PROVIDING PRODUCTS OF UNCOMPROMISING QUALITY WITH UNQUESTIONABLE INTEGRITY SINCE 1997

Cholesterol has a number of functions vital to our health and is produced in the liver. Among these functions, approxi-mately 80% of cholesterol produced is used to create bile. The rest is used to form cell membranes, act as a precursor to vitamin D and the testes and ovaries convert it to the repro-ductive hormones testosterone and estrogen.

Cholesterol is transported through the blood and like oil and water, cholesterol and blood do not mix. LDL (low-density li-poprotein) is a molecular complex of cholesterol and triglyc-erides that combines with proteins in such a way that the substance can dissolve in the blood. As a result, LDL can be carried to every cell in the body where each cell can obtain the cholesterol it requires.

However, excess LDL accumulates on the inner walls of your arteries and results in the formation of plaque. This leads to atherosclerosis, which can eventually lead to heart attack and stroke. Hence, LDL, despite its vital role in maintaining good health, is called “bad” cholesterol, which applies when there’s too much of it and when your antioxidant defenses are inadequate to prevent its oxidation.

In sharp contrast, HDL (high-density lipoprotein, or “good” cholesterol) plays a protective role in cardiovascular health. HDL is made in both the liver and the intestines. Once it reaches the bloodstream, it takes up excess cholesterol from cells and from other lipoproteins and transports it to the liver for storage or excretion in the bile. It removes cholesterol from arterial walls thereby helping to retard the develop-ment of atherosclerosis. This is why high levels of HDL are desirable.

The liver makes approximately 3 times as much cholesterol (600mg/day) as you consume in your diet. Therefore, dietary reductions in cholesterol would normally have a minimal ef-fect reducing blood cholesterol levels. An effective form of treatment must therefore target the liver and its regulation of cholesterol production.

Statins are a group of compounds commonly used in pre-scription cholesterol-lowering drugs. They include lovas-tatin, pravastatin and simvastatin. They target an enzyme called HMG-CoA reductase, essential for the normal produc-tion of cholesterol in the liver. Lovastatin occurs naturally in red rice yeast, a traditional food of Southeast Asia. In the form of dietary supplements, red rice yeast provides many of the benefits of the statin drugs.

Choles-FX is designed to lower cholesterol levels naturally and safely without the concerns associated with pharma-ceutical based statin drugs. The ingredients of Choles-FX are described as follows.

Policosanol is a mixture of eight or nine higher aliphatic primary alcohols (long-chain alcohols) isolated from sugar

cane wax. These compounds are collectively known as poli-cosanol. The most prominent member is a molecule called octacosanol.

Studies have demonstrated that not only is policosanol as effective as prescription cholesterol-lowering drugs in low-ering cholesterol and LDL levels but unlike those drugs will also increase HDL levels. They have also shown that policosa-nol is safe and well tolerated in patients with hypercholester-olemia and concomitant coronary factors.

When policosanol and pravastatin were tested side-by-side in an 8-week study, 10 mg of policosanol reduced total cho-lesterol by 13.9% and LDL by 18.3%, while it increased HDL by 18.4%. A 10mg dose of pravastatin yielded similar results - in two out of three measures, it reduced total cholesterol by 11.8 % and LDL by 15.6%. Unlike policosanol, however, it did not increase HDL levels.

Similar results were observed when policosanol was com-pared with simvastatin and lovastatin. In a policosanol vs. simvastatin trial, these two agents (both at a dose of 10 mg/day) reduced total cholesterol levels by 14.7% and 15.2%, re-spectively, while the LDL levels were reduced by 17.9% and 19.8%, respectively.

In that study, 27 patients completed the policosanol treat-ment, while 23 completed the treatment with simvastatin. At the beginning of the trial, all 50 patients had total cholesterol levels above 240 mg/dL, which is dangerously high. By the end of the trial, however, seven patients treated with polico-sanol (26%) and six treated with simvastatin (26%) had levels below 200 mg/dL, which is considered to be the threshold value for good (or bad) health. Eleven of the policosanol pa-tients (41%) and eight of the simvastatin patients (35%) had levels below 160 mg/dL, which is very good.

Besides its cholesterol-lowering activity, policosanol is also associated with a number of other health benefits. For ex-ample, a 6-month trial involving 62 patients demonstrated that policosanol improved the symptoms of intermittent claudication, a disease of the arteries that predominantly af-fects the legs and causes severe pain upon walking a short distance. Policosanol treatment increased walking distance in these patients by more than 50%.

It has also been reported that policosanol inhibits platelet aggregation in the blood, thus reducing the risk of throm-bosis, or blood clots. Finally, policosanol improves exercise response in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). This last effect may be related to the observation that policosanol increases maximum oxygen uptake in CAD patients and thus increases aerobic functional capacity.

Red rice yeast (Red yeast rice) has been used in traditional Chinese herbology and Chinese medicine as far back as the

960 Augusta CourtKelowna, BC

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Tang Dynasty in China in 800 A.D. and taken internally to invigorate the body, aid in digestion, and remove “blood blockages”.

Red rice yeast contains significant quantities of the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor lovastatin, a naturally-occurring statin. There is strong scien-tific evidence for its effect in lowering blood levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein/LDL (“bad cholesterol”), and triglyceride lev-els. Liu et al (2006) published a meta-analysis of clinical trials and cited 93 published, controlled clinical trials. Total cholesterol decreased by 35 mg/dl, LDL-cholesterol by 28 mg/dl, triglycerides by 35 mg/dl, and HDL-cholesterol increased by 6 mg/dl. Zhao et al reported on a four-year trial in people with diabetes (J Cardio Pharmacol 2007;49:81-84). There was a 40-50% reduction in cardio events and cardio deaths in the treated group. Ye et al reported on a four-year trial in elderly Chinese patients with heart disease (J Am Geriatr Soc 2007;55:1015-22). Deaths were down 32%. (Mueller PS. Ann Intern Med 2006;145:474-5). An ar-ticle in the June 15, 2008, issue of the American Journal of Cardiology found that red yeast rice may provide benefits beyond those provided by statins. The researchers reported that the benefits seemed to exceed those reported with lovastatin alone.

Guggulipid comes from the guggal or guggul tree and has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for nearly 3,000 years. It received regulatory ap-proval in India in 1987 for the treatment of a range of conditions includ-ing obesity and lipid disorders and for lowering cholesterol. Although the exact mechanism of action is not clearly known, US scientists have found enough evidence to support its indication for high cholesterol. Studies have shown that between 4 to 12 weeks, guggulipid can lower blood cholesterol by 14-27% and triglycerides by 22-30% and increases HDL by approximately 16%. (Szapary, P., et al, JAMA, 2003).

Niacin has been long known to have a positive effect on cholesterol levels. In fact, it can raise HDL by 15 percent to 35 percent making it one of the most effective agents for raising HDL cholesterol. In addition,

niacin also decreases your LDL and triglyceride levels. It is not clear how niacin exerts its effects on cholesterol and triglyceride levels, but it has been assumed that it may reduce the production of proteins that transport cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood.

Folic acid helps metabolize homocysteine into methionine and cys-teine. Insufficient amounts of this B vitamin can lead to an increase of homocysteine blood levels which can damage the inner surface of blood vessels, promote blood clotting, and accelerate atherosclerosis. In a large population study involving women, those who had the high-est consumption of folic acid (usually in the form of multivitamins) had fewer heart attacks than those who consumed the least amount of fo-lic acid. The control of homocysteine levels by folic acid complements the cholesterol lowering effect of Choles-FX for an overall benefit to cardiovascular health.

Our Company Integra Nutrition Inc. is the exclusive distributor of Alpha Science products and has been servicing the health care professional since 1997. Our mission is to provide products of uncompromising quality with unquestionable integrity.

Alpha Science is a pharmaceutical licensed manufacturer and is NHPD (Natural Health Products Directorate) site licensed. As such, it has to meet the highest standards set out by governmental health agencies. This includes meeting the requirements of Good Manufacturing Prac-tices (GMP).

Further, Alpha Science also meets the highest standards set out by our natural health care clientele. All our products are 100% natural and contain no additives. Our products are regularly assayed for heavy metal contamination and a complete certificate of analysis verifies the purity and content of each ingredient.

960 Augusta Court, Kelowna, BC1-888-566-8297 www.integranutrition.com

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