How Vitamins and Other Nutritional Supplements Can Help Patients With Elevated Cholesterol Levels
Interestingly, some patients report a transitory rise in cholesterol levels when they start taking vitamins. Because the rise in blood cholesterol levels is not the result of increased cholesterol production, it has to come from other sources — primarily atherosclerotic deposits in the artery walls. This important mechanism was first described by Dr. Constance Spittle in the medical journal The Lancet in 1972. She reported that vitamin supplementation in patients with existing cardiovascular disease frequently led to a temporary increase of cholesterol levels in the blood. In contrast, the cholesterol levels of healthy test persons did not rise with vitamin supplementation.
The temporary rise in cholesterol is an additional sign of the healing process in the artery walls and the decreasing of fatty deposits. The mechanism described here is, of course, not only valid for cholesterol, but also for triglycerides, LDL, lipoprotein (a) and other secondary risk factors, which have accumulated over decades inside the artery walls and have been slowly released into the bloodstream.
Should your cholesterol levels rise when you start following these recommendations, it can indicate the reversal of existing deposits in your artery walls. You should continue the vitamin program until, after several months, the blood level of cholesterol decreases below the initial values. A diet high in soluble fiber (e.g. oat bran, cereals and pectins) can further decrease cholesterol and other secondary risk factors in the blood.
The effect of vitamin C on the blood levels of cholesterol and other blood fats has been documented in numerous clinical studies. More than 40 of these studies have been evaluated by Dr. Harrie Hemilä of the University of Helsinki, Finland. In patients with high initial cholesterol values (above 270 mg per deciliter), vitamin C supplementation was able to decrease cholesterol levels up to 20%. In contrast, patients with low and medium initial values of cholesterol showed only a slight cholesterol- lowering effect or the levels stayed the same.
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