You Want This Cholesterol To Be High!

by Robert E. Kowalski

By now just about everyone knows that to keep our hearts healthy we want our cholesterol levels to be low, well under 200. The bad form of cholesterol, LDL, should be low as well, ideally under 100. But within the past few years, medical researchers have come to recognize the tremendous importance of getting our good cholesterol, the HDL, as high as possible.

Until menopause, women tend to have much higher HDL counts than men. That's one reason women don't have nearly as many heart attacks as men, until menopause when HDL levels fall.

And the National Cholesterol Education Program, a function of the National Institute of Health in cooperation with the nation's medical organizations such as the American Heart Association, has raised the bar on what HDL measurements should be. Men, they say, should have HDLs no lower than 40, and women's counts should be at least 45. Low levels of HDL, they point out, constitute an independent risk of heart disease.

That is to say, even when total LDL cholesterol are OK, low levels of HDL can place one at risk.

To make things worse, raising HDL can be even more difficult than lowering LDL. The so-called "statin" drugs such as Mevacor (lovastatin) and Lipitor (atorvastatin) don't have much influence on HDL.

For the most part, HDL levels are determined by genetics. A lucky roll of the hereditary dice. You can raise HDL by quitting cigarette smoking, losing weight, enjoying an alcoholic drink or two daily, and exercising as much as possible.

Taking larger-than-normal doses of the vitamin niacin can raise HDL counts far more effectively than any prescription drug. And now there's another dietary supplement that can dramatically boost your HDL into the hear-healthy zone.

It's called pantethine, and is a derivative of vitamin B5, pantothenic acid. Pantethine has been used as a prescription drug for many years in Japan, and has been carefully researched for both safety and efficacy. Sold by Daiichi Fine Chemicals under their brand name Pantesin, pantethine has been shown to lower both LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, while raising HDL cholesterol levels significantly.

Here in the U.S., pantethine is sold as a dietary supplement. The most commonly recommended dosage is 600 mg daily, taken as one 300-mg tablet twice a day. Greater HDL improvements can be expected with dosages of 900 mg or 1200 mg daily.

Three brands are now available. Enzymatic Therapy markets Pantethine as PhytoPharmacia through pharmacies and physicians. Pure Encapsulation pantethine is sold exclusively through physicians. The least expensive pantethine is available directly by mail order from Endurance Products Company (800) 483-2532. (The Endurance product was chosen for research now beginning at the University of Minnesota.) For more information on pantethine in general, click on http://www.pantesin.com.

Robert E. Kowalski is a medical journalist who has spent nearly forty years writing exclusively about health and medical matters. He is the author of eight books, including the New York Times and international best-seller The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure, which put oat bran in the American diet and popularized it around the world. His current book The New 8-Week Cholesterol Cure is a complete rewrite of the original and provides state-of-the-art information on not only cholesterol but also other risk factors for heart disease and how to avoid and control them.

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