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Policosanol Info

Policosanol or polycosanol as it's also known as, is a product derived from both sugar cane and rice bran. Numerous studies have been conducted confirming that it actually lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) while also raising good cholesterol (HDL). It is also much safer than statin drugs as statin drugs actually strip the body of the vital COQ10 compound essential to so many metabolic processes -- this is important to know.

Benefits of Polycosanol

In a 2002 study involving over 3,000 heart patients, the researchers concluded that policosanol is "a very promising phytochemical alternative to classic lipid-lowering agents such as statins." This is especially promising as over 30 million Americans, and even millions abroad, are using these expensive statin drugs. The savings in cost with better cholesterol dropping qualities makes this a tremendous benefit. So what are the benefits of polycosanol? Many studies confirm its cholesterol lowering capability.

Again, it lowers low-density lipins (LDL -- the bad cholesterol) and increases the good cholesterol (high density lipins). The end result? Less occurrence of heart disease such as arteriosclerosis, which can lead to strokes, high blood pressure, loss of energy, chronic fatigue, etc. You see as this substance reduces the stickiness of the blood, in other words, it's a blood thinner, it prevents cardiovascular events and disease like strokes and heart attacks.

It does this in the liver and can lower bad cholesterol by up to 20% and increase the good cholesterol up to 10%. Other benefits are it staves off and helps eliminate claudication -- poor circulation in the legs that causes pain.

Policosnol - Our View

We believe polycosanol is a very powerful heart health substance. As prescription medication costs continues to be expensive with many dangerous side effects, we believe this nutrient is a fantastic alternative to statin drugs. In addition, there have been as many studies conducted on policosanol as there have been on many traditional drugs, albeit it's been out of the United States. When you embark upon a cholesterol lowering regime, there are a couple things to remember.

The more you can combine policosanol with other heart health compounds, the effectiveness of policosanol increases. Why? Substances like policosnol and gugulipid actually enhance each other's capability. Gugulipid, for example, helps to lower triglyceride levels (basically fatty acids). For heart health, ideally you want to lower your bad cholesterol, raise your good cholesterol, and lower your triglyeride levels. That is now possible without the harmful side effects of statin drugs.

Precautions & Guidelines

As always, pregnant and/or nursing mothers shouldn't take polycosanol without discussing it with their doctor. Generally speaking, it is always wise to talk to your physician before embarking on any supplementation as some supplements have tremendous potency and could interact with a prescription medication like warfarin, ibuprofen, or even aspirin (remember, policosanol is a blood thinner as is aspirin).

All in all, it is a very safe substance and side effect incidents are very remote. It is, however, theoretically possible for people allergic to bee stings or who have some kind of food sensitivity to sugar cane to have a side effect. Some side effects are, upset stomach, rashes, migraines, and nose and gum bleeding.

Choosing A Polycosanol Supplement

Unfortunately, dietary supplement fraud is rampant. Some manufacturers actually produce supplements that don't even have the proclaimed ingredients on the label. Not only that, 1 in 5 supplements actually have contaminants. To be safe, when choosing a policosanol supplement, I suggest the following.
  • Make sure the supplement was produced at pharmaceutical GMP compliant facilities. This ensures the highest quality. This ensures the supplement is pharmaceutical grade.
  • There are companies who say they use policosanol but are actually using octacosanol -- a lowgrade alternative. Fundamentally, don't confuse octacosanol with polycosanol! Octaconsanol doesn't come close to producing the necessary heart healthy action of high grade policosanol.
  • Make sure your polycosanol supplement is derived from sugar cane wax. Many companies deliberately use octacosanol as it's cheaper than high grade polycosanol, 20 times cheaper.

Policosanol Supplement Recommendation

After extensive research and clinical study, one company developed a breakthrough product, Cholesterol Formula, that has policosanol from sugar cane and from rice bran, gugulipid, and other heart-specific ingredients.

My colleagues been taking Cholesterol Formula for over a year with wonderful results.

I hope this policosanol web page has been useful to you.

Yours in health, hope, and harmony,
Nutritional-Supplement-Bible.com