Saponins are phytochemicals naturally present in plant foods. Many
of these compounds serve as “natural antibiotics” for the plant
themselves, but now scientists are using them in the fight against
viruses, and infections. TheyÌre also known to lower blood cholesterol
thereby reducing heart disease. 1 out of every 4 Americans need to
lower their Cholesterol! Saponins have the ability to lower
Cholesterol, Triglycerides and Raise HDL levels. The lack of
saponins also seems to closely parallel the rise in heart disease. In
todayÌs fast food society, foods rich in saponins make little
contribution to our normal diets, which makes it necessary to take a
good supplement.
One of the most exciting prospects is found in how saponins
inhibit or even kill cancer cells, without killing normal cells around
them in the process, which is the norm with present cancer-fighting
drugs. Since cancer cells have more cholesterol-type compounds in
their membranes than normal cells, a diet rich in saponins is known to
bind cholesterol and thus interfere with cell growth and division.
Saponins are safe and non-toxic while drugs are known to have
adverse side effects, many of which can be serious.
How Do Saponins Work?
Since saponins cannot penetrate the intestinal wall, consequently
when they bind with cholesterol the cholesterol is now unable to
absorb back into the body, and is then excreted out of the body. This
forces the liver to produce more bile acid. To produce more bile acid,
the liver must remove cholesterol from the bloodstream, leaving less
to buildup in the arteries.
While all herbs contain saponins, those particularly rich in saponins
are gynostemma and ginseng. Gynostemma contains 84 different
kinds of saponins.