A Study Of Nutraceutical Drinks For Cholesterol (Evaluating Effectiveness and Tolerability)

Great controversy exists about the feasibility and safety of a product that can be employed for self-directed cholesterol reduction. The position that self-directed cholesterol lowering could lead those that do not need lower cholesterol to take the product is likely unfounded. This is because there is no convincing evidence to suggest that there are cholesterol levels so low that a lower one would not be beneficial or conversely be dangerous. Ample evidence exists that cholesterol causes cardiovascular disease and that lower cholesterol places individuals and populations at lower risk. Because of the high cost, insurance concerns and suboptimal access to physician care, a self-directed, effective and safe approach to cholesterol maintenance or reduction would be very desirable. Drug therapy also has been associated with suboptimal results. Though a new concept that addresses cholesterol by several mechanisms simultaneously has been shown to be more consistently effective and with better tolerability, there is still a need for a self-directed cholesterol optimizing alternative. It is, therefore, our intent in this study to evaluate certain foods, specifically nutraceutical containing fruit flavored drinks in the hopes that they can be proven a safe and effective alternative approach for cholesterol management.