels; however, they do lower your triglyceride levels and heighten your HDL levels.

In the fight to rid your body of high cholesterol any of these treatments can be used, however it is advisable to consult a doctor on the best cholesterol supplements to use that will best suit you depending on your cholesterol ratio, although using natural remedies is the safest.

Source from : Lowering Your Cholesterol Naturally: Learn How To Get Started Lowering Your Cholesterol Naturally Today by Amy Austen