For those who need their livers there is policosanol, fiber,

HysteryDiagnosis

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Sat Aug-05-06 03:55 PM
Original message

For those who need their livers there is policosanol, fiber,

Edited on Sat Aug-05-06 04:00 PM by 4MoronicYears

chitosan, coenzyme Q10, essential fatty acids and others.... for all the rest there is Lipitor and its cousins.

Please note you will land on page two of this article....

http://www.lef.org/protocols/prtcl-032a.shtml
Benefits of Policosanol
Policosanol is a natural supplement derived from sugar cane. The main ingredient is octacosanol. Octacosanol is an alcohol found in the waxy film that plants have over their leaves and fruit. The leaves and rinds of citrus fruits contain octacosanol, as does wheat germ oil.

Policosanol has been shown to normalize cholesterol as well or better than cholesterol-lowering drugs, without side effects such as liver dysfunction and muscle atrophy (Mas et al. 1999). Efficacy and safety have been proven in numerous clinical trials, and it has been used by millions of people in other countries. Policosanol lowers harmful LDL-cholesterol and raises protective HDL-cholesterol. HDL-cholesterol removes plaque from arterial walls.

Policosanol helps stop the formation of artery lesions (Noa et al. 1995), an effect similar to that of statin drugs. This was proven in studies on rabbits fed a diet designed to create high cholesterol. According to researchers �in most policosanol-treated animals, atherosclerotic lesions were not present, and in others, thickness of fatty streaks had less foam cell layers than in controls� (Arruzazabala et al. 2000).

Policosanol also inhibits the oxidation of dangerous LDL-cholesterol (Menendez et al. 1999), which promotes the destruction of blood vessels by creating a chronic inflammatory response. Oxidized LDL can also provoke metalloproteinase enzymes. (Xu et al. 1999). These enzymes promote blood vessel destruction, partly by interfering with HDL�s protective effect. Studies show that rats treated with policosanol have fewer foam cells, reflecting less inflammatory response and blood vessel destruction (Noa et al. 1996; Lindstedt et al. 1999).

http://www.injuryboard.com/view.cfm/Topic=818
Lipitor, also known as atorvastatin, is a cholesterol lowering medication manufactured by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Lipitor belongs to the statin family of cholesterol drugs and is considered a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor.

Recently, another statin drug, Baycol, was removed from the market after causing at least 52 deaths. As a result, the safety of all statin drugs has subsequently come into question. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains that Lipitor causes considerably fewer adverse side effects than Baycol, the agency acknowledges that Lipitor does pose some risk.

All statins increase a patient's chances of developing myositis and rhabdomyolysis, potentially fatal conditions that cause muscle pain and muscle deterioration and may lead to kidney failure. According to the FDA, the chances of developing myositis or rhabdomyolysis from Lipitor are low. As such, Lipitor remains on the market. See a licensed physician if you have concerns regarding the safety of Lipitor, other statins, or any prescription drug. It should be noted that with the exception of Baycol, most doctors believe that the benefits of statin therapy outweigh the risks associated with this class of drugs.

In July 2004, the FDA approved Lipitor to help reduce the risk of heart attack. The labeling change resulted from a 19,000 patient clinical trial that revealed Lipitor reduced the risk of heart attack and heart-related death by 36 percent compared to a placebo.