This supplement has very mixed reviews.
I am very hesitant to suggest it at this time. But some multivitamin manufacturers do include it in their products...
Like One-A-Day.
The problem with it, is that there are two sources..one from Cuba which was thought to be better, and other types since the embargo on Cuba made the sugarcane form impossible to get.
Now there is a question that the Cuban studies were flawed.
This article is about the best I could find on this subject:
http://altmedicine.about.com/od/poli...olicosanol.htm
Here is a 2008 study that found that policosanols were not effective:
Quote:
Lipids Health Dis. 2008 Apr 30;7:17.Click here to read Click here to read Links
Changes in cholesterol kinetics following sugar cane policosanol supplementation: a randomized control trial.
Kassis AN, Jones PJ.
School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Montréal, Quebec, H9X 3V9, Canada. amira.kassis@mail.mcgill.ca
BACKGROUND: Sugar cane policosanols (SCP) have been shown to exert cholesterol-modulating properties in various studies conducted in Cuba by substantially reducing cholesterol synthesis. Independent research examining changes in cholesterol kinetics in response to SCP is limited to few studies, none of which was able to replicate findings of the original research. Moreover, no data are available on the effect of SCP on cholesterol absorption to date. The present study was undertaken to determine effects on cholesterol kinetics, namely synthesis and absorption, within hypercholesterolemic individuals consuming a SCP treatment. Twenty-one otherwise healthy hypercholesterolemic subjects participated in a randomized double-blind crossover study where they received 10 mg/day of policosanols or a placebo incorporated in margarine as an evening snack for a period of 28 days. The last week of the study phase, subjects were given 13C labelled cholesterol and deuterated water for the measurement of cholesterol absorption and synthesis respectively. Blood was collected on the first two and last five days of the trial. Cholesterol absorption and synthesis were determined by measuring red cell cholesterol 13C and deuterium enrichment, respectively. RESULTS: There was no significant change in LDL cholesterol levels as compared to control. In addition, the area under the curve for red cell cholesterol 13C enrichment across 96 hours was not significantly different in the SCP group as compared to control. Similarly, no difference was observed in the fractional rate of cholesterol synthesis over the period of 24 hours between the two treatment groups. CONCLUSION: The findings of the present study fail to support previous research concerning efficacy and mechanism of action for policosanols.
PMID: 18447941 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
PMCID: PMC2390548
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So at this time it appears to not be a good investment for those seeking non-drug interventions.
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All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.-- Galileo Galilei
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Weezie looking at petunias 8.25.2017
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