I take 500mg of niacin daily to reduce liver fat and keep tg nice and low. I had a washout period and retested tg and it went up then took another test after daily 500mg niacin and TG dropped back down with tg/hdl ratio of less than 2 which is the threshold for metabolic syndrome. I am convinced niacin helps with the lipid disregulation induced by rapamycin. Also apparently reduces apo-b according to this paper. Peter Attia stated that everyone should aim for 5th percentile apo-b if one is to win the centenarian olympics which is a crazy low apo-b of around 10-20. Niacin will get you part of the way there but probably not going to get you to the 5th percentile without a statin. I am now at the 20th percentile of apo-b with 500mg niacin dose and 0 coronary calcium score. Hopefully it stays that way
Which three are safe and which brand do they recommend? I’m not a member.
The Yerba brand of psyllium has the lowest lead according to that report
I accept there is a placebo affect. I think a lot of this could be through the HPA axis which I think is not treated with enough importance.
In the end my top priority is the health of myself, my family and friends. That is my primary objective when I do my research. My patents will be published (automatically) later this year and there are people who are following some of my protocol other than friends and family.
It is not an RCT, but that does not mean there is no value from the information. However, I am entirely happy that we agree to disagree on this issue. You may rightly have more of a focus on “do no harm” than me. I accept, however, that biology is complex.
FYI, the lowest levels of lead were Yerba Prima psyllium husk followed by NOW brand and Organic India. They were below the allowed levels and safer than other brands which were not. So if you are going to get it, these three brands are probably better. I am a big NOW fan as they take their supplement production very seriously to avoid contamination.
From post 20 by rivasp12
Rapamycin and risk of cardiovascular disease - #20 by rivasp12
“See article by cardiologist Joel Kahn MD to prevent and or reverse CAD with simple combination of gotu kola with pine bark extract . Scroll to page 37:”
My Clinical Practice
I spent seven years after medical school completing my training in interventional cardiology or using catheters to treat heart disease. Much of my practice involved inserting stents to prop open coronary arteries that were occluded with atherosclerotic plaque.But three weeks into my first job, I decided there was a better, more comprehensive approach. At that time, I read a study in a respected medical
journal focusing on atherosclerosis, which often leads to heart attacks and strokes. The study reported that atherosclerosis had been reversed using lifestyle and diet changes.2 Since then, I’ve combined interventional cardiology with a search for lifestyle and supplement-based methods to stabilize and reverse plaque buildup.I was particularly impressed by a published study that reported on a combination of extracts of French > maritime pine bark and an herbal extract called Centella asiatica. When added to standard diet, exercise, and lifestyle counseling, these two plant extracts improved plaque stability and reduced size and numbers of arterial plaques. The study involved 50 patients with plaque in the carotid arteries, which supply blood to the brain, neck, and face. These patients had no history of cardiovascular events, and did not have diabetes or metabolic problems.1 Over the three-month study period, pine bark + Centella asiatica extracts reduced carotid artery plaque and lowered the number of plaques compared to a control group.
After these scientific findings were published, this pine bark-Centella extract combination became a routine part of my atherosclerosis reversal program.
The Evidence Mounts I grew more convinced of the effectiveness of this plant combination when a larger, longer-term study was published in 2017. 3 This time, 391 subjects were followed for four years. All had asymptomatic atherosclerosis of either the carotid artery or the femoral artery (which provides blood to the leg). Atherosclerotic lesions extended 50%-60% into the arteries in at least one location. Three treatment groups were formed. One was treated with extract of pine bark alone, another was treated with pine bark and Centella asiatica, and a third control group received no extracts. All groups received standard diet, exercise, and lifestyle counseling. The rate of plaque progression, measured by ultrasound, was significantly lower in both treatment groups than in the control group. The group that took the combination of the two extracts had the greatest reduction in progression of plaque thickness and length.
The extracts also had a favorable impact on cardiovascular outcomes as follows:
• The occurrence of angina, chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart, was less
than 3% in the two extract groups, compared with 6.25% in control patients.• The rate of heart attacks was significantly lower for the combination therapy.
• Events requiring hospital admission occurred in 16.4% of control subjects, 8.9% of subjects
using only French maritime pine bark extract, and just 3.3% of patients using the combination of pine bark and Centella extracts.
There is more. Just read the pdf.
There is more in that thread. But you need time. It has 1366 posts. I am only at 490.
French pine bark extract is Pycnogenol? I used to regularly take it for general health.
Oui. C’est la meme chose, according to Memorial Sloan Kettering.
To be clear, I believe in “do no net harm”, not necessarily “do no harm” - which is a rather crude statement.
For example, excessive amounts of lead are proven harmful and almost always not worth a potential small benefit.
You may, of course, have a different view of what constitutes harm and what you may consider a potential benefit that justifies a known harm with a very high personal risk tolerance.
But I think in the example I highlighted most people would consider this type of harm not worthwhile assuming one is fully informed, especially with readily available alternatives.
We can agree to disagree, but I think you should really reconsider reviewing the situation and benefit vs risks with an independent third-party.
I do talk to medics about what I am doing. Not necessarily in precise detail. However, I have not discussed changing things like the levels of Lithium I take (initially 1mg, then 5mg now 5mg three times a week) because the maths is quite straight forward and I don’t think there is research materials that can improve on what I have found).
I purchased an ApoB blood test for $16 through Life Extension today. It’s on sale right for $21 and then I used discount code “NEWFIBER” to save an additional $5
Thanks for the tip. I just ordered and it will be interesting to compare the result with an APOB test I did a couple of years before starting rapa, even though there have been other changes, so hardly a controlled experiment.
I started taking Zetia a few weeks ago so I’m interested to see the effect it has had
I’m really impressed with Zetia. My ApoB went from 98 to 64 over the last few weeks.
In general, I favor drugs over supplements as the US supplement industry is not regulated and most of the supplements sold are by Asian vendors with a US front.
what is the reason you prefer candesartan over other ARBs (such as Losartan or Temisartan) for BP and Dementia protection? Peter Diamandis is on Losartan while Bill Faloon is on temisartan.
This is interesting. What is the mechanism connecting fiber with BP?
I would speculate it is the blood sugar blood pressure connection. Regulating blood sugar and insulin will potentially regulate blood pressure.
Makes sense. I’ve heard that low fiber / highly processed foods can lead to high blood sugar over time which leads to higher AGEs which, especially in insulin resistant people, leads to hardening of arteries which shows up as higher BP. In metabolically healthy people, the AGEs can be avoided better and cleared better (less accumulation).