Natural Ways to Reduce Cholesterol and How to Increase HDL Naturally.

Comparison of policosanol to plant sterols:

A meta-analysis concluded that policosanol, a natural extract of plant waxes, is a promising alternative to standard lipid-lowering agents for those suffering from high cholesterol. The researchers limited their analysis to randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials (23 plant sterol/stanol trials and 29 policosanol trials). The results showed that both plant sterol/stanol and policosanol had beneficial effects on blood lipid levels, but on the whole, policosanol was significantly better. Compared to plant sterol/stanol treatment (3.4 g/day), policosanol treatment (12 mg/day) caused larger decreases in total cholesterol (-16% vs. –8%), LDL cholesterol (-24% vs. –11%), triglycerides ( 12% vs. +4%) and LDL:HDL ratio (-33% vs. -12%) and resulted in a larger increase in HDL cholesterol (+11% vs. 0%). Plant sterols/stanols and policosanol were both well tolerated with hardly any adverse side effects. (105)