Cholesterol lowering without dangerous drugs

Eat your oranges, and some rice too-

A combination of citrus fruit bioflavonoids and tocotrienols found in the dietary supplement Sytrinol® has shown a positive effect in lowering cholesterol levels, according to a recent study.

Writing in the Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine journal, researchers stated that the combination of bioflavonoids and tocotrienols, in a three-month diet, cut total cholesterol by 30%. The researchers said physicians and health care practitioners should: “consider this combination of fruit extracts to be a safe and efficacious option for promoting cardiovascular wellness.”

Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in America. According to the American Heart Association, approximately 20% of Americans have high blood cholesterol. Lowering blood cholesterol is one way to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

For the study, men and women between 19 and 65 years of age were recruited at the Universities of Guelph and Western Ontario. Study subjects had to have total cholesterol levels above 230 mg/dL and LDL >155 mg/dL. They were asked to take a combination of polymethoxyflavones (PMF) from citrus (270 mg/day) and tocotrienols (30 mg/day) or a placebo.

The 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled study showed total cholesterol dropped by 30%, LDL cholesterol by 29% and triglycerides by 34%, compared to placebo. In addition, HDL levels increased by four percent, resulting in a 29% improvement in the LDL:HDL ratio.

The researchers said the results show the combination of citrus PMFs, plus palm tocotrienols is a “promising natural option” for controlling cholesterol and related cardiovascular risk factors in patients with elevated cholesterol levels.

Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 13(6):44-48, 2007