Topic

Cholesterol and blood fats

The blood-fat panel — LDL, HDL, total cholesterol and triglycerides.

This page is not a ranking. Ingredients appear in order of how much we have read here.

The 7 things measured here · ingredients read against each

Read here so far: 65 questions across 24 ingredients

Berberine

Berberine and LDL cholesterolThree sources, all measured lowerHigh certainty, level 4 of 4
Berberine and Total cholesterolThree sources, all measured lowerHigh certainty, level 4 of 4
Berberine and TriglyceridesThree sources, all measured lowerHigh certainty, level 4 of 4
Berberine and HDL cholesterolThree sources, saying different thingsModerate certainty, level 3 of 4

Chromium

Chromium and HDL cholesterolOne source, measured higherLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Chromium and LDL cholesterolOne source, found no clear differenceLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Chromium and Total cholesterolOne source, measured lowerLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Chromium and TriglyceridesOne source, measured lowerLow certainty, level 2 of 4

Curcumin

Curcumin and HDL cholesterolOne source, measured higherModerate certainty, level 3 of 4
Curcumin and LDL cholesterolOne source, measured lowerModerate certainty, level 3 of 4
Curcumin and Total cholesterolOne source, measured lowerModerate certainty, level 3 of 4
Curcumin and TriglyceridesOne source, measured lowerModerate certainty, level 3 of 4

Ginger

Ginger and LDL cholesterolOne source, found no clear differenceLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Ginger and Total cholesterolOne source, found no clear differenceLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Ginger and HDL cholesterolOne source, measured higherVery low certainty, level 1 of 4
Ginger and TriglyceridesOne source, measured lowerVery low certainty, level 1 of 4

N-acetylcysteine

N-acetylcysteine and HDL cholesterolOne source, measured higherLow certainty, level 2 of 4
N-acetylcysteine and LDL cholesterolOne source, found no clear differenceLow certainty, level 2 of 4
N-acetylcysteine and Total cholesterolOne source, measured lowerLow certainty, level 2 of 4
N-acetylcysteine and TriglyceridesOne source, found no clear differenceLow certainty, level 2 of 4

Niacin (vitamin B3)

Niacin (vitamin B3) and HDL cholesterolTwo sources, all measured higherModerate certainty, level 3 of 4
Niacin (vitamin B3) and LDL cholesterolTwo sources, all measured lowerModerate certainty, level 3 of 4
Niacin (vitamin B3) and TriglyceridesTwo sources, all measured lowerModerate certainty, level 3 of 4
Niacin (vitamin B3) and Total cholesterolOne source, measured lowerLow certainty, level 2 of 4

Piperine

Piperine and LDL cholesterolThree sources, saying different thingsLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Piperine and Total cholesterolThree sources, all measured lowerLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Piperine and TriglyceridesThree sources, saying different thingsLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Piperine and HDL cholesterolTwo sources, saying different thingsLow certainty, level 2 of 4

Psyllium

Psyllium and LDL cholesterolTwo sources, all measured lowerModerate certainty, level 3 of 4
Psyllium and Total cholesterolTwo sources, all measured lowerLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Psyllium and Apolipoprotein BOne source, measured lowerModerate certainty, level 3 of 4
Psyllium and Non-HDL CholesterolOne source, measured lowerModerate certainty, level 3 of 4

Silymarin

Silymarin and LDL cholesterolThree sources, saying different thingsModerate certainty, level 3 of 4
Silymarin and Total cholesterolThree sources, saying different thingsModerate certainty, level 3 of 4
Silymarin and HDL cholesterolTwo sources, all measured higherModerate certainty, level 3 of 4
Silymarin and TriglyceridesTwo sources, all measured lowerLow certainty, level 2 of 4

L-Carnitine

L-Carnitine and HDL cholesterolOne source, measured higher, and one source carries a noticeVery low certainty, level 1 of 4
L-Carnitine and LDL cholesterolOne source, measured lower, and one source carries a noticeVery low certainty, level 1 of 4
L-Carnitine and TriglyceridesOne source, measured lower, and one source carries a noticeVery low certainty, level 1 of 4

Quercetin

Quercetin and LDL cholesterolOne source, measured lowerLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Quercetin and Total cholesterolOne source, measured lowerLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Quercetin and TriglyceridesOne source, found no clear differenceLow certainty, level 2 of 4

Taurine

Taurine and LDL cholesterolTwo sources, saying different thingsLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Taurine and Total cholesterolOne source, measured lowerLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Taurine and TriglyceridesOne source, measured lowerLow certainty, level 2 of 4

Vitamin E

Vitamin E and LDL cholesterolOne source, found no clear differenceLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Vitamin E and Total cholesterolOne source, found no clear differenceLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Vitamin E and Oxidized LDL (oxLDL)One source, measured lowerVery low certainty, level 1 of 4

Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin and HDL cholesterolOne source, measured higherLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Astaxanthin and TriglyceridesOne source, found no clear differenceLow certainty, level 2 of 4

Biotin (vitamin B7)

Biotin (vitamin B7) and Total cholesterolTwo sources, saying different thingsLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Biotin (vitamin B7) and TriglyceridesTwo sources, saying different thingsLow certainty, level 2 of 4

Coenzyme Q10

Coenzyme Q10 and LDL cholesterolOne source, measured lowerLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Coenzyme Q10 and TriglyceridesOne source, measured lowerVery low certainty, level 1 of 4

Copper

Copper and LDL cholesterolOne source, found no clear differenceLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Copper and Total cholesterolOne source, found no clear differenceLow certainty, level 2 of 4

Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA/DHA)

Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA/DHA) and TriglyceridesFour sources, all measured lower, and one source carries a noticeModerate certainty, level 3 of 4
Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA/DHA) and LDL cholesterolThree sources, all measured higherModerate certainty, level 3 of 4

Panax ginseng

Panax ginseng and LDL cholesterolOne source, measured lowerLow certainty, level 2 of 4
Panax ginseng and Total cholesterolOne source, measured lowerLow certainty, level 2 of 4

Myo-inositol

Myo-inositol and TriglyceridesOne source, measured lowerVery low certainty, level 1 of 4

Plant Sterols

Plant Sterols and LDL cholesterolThree sources, all measured lowerModerate certainty, level 3 of 4

Psyllium Husk

Psyllium Husk and LDL cholesterolThree sources, all measured lowerModerate certainty, level 3 of 4

Red Yeast Rice

Red Yeast Rice and LDL cholesterolThree sources, all measured lowerModerate certainty, level 3 of 4

Sodium

Sodium and Total cholesterolOne source, measured higher, and one source carries a noticeModerate certainty, level 3 of 4

Where the sources say different things

Every side in full, because one line would have to pick one of them.

Each bar is one source’s range, drawn against the line of no difference: left of the line is lower, right is higher. Widths are not comparable between rows.

Berberine and HDL cholesterol
Three sources here, and they say different things: two measured higher HDL cholesterol and one found no clear difference.
Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4The sources say different things
One source’s range, crossing no difference: these numbers fit no effect too. The sources here say different things. Systematic review, 2023 · 15 studies pooled · 1,471 participants
Silymarin and LDL cholesterol
Three sources here, and they say different things: two measured lower LDL cholesterol and one found no clear difference.
Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4The sources say different things
One source’s range. The sources here say different things. Systematic review, 2024
Silymarin and total cholesterol
Three sources here, and they say different things: two measured lower total cholesterol and one found no clear difference.
Moderate certainty, level 3 of 4The sources say different things
One source’s range. The sources here say different things. Systematic review, 2024
Piperine and LDL cholesterol
Three sources here, and they say different things: one measured lower LDL cholesterol and two found no clear difference.
Low certainty, level 2 of 4The sources say different things
One source’s range, crossing no difference: these numbers fit no effect too. The sources here say different things. Systematic review, 2026 · 16 studies pooled
Piperine and triglycerides
Three sources here, and they say different things: two measured lower triglycerides and one found no clear difference.
Low certainty, level 2 of 4The sources say different things
One source’s range. The sources here say different things. Systematic review, 2026 · 16 studies pooled
Piperine and HDL cholesterol
Two sources here, and they say different things: one measured higher HDL cholesterol and one found no clear difference.
Low certainty, level 2 of 4The sources say different things
One source’s range. The sources here say different things. Systematic review, 2026 · 16 studies pooled
Taurine and LDL cholesterol
Two sources here, and they say different things: one measured lower LDL cholesterol and one found no clear difference.
Low certainty, level 2 of 4The sources say different things
One source’s range. The sources here say different things. Systematic review, 2025
Biotin (vitamin B7) and total cholesterol
Two sources here, and they say different things: one measured lower total cholesterol and one found no clear difference.
Low certainty, level 2 of 4The sources say different things
One source’s range. The sources here say different things. Systematic review, 2022
Biotin (vitamin B7) and triglycerides
Two sources here, and they say different things: one measured lower triglycerides and one found no clear difference.
Low certainty, level 2 of 4The sources say different things
One source’s range, crossing no difference: these numbers fit no effect too. The sources here say different things. Systematic review, 2022

How much of this is one source

Read from 50 sources. 40 of the 65 questions here rest on a single source with nothing yet to check them against, and on 9 questions the sources say different things.

What is still to read is kept per ingredient, not per topic, so every ingredient named above carries its own list.

Still to read means nobody here has got to it, not that it was tried and did nothing or that no research exists. A pairing on no list is not a gap: we never set out to read it.

The other 14 topics

This is a library, not advice. No recommendation, no dose, no diagnosis, no ranking. We never ask about your symptoms, and nothing here is tailored to you.