What Tikva Users Have To Say


I have been taking these ingredients for over 1 year now.  It has been great!

My blood pressure went from 160/101 to 115/75.  My total cholesterol went from over 300 to 201.  This all happened in less than 6 months after taking these ingredients.  

Carter R.


My husband and I wanted to let you know what our experience with these ingredients has been, even at this early stage. This Wednesday marks 4 weeks on the drink.

Daniel is 42. His health is good except for the high blood pressure. He's been on Lisinopril and Indapam for about two years. He became a living zombie. It was a struggle for him some days to get the dishes washed and unload the dishwasher. He had almost every side effect listed for these drugs. In looking back, we realized that he is someone that is extremely sensitive to medicine and responds very quickly to them (either way).

We received the shipment on Wednesday, March 16th, and he began taking it. His energy began coming back the following Monday, and has remained (and gotten better).

On Friday, April 1 he had to stop taking the diuretic medicine because his blood pressure was dropping too low. Once this diuretic was stopped, everything leveled out within the target range.

He began having another symptom of skin rash/eczema and I got on the Internet to find out more about ACE inhibitors. Once we found out it was based on the venom of a Brazilian pit viper snake, the symptoms he's been experiencing were completely understandable.

He's now cut his ACE inhibitor in half, and is still in the target range on the blood pressure. We feel like that with a bit more time on the formula, he will be off of these medicines.

These ingredients have given me my husband back.

Thank you so much!

Best regards,
Ann and Dan R .


I am 45 years old and have been diagnosed with having high blood pressure (150 over 93). Because of my medical plan changing I have seen several different doctors, over a 2 year period, all are family practitioners. Each doctor prescribed different blood pressure medicine which I took and followed there direction. I saw no difference in my blood pressure. My biggest problem was with the side effects of each drug.

Then my life changed when I started taking these ingredients. I have seen my blood pressure drop to 125 over 79 in 2.5 months. I no longer take blood pressure prescription medication and my doctor considers my blood pressure to be normal, I agree. Thank you.

Brent M.


My mom died of a stroke at age fifty... My oldest brother died of a congenital heart problem at football practice at 16. My dad died at seventy of heart problems after suffering with bad circulation that limited, for many years, his ability to walk.

At age sixty I am 5' 9" and 163 lbs. I had been working out at a gym for six months and had all but eliminated alcohol. At an annual physical in early March, I was disappointed to learn that my blood pressure, for which I had been taking metoprolol, was 168/98.My doctor, an internal medicine guy who was tired of seeing his patients going down with heart attacks and strokes, made it clear that he viewed me as a "walking time bomb." Given the family history that I have to work with, it was impossible to argue and I put up only modest resistance when he prescribed Lipitor. Soon after I began taking these ingredients my daily readings began to go steadily down and the most recent lab results show:

LDL at 72 or one half of what it was a month ago

HDL 49, up 6 from a month ago

Triglycerides 82, down from 102

Blood pressure at 123/68.

My doctor was delighted. Me too. If the trend continues, he has promised to review the need for Lipitor and maybe even metoprolol. I will be one happy man to see those things go.

Regards,
Steve


Two months ago, despite swimming and jogging for an hour each day, my blood pressure was 187 over 98. I freaked. After using these ingredients for just 9 weeks now I am already down to 144/84. I know that it takes most people 3 months to get it down but I am very pleased so far.

Jack O


I have been using these ingredients for 2 1/2 months and my blood pressure has dropped from about 180/100 to an average of 125/80. This decrease occurred without other medication. My doctor wanted to put me on an ace-inhibitor medication but I decided to take these ingredients instead. I'm glad I did.

J Patterson


Hi. This is Heidi. My husband has been taking these ingredients. His blood pressure was 144/83. Not real high, but high enough to become a problem. His blood pressure now is averaging from 125 to 118. Well within normal range. He seems much more relaxed. I am convinced that this is helping him. It is just by a stroke of luck that I found your website. I am going to tell other people with similar conditions.

We are still working on losing the weight, but that takes a little time.

Thank you, and take care,

Heidi D.


Policosanol
Lower High Cholesterol




What Is It?

Policosanol 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.

WholeHealthMD.com

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Health Benefits

Lower LDL "bad cholesterol" and raise HDL "good cholesterol"

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 atherosclerosis. 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 phytochemical alternative to classic lipid-lowering agents such as statins."

This could be welcome news for some of the 30 million Americans who are currently using the expensive statin drugs. Some studies indicated that policosanol is not only equal to, but may possibly even be somewhat more effective than statins or fibrates in lowering total and LDL cholesterol and increasing "good" cholesterol, or HDL.

One study showed that patients taking the standard daily 10 mg dose of policosanol experienced a 17% drop in total cholesterol, a 25.6% drop in LDL cholesterol, and a 28.4% rise in HDL cholesterol. These percentages are equal to results obtained with statin medications.

Some studies confirmed the cholesterol-lowering effects of policosanol in specific groups, including post-menopausal women, the elderly, and people who have both diabetes and heart disease. In addition, policosanol was effective in treating Intermittent claudication , a condition in which poor circulation in the legs causes severe leg pain during exercise. Because policosanol reduces the tendency of blood to clot by reducing the "stickiness" of blood platelets, the tiny particles involved in clotting, it may help prevent cardiovascular disease in a manner similar to aspirin.

WholeHealthMD.com

Clinical Studies

Comparing results from taking 10 mg or 20mg of policosanol

Policosanol has undergone as many clinical trials as most drugs. In studies on people with high cholesterol at high risk of heart disease, policosanol lowered LDL cholesterol 20% in 6 to 12 weeks at 10 mg/day. Total cholesterol was reduced 15%, and HDL increased 7%-28%.

Taking 20 mg/day reduced LDL about 28%, total cholesterol about 20%, and elevated HDL 7%-10%. Triglycerides don't respond to policosanol.


Life Extension

Policosanol VS. Atorvastatin (Lipitor)

Diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolaemia increase the risk for coronary heart disease, with type 2 diabetes mellitus being the most prevalent form of diabetes, frequently accompanied by dyslipidaemia. The main goal of dyslipidaemia control in nondiabetic and diabetic patients is to lower elevated low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels.

Policosanol is a cholesterol-lowering drug, purified from sugarcane wax, with a therapeutic range of 5-20 mg/day, which significantly reduces LDL-C levels.

Atorvastatin is an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor that, across its dose range (10-80 mg/day), has shown significantly greater lipid-lowering effects than all previously marketed statins.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects on lipid profile and platelet aggregation of policosanol and atorvastatin in patients with dyslipidaemia due to type 2 diabetes.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: This randomized, single-blind, parallel-group study was conducted in patients with type 2 diabetes (fasting glucose </=7 mmol/L and glycosylated haemoglobin [HbA(1c)] <8.5%) and high LDL-C levels (>/=3.0 mmol/L). After 6 weeks on a cholesterol-lowering diet, 40 patients were randomised to policosanol or atorvastatin 10mg tablets taken once daily with the evening meal for 8 weeks. Assessments of lipid profile, platelet aggregation tests, safety indicators and adverse events were performed.

RESULTS: After 8 weeks of therapy,

policosanol significantly lowered LDL-C by 25.7% and total cholesterol (TC) by 18.2%. Atorvastatin 10 mg/day decreased LDL-C by 41.9% and TC by 31.5%. Atorvastatin was more effective than policosanol in reducing LDL-C and TC

Policosanol also significantly reduced the TC/high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio (25.2% and triglycerides (15.6%). Atorvastatin lowered TC/HDL-C by 30.5% and triglycerides by 13.9% the reductions on these variables were similar in the two groups.

Policosanol, but not atorvastatin, significantly increased HDL-C (11.1%) the effect being significantly different from that of atorvastatin.

Also, policosanol, but not atorvastatin, significantly inhibited platelet aggregation induced by arachidonic acid 0.75 and 1.5 mmol/L (39.0% and 33.3%, respectively) and by collagen 0.25 and 0.5 mug/mL (15.7% and 28.5%, respectively); these inhibitions were significantly different from the changes that occurred with atorvastatin.

Both treatments were well tolerated, with glycemic control being unaffected. Neither drug impaired physical safety indicators or glucose control indicators (fasting glucose and HbA(1c)).

Atorvastatin significantly increased levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) [ Most increases in ALT levels are caused by liver damage -WebMD.COM ] and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) [ levels in the blood may rise when those other tissues are damaged -WebMD.COM], while policosanol did not significantly change any safety indicator.

CONCLUSION: Policosanol (10 mg/day) for 8 weeks was less effective than similar doses of atorvastatin in reducing LDL-C and TC in patients with dyslipidaemia due to type 2 diabetes, but more effective in increasing HDL-C. Both drugs similarly reduced the TC/HDL-C ratio and triglycerides. Policosanol showed additional advantages regarding inhibition of platelet aggregation.

Pub Med

Effects of policosanol in older patients with type II hypercholesterolemia and high coronary risk.

BACKGROUND: The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of policosanol in older patients with type II hypercholesterolemia and more than one concomitant atherosclerotic risk factor. METHODS: After 6 weeks on a lipid-lowering diet, 179 patients randomly received a placebo or policosanol at doses of 5 followed by 10 mg per day for successive 12-week periods of each dose. Policosanol (5 and 10 mg/d) significantly reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; 16.9% and 24.4%, respectively) and total cholesterol (TC; 12.8% and 16.2%, respectively), while significantly increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) by 14.6% and 29.1%, respectively. RESULTS: Policosanol significantly decreased the ratios of LDL-C to HDL-C (29.1%) and TC to HDL-C (28%) at study completion, although triglycerides remained unchanged. Policosanol , but not the placebo, significantly improved (p .01) cardiovascular capacity, which was assessed using the Specific Activity Scale. No serious adverse experiences occurred in policosanol patients (p < .01), compared with seven adverse experiences (7.9%) reported by placebo patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that policosanol is effective, safe, and well tolerated in older hypercholesterolemic patients.

Life Extension

Efficacy and tolerability of policosanol in hypercholesterolemic postmenopausal women.

This randomized, double-blind, multicenter placebo-controlled study was conducted to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of policosanol , a cholesterol-lowering drug purified from sugar cane wax, in women who had experienced menopause and showed elevated serum total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels despite a 6-week standard lipid-lowering diet. Thus, 56 eligible patients were randomized to receive placebo or policosanol 5 mg/day for 8 weeks and the dose was doubled to 10 mg/day during the next 8 weeks.

Policosanol (5 and 10 mg/day) significantly decreased LDL-cholesterol (17.3% and 26.7%, respectively), total cholesterol (12.9% and 19.5%) as well as the ratios of LDL-cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol (17.2% and 26.5%) and total cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol (16.3% and 21.0%) compared with baseline and placebo. HDL-cholesterol levels were significantly raised by 7.4% at study completion. No significant changes occurred in the lipid profile of the placebo group.

Life Extension

A long-term study of policosanol in the treatment of intermittent claudication.

Policosanol is a cholesterol-lowering drug with concomitant antiplatelet effects. This study was undertaken to investigate the long-term effects of policosanol administered to patients with moderately severe intermittent claudication. The study consisted of a 6-week single-blind, placebo-controlled run in phase, followed by a 2-year double-blind, randomized treatment step. Fifty-six patients who met study entry criteria were randomized to receive placebo or policosanol 10 mg twice daily. Walking distances on a treadmill (constant speed 3.2 km/h, slope 10 degrees, temperature 25 degrees C) were assessed before and after 6, 12, 18, and 24 months of treatment. Both groups were similar at randomization.

After 6 months of therapy, policosanol significantly increased (p < 0.01) the initial claudication distance from 125.9 +/- 8.7 m to 201.1 +/- 24.8 m and the absolute claudication distance from 219.5 +/- 14.1 m to 380.7 +/- 50.2 m. Both variables remained unchanged in the placebo group. These effects did not wear off but improved after long-term therapy, so that final values were 333.5 +/- 28.6 m (initial claudication distance) and 648.9 +/- 54.1 m (absolute claudication distance); both significantly greater than those obtained in the placebo group, which showed values of 137.9 +/- 21.8 m (initial claudication distance) and 237.7 +/- 28.1 m (absolute claudication distance), respectively. At study completion, 21 policosanol and 5 placebo patients attained increases in claudication distance values > 50%. Policosanol , but not placebo, significantly increased the ankle/arm pressure index. In addition, from month 6 up to study completion, the frequency of patients reporting improvement of lower limb symptoms was greater in the policosanol group than in the placebo group. The treatment was tolerated well. The present results demonstrate the long-term usefulness of policosanol therapy to treat patients with intermittent claudication.

Life Extension

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