Thank you for that, @CTStan . I’ve seen than some people use serrapeptase and Nattokinase together.
One of the benefits Nattokinase supposedly has is to lower LDL (an easily measurable outcome, and if particular interest to me). But you are using serrapeptase instead. Any indications your LDL declined while using it? Other easy metrics include reduced blood pressure? (From my very cursory search, I’m not sure serrapeptase is indicated for either of these values, and seems to be best studied for inflammation.)
(I’m again breaking my rule on trusting Chinese research, but some of this is just a review, and the below is research actually done in China with 10,000 FU of Nattokinase administered daily over a year)
Effective management of atherosclerosis progress and hyperlipidemia with nattokinase: A clinical study with 1,062 participants - PMC)%20(10%E2%80%9316).
Using NK or natto extract containing NK, animal studies from various laboratories confirmed that NK has a hypolipidemic effect and significantly reduces elevated serum triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (LDL-C) (10–16). Our studies found that in patients with hyperlipidaemia, NK treatment (26 weeks at 6,000 FU) reduced TC, LDL-C and TG, and increased the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (5).
However, data from human studies have not been consistent or conclusive. For example, in a small pilot study, Wu and colleagues observed a decrease in serum cholesterol, LDL-C and HDL-C in the NK treatment group following 8 weeks of treatment at a dose of 4,000 FU, although the difference was not statistically significant (17). In a recent report aimed at determining the effect of NK on the progression of subclinical atherosclerosis, it was concluded that NK supplementation at the dose of 2,000 FU does not have an effect on the progression of subclinical atherosclerosis in healthy individuals at low CVD risk (18). In contrast, in studies using higher doses of 6,000 FU (5) and 7,000 FU (19), NK was effective in lowering the level of total cholesterol, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in hyperlipidemic patients, and was also effective in reducing the thickness of the median of the common carotid artery (CCA-IMT) and the size of the carotid plaque.
Effects of NK use on the lipid profile
The changes in the blood lipid profile of the participants before and after treatment are shown in Table 2. After 12 months of daily NK consumption at a dose of 10,800 FU, a significant reduction in TG, TC, and LDL-C (P < 0.01) was evident compared to the values before treatment. Furthermore, NK also had the effect of increasing HDL-C (15.8% increase, P < 0.01). The levels of TC, TG, LDL-C, and HDL-C improved in 95.4, 85.2, 84.3, and 89.1% of the participants, respectively, after 12 months of NK use (Table 3). NK administration for 12 months led to a decrease of 15.9, 15.3, and 18.1% in TC, TG, and LDL-C, respectively. Taking all of the data into account, NK produced a significant and favorable effect on the lipid profile in hyperlipidemic participants.
NK suppresses atherosclerosis
After 12 months of NK consumption, both the size of CCA-IMT and the size of the carotid artery plaque decreased significantly (from 1.33 to 1.04mm on average, P < 0.001). The size of the plaque decreased by up to 36%, suggesting that NK is very effective in improving/reducing carotid atherosclerosis (Table 4). The overall improvement rates in CCA-IMT and CPS are not as high as those in blood lipids, with approximately 2/3 and 77.7% of the participants showing improvement in CPS and CCA-IMT, respectively (Table 3).
