Nutraceuticals and nootropics for anti-aging

Policosanol improves cholesterol profiles for diabetics; also suppresses HIV-related lipodystrophy.

Policosanol is a mixture of long-chain alcohols purified from sugar cane wax. Its cholesterol-reducing abilities have been known for more than ten years. Short-term studies during the 1990s showed improved cholesterol profiles for people with diabetes-related cholesterol problems. Now the results of longer-term studies are being reported.

A Cuban two-year study of 239 patients with type-2 diabetes, who had already completed 5 weeks on a cholesterol-lowering diet, revealed that 5 mg/day of policosanol lowered LDL cholesterol (by 21.1%), total cholesterol (by 17.5%), and triglycerides (by 16.0 %), and increased HDL levels (by 10.7 %) as compared with those receiving a placebo. Policosanol also lowered the patients’ blood pressure.

Link to research study:

Long- term effects of policosanol on older patients with Type 2 diabetes.

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Policosanol has also been recommended as part of a regimen to correct the lipodystrophy (altered fat distribution) experienced by AIDS patients who use certain anti-HIV drugs.

Link to published review:

Iatrogenic lipodystrophy in HIV patients - the need for very-low-fat diets.

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LifeLink carries policosanol in 10 mg tablets.