Policosanol Review – Is it Good for Weight Loss?

What is Policosanol?

Policosanol is a plant wax that can be derived from sugarcane, beeswax and yams. There have been some studies provided by the Cuban government, listing how it is effective in helping lower cholesterol levels, but these studies have not been verified from other independent sources.

It is up for debate as to how effective Policosanol is with helping people with weight loss, as there hasn’t been much mention of it as such. Despite this, in Cuba Policosanol is seen as something of an elixir. So is it really as good as they claim it to be? Or has the effectiveness of this product been slanted by the Cuban government? We decided to find out.

Who makes it?

Policosanol is a substance that naturally occurs within sugarcane, beeswax and yams. The Cuban government specifically is known to tout this product as effective. Companies that produce Policosanol include Solgar Sugar, NOW Foods, The Vitamin Shoppe and GNC to name a few. Policosanol can be purchased from a variety of online retailers, not to mention nutritional supplement stores as well.

How (and) does it work?

Cholesterol is a product that the liver makes. For people with poor diet and who don’t exercise enough, or for people who genetically predisposed, the liver can end up making an excess of cholesterol, which isn’t healthy. That’s where Policosanol jumps into the scene, claiming to not only lower Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, but raise High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels as well. Due to a lack of scientific information, there is no recommended dosage of this product. We recommend talking to a physician before administering for personal use.

While the Cuban government has done various studies claiming the effectiveness of Policosanol, independent studies have not agreed with these results. Some studies have shown no results at all, and that’s just with cholesterol regulation. There are no studies available to support that this product can help with weight loss.

What’s inside of it and are there side effects?

Policosanol is made up of a variety of fatty alcohols that are found in plant waxes. The two most bountiful alcohols in Policosanol are octacosanol and triacontanol, in that order. Other alcohols included that are found in amounts that are greater than 1% include dotriacontanol, hexacosanol and tetracosanol. This combination of alcohols is claimed to help lower LDL cholesterol levels, while raising HDL cholesterol levels. All natural diet pills on the top 10 list may also help with this effect as well.

This product may cause the following adverse effects:

Insomnia, irritability, dizziness, stomach discomfort, rashes, migraines, increased appetite, nose bleeding, gum bleeding and trouble urinating.

What’s good about it?

Policosanol is relatively easy to find and inexpensive to purchase as well. In some cases, it can be purchased for a mere $3.99. So even if you don’t like this product, it’s not like it will burn a serious hole in your wallet.

What’s bad about it?

The main issue of contention against Policosanol is that the studies that were done on it that show it to be effective were done by the Cuban government. Owning everything in the private sector, the Cuban government may have skewed the results of their studies, so they could then make more revenue. This would explain why there are independent studies that don’t agree with their findings.

There is also the fact that while Policosanol may help lower cholesterol, in regards to overall weight loss there is no evidence that this is proven to be effective. Policosanol is not known to suppress appetite, raise metabolism or energy levels, or mobilize fat in anyway.

Lastly Policosanol is also claimed to help with overall heart health, but again there is a discrepancy in the studies that were done. As such, just like cholesterol levels, effectiveness in helping with cardiac issues remains inconclusive.

Wrap Up

While the Cuban government may be boastful in it’s claims of this product, there is a lack of scientific verification as to how effective this is in helping people balance their cholesterol levels. Furthermore, there is no evidence that this can help people lose weight either.

Bottom Line:

Just because there may be positive studies available on a product, if these studies are not agreed upon by other independent sources, then there’s no proof that the product really is as effective as it is claimed to be. And this is just talking about cholesterol! There is no evidence to support that Policosanol can help people lose weight in any way. Effective diet pills are available that can support their claims. It’s always important to verify the facts of the products you are going to consume, because if you don’t everything could just be a waste of time and energy.

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