These Policosanol Cholesterol Lowering Supplements Beat
Zocor, Lipitor and Crestor! 

I'm frequently asked why doctors automatically choose statin drugs with their debilitating side effects rather than use policosanol cholesterol lowering supplements.

The physician who is up to speed on natural remedies to lower cholesterol is rarer than a do-do bird. Most doctors know little about the policosanol cholesterol lowering supplements as an option to Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor and Vytorin.

Marcia Angell, former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine and author of "The Truth About the Drug Companies" gives us some revealing clues why doctors choose to write a prescription for a statin drug rather than choose policosanol cholesterol supplements.

• The makers of Lipitor and Zocor alone spent $150 million on advertising in the year 2000 alone.

• The pharmaceutical giants employed 88,000 sales representatives in 2001 to "visit" doctors, promote their products and provide them with free samples. That comes out to one drug rep for every 6 practicing physicians!

• Medical protocol dictates that statin drugs are automatically prescribed as the "standard of care" regardless of the need.

• Physicians have never studied the research. Click here for a comprehensive Policosanol Cholesterol Research Report that can be printed and provided to your physician.

Can policosanol cholesterol  supplements and plant sterols lower cholesterol better than Lipitor, Zocor or Crestor without side effects? You bet!

Dr. Michael Murray ND, author of Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine says this about policosanol:

Here's what Edith says about policosanol cholesterol lowering supplements.

"My cholesterol was 397 and my doctor wanted to put me on Lipitor but I was afraid of the side effects. Gene gave me the research information on policosanol for my doctor to review and although he was somewhat skeptical he gave me the go ahead to give it a try.

Policosanol Clinical Trials Reported In New Media 6/6/02
Policosanol shown to be more effective than Zocor and other statin drugs.

"In a six-month study, 10 mg per day of Policosanol reduced total cholesterol by 16% and LDL cholesterol by 24%, and increased HDL cholesterol by 29%."

Several other studies have compared Policosanol with some of the conventional medications used for lowering cholesterol and the results have shown that of 5 to 20 mg per day to be more effective than Lovastatin (Mevacor®), pravastatin (Pravachol®)and Simvastatin (Zocor®), with minimum side effects.

Additional Benefits of Policosanol

• Policosanol and plant sterols inhibit the oxidation of dangerous LDL-cholesterol. New studies show that oxidation and inflammation are more important contributors to artery clogging than just high LDLs alone.

• Lowers the damaging LDL cholesterol, which  can cling to the artery walls when oxidized. At a daily dosage of 20 mg, LDL cholesterol levels typically drop by 25-30% during the first 8-12 weeks.

• It increases protective HDL cholesterol levels. Most statin drugs do NOT improve HDLs. HDL cholesterol levels typically increase by 15 to 25% after only two months of use.

• Doesn’t interfere with sex life as statins often do.

• Lowers Lp(a) cholesterol. Many researchers say this is the "baddest" form of cholesterol.

• Reduces platelet aggregation (stickiness) which lowers risk of arterial blood clots which cause heart attacks and stroke.

Policosanol Safety and Side Effects
In clinical trials of nearly 30,000 persons policosanol derived from sugar cane has been proven to be safe and has no significant side effects.

• Numerous clinical trails show that elderly persons, diabetics and those with liver damage can safely take this cholesterol supplement.

• Studies show that this all natural product made from sugar cane  DOES NOT affect blood thinning and there is no interaction between policosanol and blood-thinning medication such as warfarin.

• In short and long-term clinical studies, it has been simultaneously used a wide variety of common prescription drugs with no significant adverse effects.

Cautions
It is a good idea to have your cholesterol checked after 8-12 weeks of use and reduce your dosage if it causes your cholesterol to drop below 150 mg/dL.

Many doctors fail to tell you that your risk of stroke increases if your cholesterol becomes too low.

Pregnant or nursing women should not take policosanol without consulting with a health care professional.

Summary
The benefits of policosanol  are well documented by numerous studies and come with recommendations from recognized authorities such as Dr. Michael Murray and The American Heart Association.

Unlike statin drugs such as Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor, side effects are rare and minimal.

There are some very good reasons why I use and recommend policosanol cholesterol supplements from Vital Life Nutritionals.