The Policosanols Thread

[LadyRae]

Just received my Pure Bulk Policosanol packet and downed 10 mg. i don't feel anything yet!smuggrin:
I did a quick search to see what time of day people are taking it and didn't see anything.
When are you taking it? Morning? Evening? Before bed?

I just received my capsules, 20mg each, and I took one at 5:30pm

 

[cremes]

Just received my Pure Bulk Policosanol packet and downed 10 mg. i don't feel anything yet!smuggrin:
I did a quick search to see what time of day people are taking it and didn't see anything.
When are you taking it? Morning? Evening? Before bed?

10mg in the morning and again in the evening just after dinner. I usually sprinkle it on top of an ounce or two of milk and shoot it down.

I periodically have a bit of angina. In my case it's a dull ache in my back around my shoulder blades and sometimes across the front of my chest. I was noticing today that I haven't really had any of those episodes (they last 3-5 minutes and just fade away) for the last week or so. I started policosanols on Dec 31.

Make of that what you will. Otherwise, I don't notice anything either!

 

[LadyRae]

So it has been almost 4 hours since my first dose and I have had to urinate quite a bit. And I haven't been drinking a lot of fluids tonight, mainly my fluids are from a bowl of honeydew melon with salt. I've noticed this evening that I have been craving salt more...

 

[Dolomite]

Here's another goodie.
In this study old people taking policosanol were 5 times less likely to die due to chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes, over a period of 3 years.
The dosage was 5mg per day ,which probably costs a few cents or less. Think about what that could do for the world...

"The anti-aging effect of Policosanol was also observed in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial
involving 1,470 women and men between 60 and 80 years of age for 3 years. This test revealed a significant decrease in
total cholesterol, LDL-c and to a lesser extent triglyceride, which was accompanied by a significant elevation of HDL-c.
During the trial, 23 participants died due to different CNCDs: 19 in the placebo group (2.6%) and 4 in the group treated
with policosanol (0.5%) p <0.001, one of whom died due to a traffic accident [39]."

Ageing process and policosanol effects

The fundamental concepts of the aging process are exposed: Its dimension as a health problem, aspects related to its repercussion from the social point of view, and Its influence on aspects that can affect the normal development of contemporary society. The roles of genetics, cellular and...

wjarr.com

My husband and I are in that 60-80 age range and this study inspired me to buy the 10 mg Swanson's product. We have been taking on capsule in the morning with breakfast for a little more than a week and both notice a lot of improvement in our digestion. I also think it has helped my sleep. I still wake up at least once but go back to sleep easily.

I tried eating some beeswax several years ago but I don't think the wax itself is good for digestion.

 

[cremes]

My husband and I are in that 60-80 age range and this study inspired me to buy the 10 mg Swanson's product. We have been taking on capsule in the morning with breakfast for a little more than a week and both notice a lot of improvement in our digestion. I also think it has helped my sleep. I still wake up at least once but go back to sleep easily.

I tried eating some beeswax several years ago but I don't think the wax itself is good for digestion.

The main issue with that particular study is its provenance. It comes from the same Cuban source that, back in the late 90s, started publishing a slew of reports showing the wonderful outcomes associated with policosanols. Many of the claims were not reproduced by other teams in the following years up until about 2003. Then, suddenly, research teams from around the world started to confirm some of the benefits of policosanols such as lowering LDL, raising HDL, improving arterial healing, weight management, etc.

I personally think it's worth the 3 cents a day it costs to take it. I take a bit more but the Cubans haven't really found a dose-dependent result beyond 40mg per day, so that's the reasonable maximum.

Good luck. Glad it's working for you.

 

[Mauritio]

My husband and I are in that 60-80 age range and this study inspired me to buy the 10 mg Swanson's product. We have been taking on capsule in the morning with breakfast for a little more than a week and both notice a lot of improvement in our digestion. I also think it has helped my sleep. I still wake up at least once but go back to sleep easily.

I tried eating some beeswax several years ago but I don't think the wax itself is good for digestion.

Happy it helps you! Another thing we can thank Peat for . I surely wouldnt be taking about policosanol if it wasnt for him .

 

[Fllora]

10mg in the morning and again in the evening just after dinner. I usually sprinkle it on top of an ounce or two of milk and shoot it down.

I periodically have a bit of angina. In my case it's a dull ache in my back around my shoulder blades and sometimes across the front of my chest. I was noticing today that I haven't really had any of those episodes (they last 3-5 minutes and just fade away) for the last week or so. I started policosanols on Dec 31.

Make of that what you will. Otherwise, I don't notice anything either!

Thank you cremes. I have several heart issues as well, which is my main reason for taking it. I did experience a gut dump about two hours after taking it. Slept horribly, though; hope that was a one-off.

 

[cremes]

Thank you cremes. I have several heart issues as well, which is my main reason for taking it. I did experience a gut dump about two hours after taking it. Slept horribly, though; hope that was a one-off.

BTW, this morning I had a milder angina episode and it dissipated after a few minutes. It was milder than usual, but since I just posted above that I hadn't had *any at all* I thought it worthwhile to update you. No panacea here.

BTW, I track my sleep with an Oura ring and have been doing so for the last 2 years. My deep sleep has been horrible for the past 2-3 months. I am averaging about 35 minutes (under 10%) as deep sleep. I started doing some inclined bed therapy so we'll see if that mitigates that problem. AFAICT, the policosanols have had zero impact on my sleep for better or worse.

 

[Fllora]

BTW, this morning I had a milder angina episode and it dissipated after a few minutes. It was milder than usual, but since I just posted above that I hadn't had *any at all* I thought it worthwhile to update you. No panacea here.

BTW, I track my sleep with an Oura ring and have been doing so for the last 2 years. My deep sleep has been horrible for the past 2-3 months. I am averaging about 35 minutes (under 10%) as deep sleep. I started doing some inclined bed therapy so we'll see if that mitigates that problem. AFAICT, the policosanols have had zero impact on my sleep for better or worse.

Mmm, good to know, and sorry to hear that about your sleep. I am pretty sure it's the intense EMFs from the very close 5G tower that are messing with me. Thanks for your integrity/clarity re: the angina. May it slowly disappear!

 

[LadyRae]

Update: my 20 mg capsule absolutely makes my face very warm, and the rest of me cozy, about 20-30 minutes after I take it. Like a mild niacin flush.
Good sleep. I'm getting 7-8 hours solid, memorable interesting dreams that I can recall, no wake ups, and half the time I get back to sleep for 1 more cycle (90 minutes)...

 

[cremes]

Update: my 20 mg capsule absolutely makes my face very warm, and the rest of me cozy, about 20-30 minutes after I take it. Like a mild niacin flush.
Good sleep. I'm getting 7-8 hours solid, memorable interesting dreams that I can recall, no wake ups, and half the time I get back to sleep for 1 more cycle (90 minutes)...

I wish I had a noticeable reaction. I get a reaction from B3 (flush) and Energin (energy) but I've never noticed any physical reaction to any other supplement I've taken. I'm glad it is apparently working for you. I assume it's working for me but it's being subtle and cagey about it.

 

[Inaut]

Effects of policosanol 20 versus 40 mg/day in the treatment of patients with type II hypercholesterolemia: a 6-month double-blind study - PubMed

Policosanol is a well defined mixture of higher aliphatic primary alcohols isolated from sugar cane wax with cholesterol-lowering effects proven for a dose range from 5-20 mg/day in patients with type II hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia associated with noninsulin dependent diabetes...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[LadyRae]

Effects of policosanol 20 versus 40 mg/day in the treatment of patients with type II hypercholesterolemia: a 6-month double-blind study - PubMed

Policosanol is a well defined mixture of higher aliphatic primary alcohols isolated from sugar cane wax with cholesterol-lowering effects proven for a dose range from 5-20 mg/day in patients with type II hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia associated with noninsulin dependent diabetes...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Yes, I remember Georgi said that were no discernable advantages to taking more than 20 mg

 

[cremes]

Yes, I remember Georgi said that were no discernable advantages to taking more than 20 mg

Either on this thread or a different one someone said, and I'm paraphrasing, "Why would I want to lower my cholesterol; that's pointless."

As Brad Marshall's videos are pointing out, much of the research is showing that certain compounds "lower" cholesterol by upregulating other aspects of our physiology that make more or better use of available cholesterol. So instead of using a statin to retard the formation of cholesterol, we are revving up the mechanisms that consume it. Overall that seems like a win to me.

 

[A-Tim]

Thanks @Mauritio for starting and maintaining such a great thread on policosanol.

Given that supplements often end up with contaminants (even in the absence of excipients, such as powder supps), I'm hesitant to take them over a long term period. I like Mufasa's recipe using beeswax, coconut oil, and cocoa butter. However I also like varying the food that I get nutrients from, given that foods themselves vary a fair bit in nutrients. This is analogous to diversifying investments to minimize risk for a given expected return.

So 2g of yellow beeswax and nets you 10mg policosanol, but only 2mg of octacosanol. That's a good start but ideally one would want to get a bit more octacosanol in particular.

Unfortunately, it looks like adding NCS/panela/jaggery etc. is a bit of a dead end, according to the article @Mufasa linked. 100g p/day would get you about 1.75mg policosanol, 1mg of which is octacosanol. Perhaps beneficial, but that's not as much as desirable, and that's a fair amount of panela daily.

Does anyone know how much policosanol, particularly octacosanol is in rum? If the Cuban's benefited from it, simulating their actions which contributed to centenarian status seems a smart way to go. A quick pubmed search didn't turn up anything.

Is there a sugar cane peel product? That seems like it would be great way to get octacosanol in the amount preferred. 22mg p/100g of sugar cane peel.

 

[LadyRae]

Update: still taking a 20 mg capsule every day. BEST about an hour before a nap or bedtime. Quite warming throughout the body, without sweats or flushing. Relaxing

 

[mamakitty]

Update: still taking a 20 mg capsule every day. BEST about an hour before a nap or bedtime. Quite warming throughout the body, without sweats or flushing. Relaxing

What are the good results you can feel or see?

 

[cremes]

I've been taking 10-40mg policosanols twice per day for months. I notice no improvements nor ill effect.

I'm disappointed. No silver bullets.

 

[mamakitty]

I've been taking 10-40mg policosanols twice per day for months. I notice no improvements nor ill effect.

I'm disappointed. No silver bullets.

Oh man! It seems to be the same story with pretty much every supplement out there.

 

[LadyRae]

What are the good results you can feel or see?

@cremes
I don't think it is supposed to have any drastic noticeable effect. If you read back throughout the beginning of the thread especially, the main purpose is for improved liver metabolism and glucose storage and over time it has shown to resaturate fat stores from polyunsaturated to saturated, which takes time but is what we want...

Also shown to aid the liver in "detoxing" PUFA