Cholesterol has been in medical news in recent years. It is a sticky substance that can contribute to the formation of plaques and narrowing of blood vessels, with subsequent high blood pressure. This is especially true of low density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol.
Cholesterol concentration is highest in the brain. The level of cholesterol in the blood influences production of protective hormones such as progesterone and testosterone. Most of these hormones are contained in the brain.
Cholesterol is used by the body to heal injuries to the arterial walls, forming a bandage of sorts over the injury. High density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), the good kind, is involved in repair work. Low and very low density cholesterol (LDL and VLDL) can be the bad kind that is likely to be involved in causing damage.
When people are being killed, don't blame the ambulance
In this case, cholesterol is the ambulance. Like the ambulance, cholesterol helps people when they're in health trouble. Cholesterol, however, often gets the entire blame.
It is believed by many that high cholesterol levels alone lead to heart and blood vessel damage because the two are often found together. It is possible that the same process that causes heart problems, such as injury to arteries, also causes an increase in cholesterol to help repair the damage. Cholesterol, in this case, does not cause the damage, but attempts to cure it.
Risotriene's natural cholesterol lowering secret
People with high cholesterol or those concerned about cholesterol can benefit from Risotriene because it contains nutrients that have a positive effect on blood fats. According to research, some of the compounds in Risotriene, such as tocotrienol and vitamin C with unique bioflavonoid complex, dramatically reduce the so-called "bad cholesterol" LDLs while increasing beneficial HDLs. Beta-sitosterol is the major component in a group of compounds called phytosterols, which block cholesterol absorption from food. Drs. Asaf and Nilo Qureshi of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine have done studies on the cholesterol lowering properties of stabilized rice bran. [3] Researchers in Japan and India have also found that highly unsaturated oil in rice germ has a substantial cholesterol lowering effect.
In a study at Louisiana State University, subjects were fed rice bran for 3 weeks, 100 g/day. Mean cholesterol levels decreased from 226 to 210 mg/dl, and LDL cholesterol decreased from 165 to 148 mg/dl. [4]
A newly discovered tocotrienol, called di-desmethyl-tocotrienol, or P25, has been found to have a number of benefits. Average reductions in total and LDL cholesterol of 16% and 23% respectively have been reported in subjects using P25. Even greater improvements are found when P25 supplementation is paired with a cholesterol lowering diet.
Vitamin E helps prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, which is one of the primary causes of heart disease. A recent large scale study found that people who took 400-800 IU of vitamin E for about 18 months were 77% less likely to have a non-fatal heart attack [5].
There are other ways to lower LDL cholesterol. The pharmaceutical drugs Mevacor, Lopid and Questran will do that, at a cost of $30 to $200 per month. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't but unpleasant and/or harmful side effects are as common as not. Rice bran oil (25% of Risotriene) can do this at a cost of less than a dollar a day.
Cholesterol-lowering drugs may do more harm than good. Drugs to lower the levels of LDL cholesterol may actually raise it in those with very high levels. [6] A study in Finland found that heart attack and stroke deaths were 46% higher in those taking cholesterol-lowering drugs. [7] Mevacor (lovastatin) lowers not only the cholesterol level but also the level of CoQ10, an antioxidant with a protective effect against heart damage. [8]
This class of drugs, known as "statin" drugs, can cause side effects such as liver toxicity, muscle cramps, nausea, constipation, heartburn, mental decline and hair loss. In addition, a study reported in the 1997 annual meeting of the American Heart Association showed that of 5600 patients treated with cholesterol-lowering drugs, only 38% reached the recommended target levels of LDL cholesterol. In fact, statin drugs can cause a rebound effect on the HMG-CoA levels, in which the levels can go up to 200 times the normal level. [5]
Tocotrienols are the components of rice bran oil which are credited with antioxidant and cholesterol lowering effects. The most antioxidant mechanism is the prevention of lipid (fat) peroxidation; an undesirable chemical change brought about by chemical irritation, that could otherwise take place at the cell wall. [9]
A compound called HMG-CoA reductase is the rate-limiting enzyme in the production of cholesterol. This means that the activity of the HMG-CoA determines in large part the amount of cholesterol produced. Tocotrienols suppress the enzymatic activity of HMG-CoA and thus lower the level of cholesterol production.
In addition to cholesterol, elevated levels of a chemical compound called homocysteine are an additional indicator of heart and blood vessel disease. Homocysteine is an amino acid that is a byproduct of protein breakdown, and higher levels of it can contribute to heart disease. A process called methylation is the key to lowering homocysteine levels. Methylation is a chemical process that changes the "bad guy" to a "good guy". Nutrients that can help the methylation process along include trimethylglycine, vitamin B12, folic acid, choline, taurine, pyridoxal-5-phosphate, magnesium, zinc and copper. Most of these are found in Risotriene.
