Phytosterols improve cardiovascular risk factors

Summary This Canadian review aimed to examine the ability of phytosterols – naturally occurring compounds in plant-based foods – to reduce risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. Studies showed that phytosterols can improve cholesterol levels. For instance, numerous clinical trials documented that 2 g of phytosterols per day decreases LDL cholesterol by 8–10%. Generally, phytosterols were…

Quercetin reduces risk of cardiovascular disease

Summary The present study investigated whether a quercetin supplement could reduce various risk factors for cardiovascular disease. For this purpose, 93 overweight or obese subjects with metabolic syndrome (simultaneous occurrence of several cardiovascular risk factors) were studied who supplemented their diet with quercetin for 6 weeks. The final results showed that dietary supplementation contributed to…

Coenzyme Q10 improves muscle complaints under statin therapy

Summary Cholesterol-lowering drugs, so-called statins, are intended to prevent heart attacks or strokes in people with coronary heart disease. However, they are associated with several side effects. This meta-analysis evaluated the effect of dietary supplementation with coenzyme Q10 on statin-induced muscle damage. The analysis of 12 studies with 575 patients showed that coenzyme Q10 can…

Micronutrient combination can lower LDL cholesterol

Summary This clinical cross-over study from Italy investigated the lipid-lowering effect of monacolin K, L-arginine, coenzyme Q10, and ascorbic acid. The study involved 20 patients with high cholesterol levels who supplemented their diet with the micronutrients mentioned above for 8 weeks. Subsequently, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), triglycerides, fasting…

Increased vitamin C blood levels associated with reduction in LDL cholesterol and increase in HDL cholesterol

Summary As early as 1992, the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center at Tufts University in Boston published a randomized field study involving several hundreds of participants of all age groups. The results of the study showed that increased vitamin C blood levels were associated with a reduction in LDL cholesterol (“bad cholesterol”) and an increase…

Vitamin B supplementation improves risk factors of fat metabolism

Summary A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigated the effect of two B vitamins (folic acid and vitamin B6) on the metabolism of patients with coronary heart disease. After three months of vitamin B supplementation, the three most important risk factors of fat metabolism showed a significant improvement. Blood levels of triglycerides and total cholesterol were…

Catechin supplementation associated with significant reduction in LDL cholesterol levels

Summary In another large randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, which involved several American universities, the influence of green tea extracts (catechins) was investigated. The study participants were all postmenopausal women, with 936 of them completing the one-year trial. Compared to the control group, catechin supplementation was associated with a significant reduction in total and LDL cholesterol…

Green tea extract can reduce total and LDL cholesterol

Summary A double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted by the University of Nashville investigated the relationship between a dietary supplement containing green tea extract and its effect on cholesterol levels. 240 men and women over 18 years of age with low to moderate increases in blood cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia) were examined over a period of 3 months. Study…

Vitamin C prevents hypercholesterolemia induced atherosclerosis

Summary This study investigated the effect of vitamin C on the development of hypercholesterolemia (high blood levels of cholesterol) induced atherosclerosis. The experiments were performed with rabbits, and they showed that a high dose of vitamin C was effective in reducing atherosclerosis. The results suggest that vitamin C can prevent hypercholesterolemia induced atherosclerosis. Further details…

Vitamin C promotes transformation of cholesterol into bile acid

Summary Lipid disorders are characterized by imbalanced levels of fatty substances (i.e. cholesterol and triglycerides) in the bloodstream. These lipids are carried in the blood stream in form of microscopic round particles, called lipoproteins. Thus, these conditions are also called lipoprotein disorders. There are, generally speaking, two types of cholesterol-transporting lipoproteins: a) the “bad cholesterol”…

Vitamin C has a positive effect on HDL-cholesterol levels

Summary Lipid disorders are characterized by imbalanced levels of fatty substances (i.e. cholesterol and triglycerides) in the bloodstream. These lipids are carried in the blood stream in form of microscopic round particles, called lipoproteins. Thus, these conditions are also called lipoprotein disorders. There are, generally speaking, two types of cholesterol-transporting lipoproteins: a) the “bad cholesterol”…

Pantethine, a derivative of vitamin B5, helps in normalizing various lipid metabolism disorders

Summary Lipid disorders are characterized by imbalanced levels of fatty substances (i.e. cholesterol and triglycerides) in the bloodstream. These lipids are carried in the blood stream in form of microscopic round particles, called lipoproteins. Thus, these conditions are also called lipoprotein disorders. There are, generally speaking, two types of cholesterol-transporting lipoproteins: a) the “bad cholesterol”…

Vitamin C contributes to an improved degradation of cholesterol

Summary Lipid disorders are characterized by imbalanced levels of fatty substances (i.e. cholesterol and triglycerides) in the bloodstream. These lipids are carried in the blood stream in form of microscopic round particles, called lipoproteins. Thus, these conditions are also called lipoprotein disorders. There are, generally speaking, two types of cholesterol-transporting lipoproteins: a) the “bad cholesterol”…