RE: Benecol for a healthy heart?

[Guest guest]

Benecol has unique ingredients called stanol esters, derived from the wood pulp of pine trees, Benecol® blocks cholesterol and prevents its absorption into the body. In order to get the cholesterol-lowering effect, you need to use two to three tablespoons of Benecol® per day (one serving per meal or snack). That is quite a bit at $12.00 a pound!

Plant sterols have been used extensively in the lowering of cholesterol by those who prefer not to take statin drugs. One of these that I have seen results with in clients of mine is Policosanol. It is a unique natural product derived from sugar cane wax and beeswax: It has proved effective at reducing cholesterol levels and for some individuals may be a reasonable natural alternative to the commonly prescribed "statin-type" cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Most research using the sugarcane-derived form of policosanol has been conducted in Cuba, in both animals and humans. The studies showed that policosanol not only reduced cholesterol levels, but also had positive effects on other cardiac risk factors, through actions such as reducing platelet "clumping" and inhibiting the development of arteriosclerosis. A 2002 analysis in the American Heart Journal reviewed more than 60 clinical trials of sugar cane-derived policosanol that involved more than 3000 patients. The authors concluded that policosanol is "a very promising photochemical alternative to classic lipid-lowering agents such as statins.

I normally suggest to clients that is they have a heart issue to improve the diet by first eliminating all refined foods, whether its sugar, flour or any pre-packaged foods. Not surprisingly their cholesterol counts improve. In terms of butter alternatives I would stick with good old fashioned butter. However I would obtain organic butter from grass-fed cows if at all possible and better yet get it from the Amish...they may sell you butter made from raw milk. There are may alternatives out there to lower cholesterol without straying too far away from the foods that nature provides.

____________________________________________________________________________

"Let Food be your Medicine and Medicine be your Food."~ HippocratesLong-Life, Prosperity and Health! E. Sayers, CNC

[Guest guest]

I'm sorry I was just so excited about posting that I forgot to introduce myself. I have been attracted to a healthy lifestyle and to alternative medicine all my life. Any members of my family that I have lost was due to cancer and I vowed then to find alternatives to conventional treatment and to find a source of prevention through diet and lifestyle.

I have a BSc in nutrition from Kent State University, where I decided that being a Registered Dietician was not for me due to my conflicting beliefs regarding proper nutrition. I then attended the Global Institute for Alternative Medicine in Santa Cruz, CA where I obtained my Nutritional Consultant Certification. Since then I became certified with the American Naturopathic Medical Association and the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and the American Association of Nutritional Consultants.

I have found that in the CR community the fact that I have undertaken an alternative approach to my education and the way that I approach nutrition is not well accepted. But through my own experience and those I have worked with I have seen alternatives work miracles...including CR.

Along the lines of butter, my reasoning has developed over the years. I can hear everyone saying, "Isn't butter bad for you?" Butter is actually better than margarine or other vegetable spreads. Despite unjustified warnings about saturated fat from well-meaning, but misinformed, nutritionists. Butter is a rich source of easily absorbed vitamin A, needed for a wide range of functions in the body, from maintaining good vision, to keeping the endocrine system in top shape. Butter also contains all the other fat-soluble vitamins (E, K, and D).

Butter is rich in trace minerals, especially selenium, a powerful antioxidant. Ounce for ounce, butter has more selenium per gram than either whole wheat or garlic. Butter also supplies iodine, needed by the thyroid gland (as well as vitamin A, also needed by the thyroid gland).

Butter has large amounts of butyric acid, used by the colon as an energy source. This fatty acid is also a known anti-carcinogen. Lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid, is a potent anti microbial and anti fungal substance. Butter also contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which gives excellent protection against cancer. Grass-fed cows produce especially high levels of CLA as opposed to "Grain fed" cattle.

Glycospingolipids are a special category of fatty acids that protect against gastrointestinal infections, especially in the very young and the elderly. Children, therefore, should not drink skim or low fat milk. Those that do have higher rates of diarrhea than those that drink whole milk.

Despite all of the misinformation you may have heard, cholesterol is needed to maintain intestinal health, but is also needed for brain and nervous system development in the young. Again, this emphasizes the need for cholesterol-rich foods for children. Human breast milk is extremely high in saturated fat and cholesterol.

All margarines are made from assorted vegetable oils that have been heated to extremely high temperatures. This insures that the oils will become rancid. After that, a nickel catalyst is added, along with hydrogen atoms, to solidify it. Nickel is a toxic heavy metal and amounts always remain in the finished product. Finally, deodorants and colorings are added to remove margarine's horrible smell (from the rancid oils) and unappetizing gray color. And if that is not enough, in the solidification process, harmful Trans-fatty acids are created which are carcinogenic and mutagenic. What would you rather have: a real food with an abundance of healthful qualities or a stick of carcinogenic, bleached, and deodorized slop?

____________________________________________________________________________

"Let Food be your Medicine and Medicine be your Food."~ HippocratesLong-Life, Prosperity and Health! E. Sayers, CNC

[Guest guest]

Hi Francesca:

A Benecol website says Benecol works by reducing the amount of

cholesterol your intestine absorbs from the food you eat.

Wouldn't it be more direct, and also avoid the hydrogenated fats, if

your friend were to stop eating things containing large amounts of

cholesterol? Even better, if he were to cut down significantly on

the harmful fats as well, which are likely more important than

cholesterol intake.

Rodney.

> A family member recently was told by his doctor to shape up

heartwise and

> improve his diet. We had dinner with him recently and he related

what he

> was now eating and I was impressed that in general he had made big

> improvents. However, one of the new additions was the

spread " Benecol " . So

> today while at the market I looked at the ingredients listed in

Benecol.

>

> To my suprise, partially hydrogenated oil is listed as one of the

primary

> ingredients (I think it was the second one). Nevertheless this

spread is

> touted as " heart healthy " . Jeff, is this one to take in your " food

fight " ?

[Guest guest]

Francesca,

Benecol is one of the products in my " labels " web page that plays

mathematical shenanigans.

(http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/labels.html)

If your family member MUST eat some butter-like spread, " Smart

Balance " is a much better choice because it has no hydrogenated oils.

Read the label every time, because labels tend to change without

notice.

As I mentioned in several posts (the latest being Message 16676), the

improvements in cholesterol that these spreads achieve are due to

sources of linoleic acid (C18:2) such as safflower oil, sunflower oil

or grapeseed oil and the Hegsted equation can be used to quantify the

effect.

You can achieve the same cholesterol-lowering effects by adding a few

teaspoons of these oils to your diet (e.g., in salad dressings), or by

eating 1/4 cup of unsalted sunflower seeds daily. Of course, you must

cut calories elsewere, particularly animal fats and carbohydrates, and

by limiting sources of cholesterol (reducing meat portions and egg

yolks).

Tony

>>>

From: Francesca Skelton <fskelton@e...>

Date: Wed Dec 22, 2004 1:54 pm

Subject: Benecol for a healthy heart?

A family member recently was told by his doctor to shape up heartwise

and improve his diet. We had dinner with him recently and he related

what he was now eating and I was impressed that in general he had made

big improvents. However, one of the new additions was the spread

" Benecol " . So today while at the market I looked at the ingredients

listed in Benecol.

To my suprise, partially hydrogenated oil is listed as one of the

primary ingredients (I think it was the second one). Nevertheless this

spread is touted as " heart healthy " . Jeff, is this one to take in your

" food fight " ?

>>>

[Guest guest]

I am not opposed to engineered foods if they help people with marginal diets

over the hump. I have speculated before how binding to

fats in the gut can actually reduce body cholesterol as it makes new bile to

replace lost.

That said I draw the line at any use of transfats other than perhaps in some

survival rations stored in a fallout shelter for years

never to be eaten except for far direr circumstances.

WE OTOH should never need to think about funny foods, and supplements which in

many cases are looked at medicinally rather that

nutritionally. Good food is GOOD, and properly selected adequate.

Be well and Merry...

JR

-----Original Message-----

From: Rodney [mailto:perspect1111@...]

Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2004 1:36 PM

Subject: [ ] Re: Benecol for a healthy heart?

Hi Francesca:

A Benecol website says Benecol works by reducing the amount of

cholesterol your intestine absorbs from the food you eat.

Wouldn't it be more direct, and also avoid the hydrogenated fats, if

your friend were to stop eating things containing large amounts of

cholesterol? Even better, if he were to cut down significantly on

the harmful fats as well, which are likely more important than

cholesterol intake.

Rodney.

-

[Guest guest]

Since you are a new member, what do you do exactly and what are your

crendentials, please?

We would like to see scientific studies to back up your statements. We

don't just take someone's " word " for things.

Most of us wouldn't touch butter with a ten foot pole.

on 12/22/2004 2:25 PM, TheHouseOLife@... at TheHouseOLife@... wrote:

> Benecol has unique ingredients called stanol esters, derived from the wood

> pulp of pine trees, Benecol® blocks cholesterol and prevents its absorption

> into the body. In order to get the cholesterol-lowering effect, you need to

> use

> two to three tablespoons of Benecol® per day (one serving per meal or

> snack). That is quite a bit at $12.00 a pound!

> Plant sterols have been used extensively in the lowering of cholesterol

> by those who prefer not to take statin drugs. One of these that I have seen

> results with in clients of mine is Policosanol. It is a unique natural

> product derived from sugar cane wax and beeswax: It has proved effective at

> reducing cholesterol levels and for some individuals may be a reasonable

> natural

> alternative to the commonly prescribed " statin-type " cholesterol-lowering

> drugs.

> Most research using the sugarcane-derived form of policosanol has been

> conducted in Cuba, in both animals and humans. The studies showed that

> policosanol not only reduced cholesterol levels, but also had positive

> effects on

> other cardiac risk factors, through actions such as reducing platelet

> " clumping " and inhibiting the development of arteriosclerosis. A 2002

> analysis in the

> American Heart Journal reviewed more than 60 clinical trials of sugar

> cane-derived policosanol that involved more than 3000 patients. The authors

> concluded that policosanol is " a very promising photochemical alternative to

> classic

> lipid-lowering agents such as statins.

> I normally suggest to clients that is they have a heart issue to improve

> the diet by first eliminating all refined foods, whether its sugar, flour or

> any pre-packaged foods. Not surprisingly their cholesterol counts improve.

> In terms of butter alternatives I would stick with good old fashioned

> butter. However I would obtain organic butter from grass-fed cows if at all

> possible and better yet get it from the Amish...they may sell you butter made

> from

> raw milk. There are may alternatives out there to lower cholesterol without

> straying too far away from the foods that nature provides.

> ____________________________________________________________________________

>

> " Let Food be your Medicine and Medicine be your Food. "

> ~ Hippocrates

>

> Long-Life, Prosperity and Health!

> E. Sayers, CNC

>

[Guest guest]

>>One of these that I have seen

> results with in clients of mine is Policosanol. It is a unique

natural

> product derived from sugar cane wax and beeswax: It has proved

> effective at reducing cholesterol levels and for some individuals may

> be a reasonable natural alternative to the commonly prescribed

> " statin-type " cholesterol-lowering drugs.

> Most research using the sugarcane-derived form of policosanol has

> been conducted in Cuba, in both animals and humans. The studies

> showed that policosanol not only reduced cholesterol levels, but also

> had positive effects on other cardiac risk factors, through actions

> such as reducing platelet " clumping " and inhibiting the development

> of arteriosclerosis. A 2002 analysis in the American Heart Journal

> reviewed more than 60 clinical trials of sugar cane-derived

> policosanol that involved more than 3000 patients. The authors

> concluded that policosanol is " a very promising photochemical

> alternative to classic lipid-lowering agents such as statins.

From a recent review in Nutrition Action...

P O L I C O S A N O L

Policosanol (or polycosanol)extracted from sugarcane lowered LDL by 17

to 31 percent in

19 trials involving more than 1,900 people. But 16 of the studies were

carried out by just

one group of researchers in Havana, Cuba. (The other three were small

trials done in

Mexico, Argentina, and Chile.) Policosanol has never been tested in good

studies in the

U.S., Canada, Europe, or Japan. What's more, the policosanol used in

most U.S. supplements

(including the reformulated Cholestin-see " Red Yeast Rice " ) is extracted

from beeswax,

not sugarcane. Beeswax policosanol hasn't been tested on cholesterol

levels.

1 Lancet 361: 2017, 2003.

2 New England Journal of Medicine 345:1583, 2001.

3 www.ahrq.gov/clinic/epcsums/garlicsum.htm.

4 ls of Internal Medicine 133: 420,2000.

5 Journal of the American Medical Association 290: 765, 2003.

6 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 76:1237, 2002.

7 European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 57:940, 2003.

8 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 69:231, 1999.

9 Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 7: 133, 2001.

[Guest guest]

Benecol was making Gel Caps but due to lack of sales, they stopped them.

They now make Benecol Chocolate chews. However, the company

NatureMade, makes Cholest-Off which is the same product that Benecol Gel

Caps was. If someone would want the potential benefit from Benecol, I

would rather see them consume the gel caps than the spread. IN

addition, Minute Maid puts the Sterols in one of their OJ products,

which has a " heart " something in its name. I would consider that as the

second option below the gel caps.

jeff

[Guest guest]

>

> To my suprise, partially hydrogenated oil is listed as one of the

> primary ingredients [of Benecol]

>

Humm... It's curious, because where I live in (Mediterranean Europe),

Benecol exists as a trade mark, and they produce dairy stuff, but no

margarines at all: they have no-fat milk and some low-fat liquid

yogourths, so they add the vegetable stanols to those items. I see in

USA you tend to eat more " spreadable " fats, so you rely on margarine,

butter... Here we eat no solid fats, so margarine or butter is no

usually used (because of the litres of the olive oil we consume), and

the culture of the low-fat fermented dairy products (you know:

the " mediterranean way " of greek yougourth and feta!) is the " fad

traditional remake " diet nowadays.

See if you can find the same active substance you read on Benecol

label in other no fat products at the dairy stands...

Regards.