Health Update

If you are among those who think that natural calamities are the major causes of death in the country, you are grossly mistaken. According to recent studies conducted by the Department of Health, the country’s mortality ratio is, in large part, caused by diseases.

The number one cause of death n the country today is still hearth disease, which is no surprise, as our delicious but no doubt killer diet is very high in cholesterol.

To remain healthy, productive and, well, alive we need to keep our diet – relative with our cholesterol – in check.

It used to be that for a person in need of lowering levels of cholesterol in his body, the only recourse was that of taking prescription drugs.

Now, there’s a natural and safer way to keep your cholesterol within sound levels. Policosanol Prime, a dietary supplement formulated from a natural waxy substance inherent in sugarcane, is now available to help lower cholesterol levels and thus prevent heart attacks.

Dr. Yolanda Robles, former dean, UP College of Pharmacy, id a thorough research on the subject and here is what she found out: “Studies from the 1960s to as recent as 2003 have shown that policosanol is capable of decreasing levels of low-density lipoprotein or LDL (also called bad cholesterol) in the body.

It is too much LDL in the blood that causes heart attacks or strokes. LDL calcifies and clogs the lining of our arteries, causing abnormal blood flow.

“Policosanol has an LDL reduction efficacy rate p to 25 percent, which is nearly identical with the efficacy rate of the most popular synthetic cholesterol-lowering drugs today, standing at 26.2 percent,” adds Robles.

Robles is a firm believer of using natural aids in combating disease. “Will, first of all, I subscribe to healthy living. I believe in a good, balanced diet, exercise, and a life away from vices is very much conducive to a long, hale and hearty lfe. I also believe prevention is better than cure. And this is where nutritional supplements derived from nature are best. It helps in keeping us trim and healthy as nature intended.

But what about side effects?

“In studies that monitor the use of policosanol for two years, it was found that the substance, being devoid of synthetic materials, pose no untoward threat to the body. It is generally safe and well tolerated. In fact, unlike statins, it is no threat to the liver, even with long-term use,” Dr. Robles assures.

The good doctor said policosanol’s other main advantage over statins is that inasmuch as it lowers LDL levels, it shown to increase high-density lipoprotein or HDL levels (the good cholesterol) as well.

Source: Philippine Star