Policosanol: it raises cane against heart disease, and more.(supplements and functional foods)

The critics agree: Policosanol is a compound that has the potential to lower the risk of heart disease. It is believed to affect several aspects of heart health, including cholesterol, obesity and platelet aggregation, according to a report published in the November 2003 Nutrition Reviews. The authors also commented on the fact that policosanol is as effective against high cholesterol as statin drugs.

In addition to lowering cholesterol, policosanol may combat obesity according to a Cuban trial published in 2004 in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The researchers noted significant reductions in LDL, "bad" cholesterol, (31.1 percent) and total cholesterol (20.1 percent), as well as increases in HDL, "good" cholesterol, (24.6 percent) after 3 years of treatment. They also noted moderate weight reductions over the course of the study.

Another effect of policosanol is its ability to reduce platelet aggregation, or the clumping of platelets that lead to blood clots. Researchers at the National Center for Scientific Research Cubanacan in Havana noted that policosanol has anti-platelet effects in both healthy subjects and those with abnormal concentrations of lipids in their blood, which they explain in the October 2002 Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology.

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