Using Policosanol to Bring Cholesterol Down
Since heart disease is one of the biggest killers in developed countries, and high cholesterol is one of the biggest risk factors for heart disease, more and more people are becoming concerned with their cholesterol levels. More than a million people die each year in the United States each year from heart disease related problems alone.
Approximately half of all Americans have high cholesterol, one of the primary indicators of risk for heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. However, many of these same people do not realize that they have a problem. High cholesterol does not have any symptoms, so often a problem is not discovered until that person suffers from a heart attack.
For most people, a healthy diet and plenty of exercise is enough to keep their cholesterol within normal, healthy limits. Other people may have to take it a bit further and use a supplement to help control the level of their cholesterol.
Understanding cholesterol
In order to understand how supplementation may benefit you, it is helpful to know what cholesterol is. Basically, it is a type of fat that our bodies make naturally. Your liver makes it from the foods that you eat to be used by the body for different functions. You can also have cholesterol in your body from what you eat. Foods that are high in fats, particularly animal products like meat and dairy, tend to also be high in cholesterol. While you do need a certain amount of cholesterol for your body to function properly, having too much puts you at risk for health problems.
There are actually two main types of cholesterol, which can make understanding cholesterol a little confusing. HDL cholesterol is transmitted by high-density lipoproteins and is known as the “good” cholesterol because it helps your body fight heart disease. The other type, LDL cholesterol, is transmitted by low-density lipoproteins and is considered the “bad” cholesterol because it contributes to heart disease.
The reason LDL cholesterol is considered to be so bad is because it has a tendency to line the walls of the arteries. This can cause the arteries to narrow or become blocked, which in turn causes heart attacks and strokes. On the other hand, HDL cholesterol moves away from the heart and into the liver where it can be broken down and eliminated. If your HDL cholesterol levels become too low, your heart disease risk actually goes up.
Using Policosanol
This may leave you wondering how policosanol can help you with your high cholesterol problem. Policosanol is made from sugar cane and beeswax. It can help your cholesterol levels by raising the amount of good, or HDL, cholesterol and lowering the amounts of bad, or LDL, cholesterol.
How it works is by assisting the liver with the amount of cholesterol that is produced and broken down there. It can also help keep LDL cholesterol from becoming oxidized. Some studies suggest that taking policosanol is just as effective as taking pharmaceutical drugs, and often has fewer side effects. You can talk to your doctor about whether or not supplementing with policosanol will help you.
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