Hey guys -
I take 2g of Niacin (flush!) daily. Just got my blood test results back and my cholesterol (HDL, LDL), glucose, etc numbers are through the roof amazing, magnitudes of order better than anything before. Yay! The primary reason I take niacin is that, I'm at high risk for heart disease and it seems to be one of the safest ways to significantly reduce my risk; furthermore, I take 2g daily because it seems like this is the largest recommended amount that doesn't risk serious side effects.
However: my uric acid level is now 9.8 mg/dl while they say the normal level is 3.4 to 7. I have been researching this and apparently this puts me at major risk for gout; and it also seems likely that this was caused by the niacin (the Interwebs indicate that niacin increases uric acid levels and the chance of getting gout).
I'm wondering if anyone has any data or analysis as to the benefits of niacin (lower chance of developing heart disease?) vs the negatives (chance of developing gout) - or any other analysis or information about how to balance these two, or how I should change my regimen in response to this data.
Thank you!
morgan