Supplements we do not advocate
By Dr Davis
You may notice that a number of supplements popularly discussed in the media are not listed here:
policosanol
red rice yeast
guggulipid
pantetheine
no-flush niacin (inositol hexaniacinate)
Our experience with these agents suggests little or no effect. Particularly disappointing was policosanol , a sugar-cane derivative that was developed and studied in Havana, Cuba . Virtually all the experimental data originates from this group of Cuban investigators, and in their reports was fabulously effective in lowering LDL, raising HDL, lowering Lp(a), and even improving blood sugars. Our experience confirmed none of these effects.
Likewise, red rice yeast (purported to reduce LDL cholesterol with less muscle and liver side-effects than prescribed statin drugs) and no-flush niacin in our experience yields no measurable effect whatsoever. Pantetheine, a derivative of vitamin B5, showed promise to lower cholesterol in several small studies in the 1980s. This has also not held up to more recent scrutiny. A similar experience was encountered with the Ayurvedic preparation, guggulipid.
Another group of nutritional supplements that we do not endorse are the anti-oxidants. The list of available anti-oxidants is a long one. Vitamins C and E and beta-carotene (a relative of vitamin A) are anti-oxidants, as are pycnogenol, pine bark extract, grape seed extract, and lipoic acid, just to name a few. Various anti-oxidant preparations do indeed, in artificial experimental settings, effectively block the damaging effects of oxidation – making LDL particles less sticky to the arterial wall and less likely to be ingested by inflammatory blood cells residing in plaque, relax abnormal arterial constriction, among other plaque growth-promoting effects. The problem is that, when scrutinized in real live humans, the benefits of anti-oxidation have not held up. While vitamin C, CoQ10, l- arginine , and flavonoids have anti-oxidant properties, these supplements have benefits that extend beyond the anti-oxidant question and are helpful to you even though the jury is still out on their anti-oxidant benefits. |
