What impact does niacin have on cholesterol?

Triglycerides and cholesterol are different types of fats, also called lipids, that are found in the blood. Together, they make up your total blood cholesterol level, which affects heart health.

Niacin can lower triglycerides by 25% and raise HDL cholesterol by more than 30%.

Triglyceride levels over 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or 1.7 millimoles per liter (mmol/L) have been associated with a higher risk of heart disease.

The risk of heart disease is also increased in men who have HDL cholesterol levels below 40 mg/dL (1.0 mmol/L) and in women who have HDL cholesterol levels below 50 mg/dL (1.3 mmol/L).

There's currently some debate about the exact role HDL cholesterol plays in the body and in the development of heart disease. But HDL cholesterol has generally been thought to pick up excess bad cholesterol in the blood and take it to the liver for disposal, which is why HDL cholesterol is dubbed the good cholesterol.

Despite niacin's ability to lower triglycerides and raise HDL cholesterol, research suggests that niacin therapy isn't linked to lower rates of death, heart attack or stroke in most people.