Total Cholesterol is a phrase used to refer to all circulating cholesterol molecules, and is totalled by adding LDL-C, HDL-C and vLDL-C together. It is distinct from Triglycerides.
The Human Effect Matrix looks at human studies (excluding animal/petri-dish studies) to tell you what what supplements affect Total Cholesterol
| Grade | Level of Evidence |
|---|---|
| A | Robust research conducted with repeated double blind clinical trials |
| B | Multiple studies where at least two are double-blind and placebo controlled |
| C | Single double blind study or multiple cohort studies |
| D | Uncontrolled or observational studies only |
| Level of Evidence | Supplement | Change | Magnitude of Effect Size | Scientific Consensus | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Policosanol |   Minor | There may be some limited efficacy of policosanol on cholesterol (when excluding the studies from cuba, which are highly suspicious, there is still some scattered but unreliable... show | ||
| A | Fish Oil | Although some decreases have been noted, overall there does not appear to be a significant clinical reduction in total cholesterol like there is with triglycerides | |||
| B | L-Carnitine | For the most part, there does not appear to be a significant influence of carnitine on total cholesterol levels | |||
| B | Spirulina | Minor | Reductions in cholesterol seen are positive, but not overly remarkable | ||
| B | Berberine | Notable | 100% See 2 studies | Total cholesterol appears to be decreased by around −0.58mmol/L (95% CI −1.02 to −0.14), which is not overly potent. The reduction in notable as if this mechanism... show | |
| B | Psyllium | Minor | Not unique to psyllium, but has the standard slight reduction of cholesterol that affects persons with high cholesterol. Not strong enough for monotherapy, can be a nice... show | ||
| B | Olive leaf extract | Minor | There appears to be somewhat of a decrease in total cholesterol (mostly due to LDL) with olive leaf consumption; it is not overly reliable | ||
| B | Grape Seed Extract | Minor | May decrease total cholesterol to an unremarkable degree when taken either at high (600mg) doses or in high risk populations; reductions in cholesterol are definitely not reliable | ||
| B | Royal Jelly | Minor | 100% See 2 studies | A decrease in total cholesterol is noted in the range of 10% associated with 50-100mg of Royal Jelly daily; the evidence this conclusion was drawn from (via a meta-analysis)... show | |
| C | Creatine | 100% See study | |||
| C | ECA | 100% See study | No significant influence on total cholesterol levels | ||
| C | Ginger | Minor | 100% See study | Possible cholesterol reducing effects associated with ginger consumption | |
| C | Curcumin | More robust evidence suggests no significant influence of curcumin on total cholesterol, although there may be a potential role | |||
| C | Coenzyme Q10 | 100% See 2 studies | No significant or consistent effects on total cholesterol levels noted with CoQ10 | ||
| C | Vitamin C | 100% See 2 studies | No significant influence on total cholesterol seems apparent with vitamin C supplementation | ||
| C | Punicic Acid | 100% See study | No significant influence on total cholesterol levels | ||
| C | Whey Protein | 100% See 2 studies | No significant influence on circulating cholesterol has been demonstrated with whey protein | ||
| C | Grapefruit | Minor | 100% See study | A decrease in total cholesterol has been noted, this is confounded with weight loss (also occurred) | |
| C | Tribulus Terrestris | Minor | 100% See study | A decrease in cholesterol levels has been noted with tribulus supplementation | |
| C | Vanadium | 100% See 2 studies | No significant alterations in the levels of total cholesterol per se, but a decrease has been noted to be secondary to attenuating diabetic symptoms | ||
| C | Artichoke Extract | Minor | Despite its traditional usage, the decreases in cholesterol are not remarkable and are quite small in magnitude. | ||
| C | Licorice | 100% See study | No significant influence on total cholesterol is observed following licorice ingestion | ||
| C | Green Coffee Extract | 100% See study | No significant alterations in total cholesterol seen with green coffee extract | ||
| C | Nattokinase | 100% See study | No significant influence on total cholesterol seen with supplementation | ||
| C | Eleutherococcus senticosus | 100% See study | No significant influences yet known for total cholesterol | ||
| C | Benfotiamine | 100% See study | No significant changes in total cholesterol | ||
| C | Cissus Quadrangularis | Minor | 100% See study | Reductions in total cholesterol not overly remarkable and confounded with weight loss | |
| C | Stevia | 100% See study | No significant effect on total cholesterol levels have been detected with stevia consumption | ||
| C | Theaflavins | 100% See study | No significant influence on total cholesterol levels with theaflavins supplementation | ||
| C | Ecklonia Cava | Minor | 100% See 2 studies | A possible reduction in total cholesterol concentrations | |
| C | Ecdysteroids | 100% See study | In resistance trained males, no significant influence of ecdysterone supplementation on cholesterol | ||
| C | Dehydroepiandrosterone | Minor | There may be a decrease in cholesterol seen with DHEA in hypercholesterolemics, but it is not overly reliable | ||
| C | Salvia hispanica | 100% See 2 studies | No significant influence on total cholesterol levels after inclusion of chia seeds into the diet | ||
| C | Gamma Oryzanol | 100% See 2 studies | No significant alterations seen in total cholesterol levels with supplementation | ||
| C | Garcinia Cambogia | 100% See study | No significant alterations seen in total cholesterol levels | ||
| C | Ganoderma Lucidum | 100% See study | No significant alterations in total cholesterol observed with reishi ingestion | ||
| C | Green Tea Catechins | Minor | 100% See study | A decrease in cholesterol is noted with green tea catechins, but to a small degree | |
| C | Hibiscus Sabdariffa | No significant changes in total cholesterol noted | |||
| C | HMB | Minor | One underpowered study noted an increase in total cholesterol while another suggested no significant effect. The exact effect of HMB on total cholesterol is not currently... show | ||
| C | Japanese Knotweed | 100% See study | No significant alterations in cholesterol seen with Japanese Knotweed ingestion | ||
| C | Irvingia Gabonensis | Minor | 100% See 2 studies | A decrease in total cholesterol has been noted, but is confounded with weight loss | |
| C | Magnesium | 100% See 2 studies | No significant influence on total cholesterol levels seen with magnesium supplementation | ||
| C | Melatonin | 100% See study | No significant influence on total cholesterol levels | ||
| C | Microlactin | Minor | 100% See 2 studies | May be able to reduce total cholesterol by a moderate to low degree (8-10%), but requires more robust evidence | |
| C | Soy lecithin | Notable | 100% See study | A decrease in total cholesterol, mostly due to LDL-C, has been noted to the magnitude of 40.66-42.00% which is astounding; requires replication. | |
| C | Resveratrol | 100% See study | No significant effect on total cholesterol levels | ||
| C | Pyruvate | Minor | 100% See study | A reduction in total cholesterol has been noted once in response to a high fat hypercaloric diet; practical relevance unknown | |
| C | Guggul | Minor | Possible decrease in total cholesterol, but this is unreliable (and paired with a possible increase in LDL-C, this is likely to be not desirable) | ||
| C | Tetradecyl Thioacetic Acid | Minor | 100% See study | Possible reductions in total cholesterol with supplementation of TTA | |
| C | Panax Ginseng | Minor | Possible cholesterol reducing effect, but appears unreliable | ||
| C | Phosphatidylserine | 100% See study | No significant influence with PS supplementation on total cholesterol | ||
| C | Krill Oil | Minor | 100% See 2 studies | A decrease in total cholesterol has been noted with krill oil, to a fairly normal degree (reduction is lessened from the remarkable increase in HDL) | |
| C | Lactobacillus casei | ||||
| C | Citrulline | 100% See study | No significant influence on total cholesterol concentrations | ||
| D | Coffee | Minor | 100% See study | An increase in cholesterol has been noted in one study which attributed most of the increase to HDL | |
| D | Quercetin | Minor | 100% See study | An increase in total cholesterol has been noted, but mostly attributed to HDL | |
| D | Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid | Minor | 100% See study | A decrease in total cholesterol in serum has been noted secondary to treating cholestasis | |
| D | Pycnogenol | Minor | Possible cholesterol lowering effects of small magnitude, but these are not wholly reliable | ||
| D | Pueraria Lobata | 100% See study | No significant influence have been detected on total cholesterol | ||
| D | Coconut Oil | Minor | 100% See study | A decrease in total cholesterol (both the LDL and HDL portions) has been noted with coconut oil to a minor degree relative to longer chain fatty acids | |
| D | Aronia Melanocarpa | Minor | 100% See 2 studies | Requires more studies before conclusions can be made, appears to simply be exerting anti-oxidant effects. | |
| D | Ashwagandha | Minor | 100% See study | Decreases in total cholesterol have been seen due to ashwagandha ingestion. | |
| D | Yerba Mate | Minor | 100% See study | A decrease of total cholesterol has been noted with Mate consumption | |
| D | Eclipta Alba | Minor | 100% See study | A decrease in total cholesterol has been noted with supplementation of eclipta alba |
(Users who contributed to this page include KurtisFrank, herman_gill, conlank, Sol)
