Pantethine vs Statins

Keywords

• Pantethine: a derivative of vitamin B5
• LDL: the "bad" cholesterol. Excess LDL coats the arteries with gunk. Combined with a poor diet and high triglycerides, this creates a field day for heart disease. 
• CoQ10: An antioxidant that is very important in created energy and maintaining healthy cholesterol levels
• HDL: the "good" cholesterol that helps clear LDL out of the arteries

Pantethine has gained recognition as a natural cholesterol-lowering alternative to statins. Statin drugs, the highest selling class of pharmaceuticals, are well known for their negative side effects such as diabetes risk, muscle weakness and breakdown, liver dysfunction, memory loss, and nerve damage. “Pantethine may be a safe and effective alternative treatment of hyperlipidemia in patients with health issues who are not eligible for statin therapy” (Evans et al., 2014).

Due to the potential of decreasing the use of statin drugs, pantethine studies have taken off. A study of 32 subjects showed that those who took 600 mg/ day of panthenine for eight weeks followed by 900 mg/day for eight weeks saw an 11% decrease in LDL cholesterol, compared to a 3% increase in the placebo group. Although statins decrease levels of CoQ10, panthenine supplementation had the opposite effects. CoQ10 levels significantly increased in the panthenine group and remained elevated throughout the study. Panthenine supplementation was also shown to increase HDL and apolipoprotein A1, which promotes the transportation of cholesterol to the liver for excretion.

According to the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) guidelines, the risk for cardiovascular disease increases with elevated LDL cholesterol combined with excess body weight, low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, lack of physical activity, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, high fibrinogen, and hypertension. “Panthenine lowers cardiovascular risk markers in low to moderate cardiovascular disease risk participants eligible for statins according to NCEP guidelines” (Evans et al., 2014).

You can get panthenine from beef, fish, poultry, broccoli, cauliflower, brown rice, dairy, eggs, nuts... it's all over the place! For doses needed to lower LDL cholesterol, doctor supervision is a really good idea.

Evans, M., Rumberger, J., Azumano, I., Napolitano, J., Citrolo, D., & Kamiya, T. (2014). Pantethine, a derivative of vitamin B5, favorably alters total, LDL and non-HDL cholesterol in low to moderate cardiovascular risk subjects eligible for statin therapy: a triple-blinded placebo and diet-controlled investigation. VHRM, 89. http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/vhrm.s57116

Kohlstadt, I. (2013). Advancing medicine with food and nutrients (2nd ed., p. 73). Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis Group.

Mayoclinic.org,. (2016). Statin side effects: Weigh the benefits and risks - Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 11 February 2016, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/statin-side-effects/art-20046013