Niacin, N-3 Fatty Acids and Insulin Resistance

Inclusion Criteria:

40 and 69 years of age Male or female (without hormonal cycling as described below) BMI > 25 Fasting serum triglycerides > 150 mg/dL Ratio of TG/HDL-C > 3.5

Exclusion Criteria:

BMIs > 40 kg/m2 TG > 750 mg/dL HDL-C < 10 mg/dL Presence of other secondary causes of dyslipidemia or hyperglycemia such as hepatic, renal, thyroid or other endocrine diseases History of hypersensitivity to niacin or fish oils History of gout, hepatitis, peptic ulcer or cardiovascular disease Presence of diabetes mellitus, whether controlled by diet or drugs. (We will eliminate subjects with undiagnosed diabetes by screening for fasting glucose > 126 mg/dL) Use of any dietary supplements providing more than 50 mg of niacin or 100 mg of n-3 FA Use of any herbal preparations or weight-loss products Taking any lipid-lowering drugs for at least four weeks prior to screening for the study Medically-required treatment with nitrates, calcium channel blockers, or adrenergic blocking agents (per the Niaspan package insert) Hemoglobin < 12 g/dL (owing to the significant amount of blood being drawn) LDL-C > 145 mg/dL. (This restriction will prevent the randomization of any subject whose LDL-C levels, if assigned to an n-3 FA group, might rise by 10% and thus exceed 160 mg/dL) Known substance abuse Participation in a clinical drug trial anytime during the 30 days prior to screening Anyone whom the investigators judge to be a poor candidate