Lowering Cholesterol with Natural Nutrients
Lowering cholesterol without the negative side effects of
cholesterol drugs is quite possible now thanks to a new
generation of nutritional supplements that couple traditional
nutrients with the latest research to reach new levels of
effectiveness.
There are several nutrients with both solid scientific
documentation of effectiveness, and traditional "anecdotal"
evidence built up over hundreds of years of use in the
worlds oldest healing tradition.
One of these nutrients is policosanol, a natural nutrient
extracted from sugar cane, rice bran and bee's wax. This
nutrient has solid research documentation and is proven to
lower cholesterol even more effectively than statin drugs,
without negative side effects, and it does not increase
blood sugar levels.
Since cholesterol is neccessary for many important body
functions, when lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol it's critical
to maintain a balance between LDL and HDL cholesterol, which
is considered to be the "good" cholesterol.
In clinical studies policosanol has been proven to maintain
the balance between LDL and HDL, significantly decreasing
total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)
cholesterol and increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL)
cholesterol.
Policosanol vs, the statin drug Lovastatin (Mevacor)
In a study comparing Policosanol with the statin drug
Lovastatin (Mevacor) over the course of 12 weeks,
Policosanol was found to be superior at lowering LDL
cholesterol while raising HDL.
The results of the study show that policosanol reduced total
blood cholesterol by 14.2% compared to Lovastatin's 14.0%
reduction.
Policosanol also reduced LDL (bad) Cholesterol by 20.4% next
to Lovastatin's 16.8% reduction, and raised HDL (good) by
7.5% where Lovastatin showed no change.
Finally, the overall ratio of LDL to HDL reduction was 23.7%
for Policosanol and 14.8% for Lovastatin.
As you can see from these results, policosanol is one of the
safest and most effective ways to lower cholesterol without
the dangers and uncomfortable side effects of cholesterol
drugs.
But remember that these results apply only to the genuine
policosanol extracted from sugar cane wax which is produced
in Cuba.
When
considering a supplement containing policosanal you
should be aware that there are many products on the the
market that are using an incomplete form of policosanol
called octacosanol. Octacosanol will not give the results
outlined in the clinical trials mentioned.
Also, some products have come on the U.S. market claiming to
be effective at lowering cholesterol, but often these
products use policosanal manufactured from beeswax. Like
octacosanol, this form of policosanal is not supported by
research as being effective at reducing cholesterol.
Some more health issues that policosanal helps with are
thrombosis, angina pectoris, stroke, high blood presssure
and atherosclerosis.
It has also been shown in studies to be very safe. In one
such study rats were given a daily dose 2,000 times in
excess of the recommended levels with no negative effects.
Another herb used for thousands of years in the ancient
healing tradition of Ayurveda is Guggul (also called
Guggulipid). This herb has been proven in recent clinical
trials to outperform the statin drugs, with no negative side
effects.
Guggulipid is the extract of the gum resin of the Commiphora
mukul tree, which is native to India. Guggulipid is used for
lowering high cholesterol, arthritis, atherosclerosis, acne,
skin diseases, and weight loss.
As well as lowering cholesterol, other evidence suggests
guggul extracts might have anti-inflammatory activity and
may also lower lipoprotein and C-reactive protein, which are
important risk markers for heart disease.
Policosanol and Guggilipid are key to lowering
cholesterol naturally. If you have high cholesterol
you'll want to make sure that the nutritional supplement
you choose includes them.
Copyright © 2005 Max Wardlow
This article may be reproduced freely as long as the
author's resource box is included witout any changes.
Additionally, all links must be active and linkable with no
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About the Author
Max Wardlow is an independent health researcher and the webmaster of websites on natural cures and lowering cholesterol.
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