Ranking The Best Cholesterol Supplements Of 2021
Cholesterol supplements are designed to keep your cholesterol at a healthy level. They do this using a variety of different methods and ingredients.
If your cholesterol levels are too high, you are at a higher risk for heart attack and stroke, so it is vital to lower them to a healthy level. Generally, this is done through both medication and diet. However, supplements can also play a key role when used correctly.
Here are some of our favorite supplements for lowering cholesterol levels:
Research
This supplement contains 500 mg of niacinamide, which can lower your LDL levels. Plus, it also contains a variety of other expert-chosen ingredients, like red yeast rice and garlic powder.
It also promotes the creation of healthy HDL cholesterol to keep your heart healthy. For these reasons, it is Bodynutritions #1 pick.
What Happens If I Incorporated Dietary Changes And My Cholesterol Is Still Not Within Recommended Ranges
If youve made some dietary changes and you still havent seen results, try incorporating phytosterol into your diet. Phytosterol is similar to the bodys cholesterol and can block cholesterol from being absorbed into your body.
Phytosterol can lower your cholesterol by 10% and your LDL by 14%, she says. Aim to get about 2 grams of phytosterol a day. Some common food and dietary supplements include high sterol or stanol esters be sure to read the labels.
Getting Your B Vitamins Through Food Or Through Supplements
So if the bottom-line message here is that these B vitamins for cholesterol can help regulate healthy cholesterol levels, how can you be sure youre getting enough? Check your diet first food is always the best way to get your nutrients.
Foods rich in Vitamin B include whole grains, red meat, dairy products, sunflower seeds, almonds, broccoli, spinach, citrus fruits, bananas, and avocados, says Dr. Liana Casusi, MD, Medical Consultant at Oh So Spotless. If certain food cannot be included in the diet, then Vitamin B supplementation is suggested.
If youre trying to lower cholesterol naturally and achieve therapeutic levels of these nutrients, you may need to add B vitamin supplements to your daily routine.
Nutrition Research. 2011 Aug 31:608-15. Illingworth DR, et al. Comparative effects of lovastatin and niacin in primary hypercholesterolemia. A prospective trial. Arch Intern Med. 1994 154:1586-1595. Seminars in Thrombosis and Hemostasis. 2000 26:341-8.
Originally published in 2012, this post is regularly updated.
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Serum Lipid Concentration Changes
The mean net changes between the treatment and placebo groups for LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides entered into the meta-analysis are presented in . In the LDL cholesterol category, 9 of the 11 trials had an intervention-related trend toward a reduction in LDL cholesterol but only 4 of these trials showed a statistically significant reduction when compared with the control group . For the HDL cholesterol category, a trend toward an intervention-related increase was observed for 6 of the 12 trials however, only 1 of these trials showed a statistically significant increase when compared with the control group . For the triglyceride category, a trend toward intervention-related reduction was also observed for 5 of the 10 trials but only 2 of these trials showed a statistically significant reduction when compared with the control group .
Net change in triglyceride concentration associated with vitamin C supplementation. The overall effect size is weighted by the inverse of the total variance of each trial.
Vitamin B3 Niacin For Lowering Cholesterol
Niacin, or vitamin B3, actually works by raising your HDL cholesterol levels whether you take it alone or with another cholesterol-lowering medication.
Niacin works in the liver by affecting the production of blood fats, and it has been well-researched. Several well-designed double-blind, placebo controlled studies have found that niacin can reduce LDL cholesterol by approximately 10 percent and triglycerides by 25 percent while raising HDL cholesterol by 20 percent to 30 percent.
High LDLs lead to atherosclerosis and then cardiovascular disease, warns Nadia Chariff, Health Advisor & Registered Dietitian at Coffeeble. Make no mistake, dietary & lifestyle factors such as high saturated fat intake & lack of exercise definitely play a part! Besides recommending alternative diets & increased activity, I recommend niacin to my patients.
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Vitamin D And Statins
There has been some debate around whether statins could stop us making enough vitamin D because statins lower cholesterol. In reality, we have more than enough cholesterol to make vitamin D, even if you take statins. Its more important to make sure youre getting enough time in sunlight or getting enough vitamin D from foods or supplements.
Vitamin C And Cholesterol
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You’re probably well aware that having high cholesterol is bad for your health, and you’ve also likely heard that a healthy diet, exercise and perhaps statin drugs are necessary to lower your cholesterol. While these are certainly beneficial lifestyle changes, there’s more you can do to get your cholesterol levels back in a safe and healthy range. Large doses of vitamin C might cause your numbers to drop, and many foods and supplements supply the nutrient. It’s worth discussing with your doctor.
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Key Takeaways: Which Vitamins Reduce Cholesterol
Knowing which vitamins are good for cholesterol and introducing them to your routine can be a useful way to boost results of a balanced diet and exercise routine but no single vitamin offers all the answers, and theyre not a substitute for making healthy lifestyle choices when tackling your blood cholesterol levels.
Similarly, sometimes overhauling the routine isnt enough. If you suffer from high cholesterol, its important you take it seriously and you should discuss any medications with your doctor. If youre on cholesterol medication, be careful how you mix it with supplements, and dont go substituting supplements for your prescribed meds.
What Is The Conventional Treatment Of High Cholesterol
Treatment of high cholesterol usually begins with lifestyle changes geared toward bringing levels down. These include losing weight if youre overweight, and changing your diet to emphasize vegetables and fruits, fish, particularly cold water fish such as wild Alaskan salmon, mackerel, herring and black cod that provide heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids. If lifestyle changes dont help or if youre unable to make the changes your doctor recommends, cholesterol-lowering drugs may be prescribed. These include statins, which effectively lower LDL cholesterol bile acid sequestrants that may be prescribed along with statins to lower LDL nicotinic acid to lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and raise HDL drugs called fibrates that may be prescribed to lower cholesterol and may raise HDL and a drug called Ezetimibe to lower LDL by blocking the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine.
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What You Can Do: Eat More Omega
I advise my patients to eat real fish instead of taking a supplement, says Dr. Martin. The quality of OTC fish-oil supplements can vary, he says, and some may contain unwanted ingredients or contaminants. Meanwhile, fish is a good source of lean protein. Dr. Martins recommendation: Aim to eat about four ounces of oily fish such as tuna, salmon, or anchovies twice a week. Handy fact: A four-ounce fish filet will be around the size of your palm.
Natural Ways To Lower Cholesterol
1. Chicory.Often thought of as a weed, the extensive root systems of chicory can be made into a beverage that closely resembles coffee. When consumed in this way or as a supplement, it works to fight off high levels of cholesterol by ramping up the bodys natural metabolism to regulate cholesterol levels.
2. Ginger.One of the key qualities of ginger is that it helps to control nausea in people very effectively, reducing the symptoms of motion sickness and other nausea-causing issues. It also helps to reduce overall cholesterol levels while making your food taste awesome too. When brewed as a tea, you can get a double dose of healing action because it will help fight off a sore throat. Whether you add it to your diet as a supplement or just throw in some ginger powder to your meals, youll get the cholesterol busting qualities that you want.
3. Green Tea Extract.What youre looking for in the green tea that you consume is a substance that has a long name: epigallocatechingallate. It is found in all teas, but it is in its highest concentrations in green tea of the extract that you can take as a supplement. It is an antioxidant that has been shown to reduce high levels of bad cholesterol without really affecting your good cholesterol, and as an added bonus, green tea also helps to boost your metabolism up so that you can burn more calories throughout the day.
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What Is Vitamin D
Vitamin D serves many purposes within the body, and you can get it from several different sources. The main function of vitamin D is to promote calcium absorption in your body.
You can get vitamin D through your diet and by getting out in the sun, as long as you dont have sunscreen on. Sunscreens block the skins absorption of the vitamin.
In both cases, the vitamin undergoes several changes within the body before its put to use. From there, vitamin D can help:
- keep your bones healthy
Cholesterol is another necessary substance in the human body. But too much of it can be a bad thing.
There are two main types of cholesterol: LDL, which we mentioned previously, and high-density lipoprotein .
HDL is commonly referred to as good cholesterol, and you want to keep HDL levels above 60 milligrams/dL.
LDL, on the other hand, is known as bad cholesterol, which is the type of cholesterol that can clot your arteries and increase your risk for heart disease and stroke. You should keep your LDL levels below 100 milligrams/dL.
Increase Your Consumption Of Dietary Fiber
Ideally, you should be getting 25 to 35 grams of fiber a day, says Dr. Cho. Fiber binds to cholesterol and eliminates it from your body.
To increase your fiber intake, eat more whole grains, legumes like beans and lentils, vegetables and fruits. You should be getting a good mix of both soluble fibers, which are more beneficial for cholesterol, and insoluble fibers, which are better for your gut health.
Lower cholesterol isnt the only benefit of getting enough fiber. Other benefits include reducing your risk of diseases, preventing constipation and keeping you full longer.
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Lifestyle Changes To Promote Heart Health
One of the top ways to cholesterol and improve heart health is to eat a diet free of trans fats and low in saturated fats. Additionally, people should perform aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes per day 3-5 times per week. These lifestyle changes in conjunction with cholesterol-lowering supplements can add up to considerable improvements in heart health.
Now Supplements Cholesterol Pro
If youre worried about your cardiovascular health, this supplement may be a great choice. It contains two ingredients that may be beneficial to your heart health. Plus, it is also soy-free and non-GMO.
It is made in a GMP-quality assured lab, so you can rest assured that the quality is fantastic. They are also packaged in the USA.
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People Most At Risk Of Vitamin D Deficiency
Some people dont have enough vitamin D. This could be because their skin isnt exposed to enough sunlight, or because of health problems or higher needs for vitamin D.
For example, if:
- you dont go outdoors often, for example if you are housebound, in hospital or are disabled and less able to get about
- you wear clothes which cover most of your skin when you go outside
- you have dark skin, for example if youre from an African, African-Caribbean or south Asian background as you need more sunlight to make enough vitamin D
- you wear sunscreen most or all of the time
- you need more vitamin D, babies, young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women need more vitamin D
- you are an older adult, as older people cant make as much vitamin D
- you have a health problem or youre taking certain medications which change the way vitamin D is controlled in the body, such as Crohns disease, coeliac disease, and some types of liver and kidney disease.
- you are very overweight, a there is some evidence to suggest that people who are very over weight are more likely to lack vitamin D
- you eat very few foods that contain vitamin D.
What Foods Should I Eat What Foods Should I Avoid
Maintaining a healthy diet can help lower your cholesterol. Recommended foods include fruits and vegetables whole grain foods fat-free, 1%, or low-fat milk products poultry without skin and lean meats fatty fish such as salmon, trout, albacore tuna, and sardines and unsalted nuts, seeds, and legumes.
A diet high in cholesterol, saturated fats, and trans fats should be avoided. This includes high-sodium foods sweetened or sugary beverages red, fatty, or processed meats full-fat dairy products baked goods with saturated and trans fats solid fats or fried foods and hydrogenated and saturated oils.
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Vitamin C Lowers Ldl Cholesterol And Blood Pressure And Raises Hdl Cholesterol
Vitamin C is in the news again, that new research shows it lowers blood pressure with doses of a modest 500 mg a day. Plenty of prior research shows that Vitamin C also lowers ldl cholesterol and blood pressure AND raises hdl cholesterol.
The advantages to taking Vitamin C instead of statins are clear:
- Vitamin C helps the body produce the valuable CoQ10 instead of deplete it
- Vitamin C is very inexpensive, even high quality versions, relative to any medication
- Vitamin C has no side effects, particularly in the doses suggested
- Vitamin C also has other health promoting properties, including being an antioxidant helping cool inflammation
- Vitamin C is correlated with improved immunity, improved eye and skin health, improved cardiovascular health, and improved longevity.
Vitamin C isnt just to prevent scurvy, which is a sign of severe deficiency. Scurvy is related to the inability of the body to synthesize good collagen for skin integrity. But increased vitamin C also helps produce high quality collagen, which helps delay onset of wrinkles. Linus Pauling, the Nobel Prize winning chemist claimed that inadequate Vitamin C leads to early onset atherosclerosis. Doctors back before Vitamin C and other vitamin therapies were well accepted had scoffed at Professor Paulings claims, but he outlived them by far, still publishing papers at the age of 92, and lived to 93.
May Reduce Your Risk Of Chronic Disease
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that can strengthen your bodys natural defenses .
Antioxidants are molecules that boost the immune system. They do so by protecting cells from harmful molecules called free radicals.
When free radicals accumulate, they can promote a state known as oxidative stress, which has been linked to many chronic diseases .
Studies show that consuming more vitamin C can increase your blood antioxidant levels by up to 30%. This helps the bodys natural defenses fight inflammation .
SUMMARY
Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant that can boost your blood antioxidant levels. This may help reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease.
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Studies have shown that vitamin C may help lower blood pressure in both those with and without high blood pressure.
An animal study found that taking a vitamin C supplement helped relax the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart, which helped reduce blood pressure levels .
Moreover, an analysis of 29 human studies found that taking a vitamin C supplement reduced systolic blood pressure by 3.8 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 1.5 mmHg, on average, in healthy adults.
In adults with high blood pressure, vitamin C supplements reduced systolic blood pressure by 4.9 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 1.7 mmHg, on average .
SUMMARY
Vitamin C supplements have been found to lower blood pressure in both healthy adults and those with high blood pressure.
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Does Vitamin E Affect Cholesterol Levels
Keeping your cholesterol levels in check is very important for your overall health. Doing so can help you lower your risk of heart-related conditions such as stroke or heart attack.
There are several ways you can lower high cholesterol, including medication and lifestyle changes. Increasing your vitamin E intake may also help.
Read on to learn how this works and discover ways to incorporate more vitamin E into your diet.
B Vitamins Boast Many Benefits
Vitamin B3, or niacin, has been shown to increase levels of high-density lipoprotein , or good, cholesterol, and decrease triglycerides. Niacin supplementation has been used since the 1950s as a treatment for high cholesterol. While B3 alone may not be adequate treatment for high cholesterol, in combination with other medications, a B-vitamin supplement may be beneficial.
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Modify Your Risk Factors
High cholesterol is usually treated based on total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol levels, plus the presence of additional risk factors for heart disease. While some cannot be changed, some can:
- Previous heart attack
- Family history of early heart disease
- Age over 45 in men and greater than 55 in women
- 10-year risk of a heart attack greater than 20%
Of these, not smoking is something you take action on. You can also treat your high blood pressure and diabetes to keep them under control.
Other Ways To Lower Cholesterol
If you have high cholesterol, its important to talk to your doctor. They can help you figure out the best way to lower your cholesterol and improve your overall health.
Treatment for high cholesterol varies, but can include:
- Changing your diet, such as eating more fiber and less saturated fat
- Doing more cardiovascular exercise, like running, walking, swimming, or biking
- Avoiding alcohol
- Stopping smoking
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