Plant Sterols: The Rising Stars of Natural Cholesterol-Lowering Compounds.

OK, so your blood test showed that you have 220 total cholesterol. Your physician isn’t comfortable with that number; but before prescribing a drug, he wants to see how switching to an oatmeal breakfast regimen works out for you. Also, some cholesterol-lowering drugs may have side effects such as dizziness, nausea, yellow skin, and even muscular atrophy.  These side effects are attributed to the fact that they work in the liver to impeded cholesterol production there. The problem is, these drugs also impair other liver functions. And if that isn’t bad enough, statin drugs also deplete your body of Co-Q10, an important antioxidant that plays a vital role in energy production, especially in the heart and liver. So, you promise to eat nothing but oatmeal for breakfast for the next two months. A piece of cake. About the second week in, you’ve had enough of that mush. There’s got to be a better way. And now there is.

Almost as Effective as Drugs.
There has been a lot of publicity on the benefits of taking supplements containing sterols or stanols to lower cholesterol. These compounds are also a popular ingredient in cholesterol-lowering margarines and other food items. Similar in structure to cholesterol, plant sterols take up the space (receptor sites) where cholesterol would normally sit, reducing its absorption into the bloodstream. Cholesterol is then excreted out of the body along with the sterols. Sterols are so effective that the FDA has found that approximately .8 of a gram of these sterols eaten with meals twice a day may significantly reduce the risk for heart disease. Plus, the Mayo Clinic says, “Incorporating foods fortified with plant sterol and stanol esters into the daily diet can substantially enhance the cholesterol-lowering effect of diet, including in patients who are already taking statin drugs.”(1)

In addition to plant sterols, another ingredient shown to help lower cholesterol is Policosanol, derived from sugar cane. A study conducted at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmacal Sciences, Purdue University, Indiana, showed that Policosanol was effective in lowering LDL cholesterol. Policosanol also affected total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and triglyceride levels favorably and actually approaches the efficacy offered by drugs.(2) In a review of Policosanol appearing in the journal Medical Hypotheses, the author stated, “Policosanol has effects on serum lipids comparable to those of statins. However, unlike statins, Policosanol appears to be devoid of side effects or risks.”(3)

Numerous other studies have also shown that Policosanol helps lower total cholesterol, lower LDL, and most importantly, raise HDL profiles…without any reported side effects.

Policosanol is clearly a good cholesterol-lowering choice to make, maybe even better than eating oatmeal every day. Because of the encouraging results achieved from studies on Policosanol, more research is called for to continue to validate those results. But, supplementing with Policosanol seems to be the easy and healthy way to go as far as lowering cholesterol.

References:
1. Mayo Clin Proc. 2003 Aug;78(8):965-78.
2. Pharmacotherapy. 2005 Feb;25(2):171-83.
3. Med Hypotheses. 2005;64(3):636-45.