CholesLo is a nutritional supplement that claims to improve your cholesterol and lipid levels using natural ingredients.
By taking the supplement daily, you can purportedly “achieve healthy cholesterol and balanced lipid levels” with no changes to diet or exercise. The supplement is marketed primarily to older adults who want to improve cholesterol readings.
How does CholesLo work? Will CholesLo really improve your cholesterol? Find out everything you need to know about CholesLo today in our review.
Contents
What is CholesLo?
CholesLo is a nutritional supplement that claims to improve your cholesterol levels, supporting a healthy balance of HDL and LDL in your blood. The supplement also claims to support overall liver health and detoxification, helping your body remove unwanted toxins.
The maker of CholesLo claims that his parents have used a similar formula “since 1999 to improve their cholesterol, naturally”. The company claims the supplement involves no drugs and no diets. They also claim the supplement has been clinically and scientifically tested to prove it improves cholesterol.
CholesLo claims to achieve all of these benefits using organic ingredients. The natural ingredients support various aspects of your health and wellness, giving you results in just days.
We’re skeptical that CholesLo works as advertised to detoxify the body and improve cholesterol levels. However, let’s take a closer look at CholesLo and how it works.
How Does CholesLo Work?
CholesLo claims to provide four specific benefits, including:
- Promote healthy cholesterol levels
- Achieve a healthy balance of HDL/LDL
- Promote lower fatty triglycerides
- Promote better homocysteine levels
- Cleanse and repair the liver
80% of your cholesterol is produced in your liver. By cleansing and repairing the liver, CholesLo can help your body balance cholesterol levels.
Oddly, the company does not disclose the specific dosage of most ingredients in the formula. Most ingredients are hidden within a ‘proprietary blend’. There’s 746.50mg of the proprietary blend in each serving of CholesLo. We know the total dosage of the blend, but we don’t know the individual dosage of any ingredient in that blend.
The lack of dosage information is a problem. We know CholesLo contains some amount of artichoke leaf extract, garlic, and CoQ10, for example, all of which have been linked to various benefits. However, we don’t know if there’s a strong dosage of these ingredients – or a weak, ineffective dosage.
The proprietary blend consists of five formulas, including:
Lipid Optimizing System: CholesLo claims to optimize liver health using artichoke leaf extract, phytosterols, garlic, Pantesin d-Pantethine, CoQ10, guggulsterones, and policosanol.
Liver Cleansing Formula: CholesLo claims to clean and detoxify the liver using milk thistle extract and N-Acetyl L-Cysteine.
Blood Sugar Regular: CholesLo claims to regulate your body’s blood sugar levels using R+ Alpha Lipoic Acid (r+ ALA).
Inflammation Reducing: CholesLo claims to reduce inflammation using turmeric and mixed tocotrienols.
Homocysteine Reducing Formula: Homocysteine is an amino acid in meat. High levels of homocysteine in your blood are linked with bad cardiovascular health. The homocysteine reducing formula includes vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folate, and vitamin B5.
The company recommends taking 2 capsules twice per day. Take the supplement 5 days a week, then take weekends off. Using this method, each bottle will last approximately 1 month (80 servings / 80 capsules per bottle).
CholesLo Ingredients
CholesLo has published its full list of ingredients online, although the company has not disclosed the dosages of most ingredients. Here’s what the ingredient label looks like:
Overall, CholesLo claims to contain 18+ organic, non-GMO, proven ingredients that have a 20+ year success record of improving cholesterol.
The lack of ingredient information is a big problem. We know that milk thistle is considered safe in dosages of 400mg per day, for example, and that it could support liver health at that dosage. CholesLo contains some amount of milk thistle extract, but we don’t know the specific dosage.
Similarly, turmeric has proven anti-inflammatory benefits. People take turmeric supplements at doses of 500mg to 1,500mg per day. We know turmeric is one ingredient in the 746.50mg proprietary formula, but we don’t know the specific dosage of turmeric.
Overall, it seems unlikely that CholesLo contains significant dosages of any listed ingredients. Typically, reputable supplements want to advertise high dosages, while lower-quality supplements hide low dosages.
Scientific Evidence for CholesLo
The makers of CholesLo claim the supplement is backed by validated clinical studies. That’s true: the ingredients in CholesLo have gone through individual clinical trials. And, the overall CholesLo formula has gone through a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
It’s unclear where the study was published. The company has formatted the study to make it look like it appeared in a medical journal. However, we cannot find any evidence the study was published in any journal.
The study is poorly worded and contains unusual phrases. However, researchers claim to have completed a genuine clinical trial on CholesLo.
The study involved participants from Kawasaki Medical University in Japan. Researchers selected 150 overweight adults (88 men and 62 women) with higher markers of cardiovascular disease and low levels of HDL. Participants received either a placebo or CholesLo.
After 20 weeks, researchers concluded that CholesLo “shows clinical significance in helping reduce plasma cholesterol and homocysteine levels and therefore affects favourably the risk of subsequent development of cardiovascular disease”. Researchers added that the dose used in this trial “is safe enough to be considered for use in general population”.
You can view the full study here.
The company links to certain studies on individual ingredients in CholesLo, although these studies use different dosages than the supplement, making it hard to compare results.
FDA Issues Warning for CholesLo
In October 2019, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning advising consumers not to purchase CholesLo.
FDA laboratory analysis confirmed that CholesLo contained an undeclared drug called lovastatin. Lovastatin is the active ingredient in Mevacor, a cholesterol drug.
In other words, CholesLo had apparently added a drug to its ‘natural’ formula to enhance the effectiveness of the supplement. The company did not declare this drug on the ingredient label, yet continued to insist that it was an all-natural formula.
It’s unclear if the company has changed its formula since the FDA warning in October 2019.
CholesLo Pricing
CholesLo is priced between $29 and $50 per bottle, depending on how many bottles you buy:
1 Bottle: $49.97 + $6.83 Shipping + $2.97 Delivery Fee
3 Bottles: $99.97 + $6.83 Shipping + $2.97 Delivery Fee
7 Bottles: $199.97 + Free Shipping + $2.97 Delivery Fee
You can save money by subscribing to the autoship program. You receive one bottle of CholesLo every month until you cancel, and your credit card is automatically charged.
CholesLo Refund Policy
CholesLo has a 30-day refund policy. If you are unhappy with the supplement for any reason within 30 days, then you can request a complete refund and receive an additional $100 cash back.
Contact the company to initiate the refund process.
Who’s Behind CholesLo?
CholesLo was created by Dr. Sam Robbins. The supplement is marketed online through the Health, Fitness, & Longevity (HFL) brand, although Dr. Robbins also markets himself under the “Dr. Sam Robbins” (DSR) brand.
Dr. Robbins is not a medical doctor. He describes himself as “an anti-aging and hormone specialist, nutritionist, exercise physiologist, writer, speaker, leading health entrepreneur and philanthropist” on his official website.
Dr. Robbins has a Ph.D. in Molecular & Medical Pharmacology from the University of California, an M.S. in Nutrition, and a B.S. in Kinesiology. He’s also a Registered Orthomolecular Health Practitioner and a Certified Nutrition Specialist.
Dr. Robbins was motivated to create nutritional supplements after he became “disillusioned with patient care and the modern medical system”, claiming that the system is designed to “prescribe a drug and get them out”. It’s more about treating the symptom than addressing the root causes of illness.
The company sells a variety of nutritional supplements that target various health goals, including CholesLo, Blood Pressure Optimizer, ProVanax, and Lean Optimizer, among others.
You can contact HFL / DSR via the following:
Email Form / ZenDesk: https://health.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
Mailing Address: 3635 S Fort Apache Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89147
Final Word
CholesLo is a controversial nutritional supplement that claims to lower cholesterol using natural ingredients. That sounds good – but CholesLo has multiple serious issues.
In October 2019, the FDA tested CholesLo and found the supplement contained an unlisted drug. The company appears to have added a cholesterol-lowering drug to its formula to enhance its effectiveness. Because of this test, the FDA issued a warning to consumers, advising anyone not to buy the supplement.
Today, CholesLo continues to be available online for $30 to $50 per bottle. The company does not disclose its full list of ingredients or dosages, and there’s limited evidence the supplement can improve cholesterol without diet or exercise.
