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What is Welchol?

Bile acid resins work by binding to the bile acids your body makes for use in digestion. The resins remove much of the bile acid from your gastrointestinal tract. When your body works to replenish the supply of bile acid, it takes cholesterol--a major building block for bile acids--out of the bloodstream. The result: lower levels of cholesterol in the blood.

In certain clinical studies, WelChol reduced low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad cholesterol" by 15-18 percent. Doctors may also prescribe WelChol in combination with other cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins to lower blood cholesterol levels even further.

WelChol should be taken with food and plenty of liquids.

Sources:
Micromedex® Healthcare Series. Thomson Micromedex, 2006.
Sankyo Pharma Inc., Web site: http://www.welchol.com, last accessed 11/7/2006.
WelChol product information, Sankyo Pharma, 2006.

This answer prepared 6/11/2001.
This information updated 1/30/2007.