Darrell Miller asked:


Policosanol (or polycosanol) is the generic term for a natural extract of plant waxes. It is a mixture of a few fatty alcohols derived from the waxes of such plants as sugar cane and yams, as well as beeswax. Policosanol has been associated with improved coronary artery health. Policosanol contains several long chain fatty alcohols, including octacosanol, hexacosanol and triacontanol which are suspected support good cholesterol levels. Some studies also showed how it lowered triglyceride levels by as much as 12 percent.

Policosanol is thought to improve lipid profiles by reducing hepatic cholesterol biosynthesis while enhancing bad cholesterol (LDL) clearance. Policosanol is considered a dietary supplement in the US and it inhibits cholesterol’s synthesis at the earliest steps of cholesterol’s production process. Policosanol has been studied extensively for the past 10 years, and several human studies have been published in medical journals in North America and throughout the world. The research has been mixed with some studies claiming a lowering of cholesterol while others have not shown much benefit from policosanol supplements. After 5 weeks on step one cholesterol-lowering diet, 129 patients were randomized to policosanol 5 mg or placebo tablets taken once daily with the evening meal for 3 years to see if it lowered cholesterol levels. While performing this clinical study, it has been shown to be safe and effective at reducing bad cholesterol without any harmful side effects.

A small amount of cholesterol is needed by the body; too much cholesterol can lead to coronary disease ultimately resulting in heart attack or stroke. Cholesterol is a fat-related substance necessary for good health. If you’re thinking about taking a cholesterol-lowering supplement, check with your doctor. If your doctor prescribes medication to reduce your cholesterol, take it as directed while you continue to focus on a healthy lifestyle. . Eating small frequent meals, along with cold water fish, lots of vegetables, whole grains, beans, and peas, is helpful in lowering cholesterol levels as well. Few natural products have been proved to reduce cholesterol and policosanol is one of them.

Good Cholesterol (HDL) actually helps carry LDL away from the arteries to the liver, where it is processed and excreted from the body. The level of LDL in a person’s blood is linked to atherosclerosis (narrowing of the blood vessels due to build up of lipids, sometimes known as “hardening of the arteries”). Having a high level of LDL cholesterol puts a person at risk of having coronary heart disease. Previous studies suggested that policosanol reduced total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol.

In conclusion, policosanol is believed to help maintain normal cholesterol production in the liver, and to promote normal LDL-cholesterol uptake by the body’s tissues. In the body, excess calories, alcohol, and sugar are converted to a type of fat called triglycerides which policosanol can also lower. Also, some research suggests that coQ10 levels in the body may be lowered by compounds that work on the same metabolic pathway as policosanol. So if you are looking to lower cholesterol naturally you might consider policosanol as well as other supplements such as, niacin, garlic, guggul, psyllium and red yeast rice.

James Brunton asked:


If you are over 40 years old and go to the doctor for any reason, it’s more than likely that you will get your cholesterol level tested whilst you are there. That’s because there is a groundswell of conventional medical thinking that everyone with blood cholesterol above a certain level simply must begin taking a drug to get the level down.

More often than not, you’ll be offered a statin drug to take. That might seem a reasonable thing to do since you’ve been told that raised blood cholesterol is the marker that shows you have a high risk of heart disease or worse.

Now, it is true to say that high cholesterol does increase the risk of problems later on, but it is not the only one. It is also true to say that many people suffering from heart disease do not have high cholesterol.

The statin drugs, such as atorvastatin, simvastatin and rosuvastatin are among the most widely used and profitable drugs of today. You are meant to take them for the rest of your life, once you start.

The manufacturers claim they have few serious side effects, but some scientists and doctors dispute that. They say many people suffer untoward problems but simply don’t put them down to the statin they are taking. And there are some side effects that are completely unrelated to the actions of the drugs.

And, the important point I am trying to make is that, before you go down the statin route, there are other ways to get your cholesterol down. You don’t need to start down that path before you look at possible alternatives. And most of them do not involve drugs at all.

Relatively simple things such as changing your diet and taking a bit more exercise does it, if you work at it. And there are some things of natural origins that can help as well. They aren’t drugs, but research has shown they lower cholesterol.

One of the ways of lowering blood cholesterol without drugs, is Policosanol, a mixture of fatty alcohols.

It’s made from sugar cane, yams or beeswax, and works by stopping your body making cholesterol. In other words, it works at source, rather than preventing you from absorbing cholesterol from food.

Research carried out mainly by workers in Cuba, shows that it could lower LDL (bad) cholesterol by as much as 25%. It does this without causing much in the way of side effects.

Some of the trials have been long-term and reinforce the findings that it is safe and effective – an important consideration if you had to take it for the rest of your life.

The fact that cholesterol-lowering drugs are taken for life is a major consideration when you look at the side effects of the prescription drugs such as the statins. They put many people off once they read the list of side effects, or find out for themselves.

Something natural that has few side effects while still lowering cholesterol is bound to be preferable. Policosanol has a few possible problems associated with it, such as frequent urination and weight loss. And rarely it might cause insomnia, headache, rashes, and stomach upset. These are minor and none of them comes anywhere close to the serious side effects that are attributed to the statins.

Anyway, a new study reports it may not be so affective as first thought. But this work only used 145 people over 12 weeks. Even then, LDL cholesterol was lowered by around 10%.

You can argue that this study didn’t prove very much. It had too few subject over too short a time to give proper results. And, was it independent or paid for by a drug company?

You have to wonder if conventional medicine is trying to get its retaliation in first. That is, before the word gets out that policosanol might be better than some expensive and profit making drug from the pharmaceutical giants.

Policosanol has shown its effectiveness for some time now, and it is one of the few natural products that you can get to help you lower cholesterol. Perhaps we need more research, properly funded to find out policosanol’s profile once-and-for-all.

Or would the drug companies be trying to squeeze it out of the market to get more room for its own over hyped statins?

Janet Sommers asked:


Diet to lower cholesterol has been carefully studied. As we all know, cholesterol is defined as a fatlike compound that is found in our body. Cholesterol is known to be the major cause of blocking arteries and is the chief contributor to heart disease, heart problems and stroke. Though we know that cholesterol, the good cholesterol or High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) they called it, is needed in our body, it is a vital components in our cell membrane, in building hormones and vitamin d among all other body functions. However our main concern in general is how to lower these bad cholesterols that causes harmful effects in our body.

We also want to site information on the right diets to lower cholesterol naturally and safely. To lower cholesterol naturally and safely is to maintain healthy lifestyle. There is no natural and safer way to do it but to watch our diet, the food that we eat. How? Our cholesterol can be lowered by replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat. Saturated fats are mostly found in meats and poultry. This has to be avoided or else cholesterol will shoot up. There is also no other option but to hold back the intake of refined carbohydrates found in bakery products, pastas, and sugar-added foods. Why? It is because it is believed to have hydrogenated fats. Prepared foods are no exemption also. We will not only talk about the foods to avoid so you can lower down your cholesterol but prevention is better than curing what we have gotten into from not being conscious and cautious of the food that we eat. What I mean, if you have high cholesterol, cure and treat it. But if you are not experiencing heart problems and other high cholesterol related problem, better still prevent it from happening by being mindful of what we eat.

As general rule, eating healthy will never go wrong. Watching your diet is a key. There are common foods that are low in cholesterol or can help fight bad cholesterol such as oatmeal, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage to name a few. In addition, instead of taking dairy milk, you may change it to Soya milk since it is cholesterol free. Mackerel, salmon and tuna are rich in omega 3 that fights bad cholesterol and protect the heart. True that there is maybe a handful of food that can lower your cholesterol but that is not it. It is not that simple as humming your favorite song, diet is work and it does not end in controlling or minimizing or avoiding foods that you eat. It has to be accompanied by the right attitude and the proper exercise to make it work. Exercise helps fight the build up of cholesterol in the body. Patients in severe case have to see their doctors for proper treatment and medications. Some conditions need medical interference already since having high cholesterol is a serious health concern that could not be set aside or taken lightly. I wish you the best of luck!