Proven Ways to Lower Cholesterol

High cholesterol has long been known to be a major factor in heart disease and premature death as a consequence, so lowering it is clearly a smart idea. There are 2 mains ways to lower cholesterol that have been established to work: 1) adopt a healthier lifestyle and 2) take cholesterol lowering drugs.

Hyper-cholesterolemia (as high cholesterol is termed medically) is becoming widespread particularly in the Western world and is almost certainly due to features of the modern lifestyle. For most people whose cholesterol is too high, relatively minor modifications to their diet and exercise regime will restore normal cholesterol levels.

Some people however are either already beyond what can be usefully achieved with lifestyle modifications or carry an inherited genetic disorder (familial hyper-cholesterolemia) that limits the benefits of diet and exercise. Such individuals will normally be prescribed drugs called statins whose potency can be altered to suit the individual both initially and over time.

Before looking further at these 2 strategies (lifestyle and medication), it's worth bearing in mind that when medical professionals discuss cholesterol in people they are referring to 2 specific kinds which are: LDL (often called "bad cholesterol") and HDL (labeled "good cholesterol").

LDL cholesterol (Low Density Lipoprotein) is a type of body fat (a lipid) that is produced as a result of the liver processing food. It is distributed via the bloodstream to supply energy to virtually every cell in the body and is therefore rather important. However, when more LDL than is necessary gets produced it tends to become deposited in arteries and veins, eventually clogging the system up with all too predictable consequences.

HDL cholesterol (High Density Lipoprotein, which means there is more protein than lipid) is able to soak up excess LDL and return it to the liver for recycling or waste. The human body however contains a much larger amount of LDL than HDL so it's an unequal struggle, but it has been shown that increasing the amount of exercise taken leads to an increase of HDL levels in the bloodstream.

Lifestyle modifications to lower LDL cholesterol are based on medical observations that excess weight, certain kinds of food, smoking, drinking and insufficient exercise are contribute significantly to high LDL cholesterol and that avoiding these things will therefore have the reverse effect and lower cholesterol levels.

Where dietary changes are concerned, the foodstuffs to cut down (or cut out) are those that contain high levels of saturated fat. Examples include hard cheese, butter, red meat, pastries, cakes and biscuits. At the same time also aim to increase the amount of fruit, vegetables, oat and beans present in the diet since these actively (and naturally) help lower cholesterol. So switching from butter to a plant sterol based spread (so-called "cholesterol lowering" spreads) ticks the boxes in both columns.

If lifestyle modifications alone prove insufficient to lower cholesterol below medically recommended limits then medical advice should be sought. The most common treatment for high cholesterol is a class of drugs called statins. These pills are not however to be regarded as an alternative to adopting a healthier lifestyle; they are supplemental to lifestyle changes.

The most commonly prescribed statins are (in ascending order of strength and using both clinical and brand names):

- Pravastatin (Lipostat)
- Simvastatin (Zocor)
- Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
- Rosuvastatin (Crestor)

Most people who are prescribed statins tolerate them easily and suffer no side-effects at all, but it should be noted that they can in some circumstances cause very serious damage to both muscle tissue and the liver, particularly when taken in high doses and accordingly it is common for patients to have reasonably regular blood tests to both monitor the effect of statins on cholesterol levels and to check for early signs of such internal damage.

So there it is - 2 proven, effective and medically approved ways to lower cholesterol. The difference between them is largely a matter of degree - taking prescription drugs is an extra measure over and above adopting a healthier lifestyle, which in most cases

Cholesterol Lowering Drugs - Do You Really Need Them?

Do you really need cholesterol lowering drugs? Does anyone? This article looks at the controversy surrounding the subject.

To the mainstream medical community statins are a valuable tool in the prevention of heart disease and strokes. To a small, but growing number of medical professionals, statins are dangerous and unnecessary.

Since the 1950s, the popular theory has been that high intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol-rich foods are the primary cause of heart disease and atherosclerosis. This theory has been disproven on several occasions, by scientists that have examined the traditional dietary habits of isolated populations.

For example, the diet of the Greenland Eskimo population was very high in fat. 50% or more of the daily caloric intake of the population was from fat. Yet, there was practically no heart disease in the population.

Another example was found in the South of France. Again, the diet was very high in saturated fat and cholesterol, but the incidence of heart disease was low.

The traditional Mediterranean diet is another example. Foods high in fat, such as olives, olive oil, fatty fish, nuts and avocados were popular. But, the incidence of heart disease and obesity was low.

Some doctors and pharmaceutical companies advocate the use of cholesterol lowering drugs, as a rule, not an exception. The typical course of action taken today is dietary counseling and encouraging physical activity in combination with prescribing statins.

The doctors don't even wait to see if diet and exercise have the desired effect, before writing a prescription. With all of the contradictions and controversy, why does this practice continue?

That's hard to say. The reason might be all of the television advertising that the pharmaceutical companies are allowed to do. Those ads make it seem like everyone should talk to their doctors about cholesterol lowering drugs.

Another reason might be the continued search for a miracle drug; some pills that will help everyone live a long and healthy life. In truth, there are no magic pills. But, there are answers.

Statins were originally found and extracted from the oyster mushroom, a Japanese delicacy. Other Japanese mushrooms, such as Shitake, have natural anti-inflammatory activity. These health benefits are not present in commercial button mushrooms or Portobello varieties.

The explanation for the contradictions seen in dietary habits of non-US populations has to do with the "type" of fats consumed, not the amount. Olives, fatty fish, nuts and avocados contain a relatively high amount of omega-3 fatty acids. The red wine consumed in the South of France might make a difference, too.

In other words, if we could teach people how to eat, they might not need cholesterol lowering drugs. Research has proven that the unnatural trans-fatty acids created when vegetable oils are partially hydrogenated cause and increase in LDL (bad) particles and a decrease in HDL (good) particles.

Researchers have also found that nutrients present in raw sugar cane, black tea, green tea, rice bran, pumpkin seeds and other foods help to increase the good particles and lower the number of bad ones. Prescriptions are now written for fish oils, because they are known, without a doubt to lower triglycerides or fats in the bloodstream and raise HDL levels.

Eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly is important. Taking some good dietary supplements is important, too. Very few people actually need cholesterol lowering drugs.

If you are concerned about your cholesterol levels, talk with your physician before deciding to use natural cholesterol lowering supplements for reducing high cholesterol.

Want to know more? Click here for more information on lowering cholesterol naturally natural cholesterol supplements for a safe natural alternative to help you balance your blood cholesterol levels.

Best Natural Ways to Reduce Cholesterol

Omega 3 from Fish Oil

Consumption of omega 3 fatty acids cuts the risk of any heart disease by almost 45%. These fatty acids contribute to natural cholesterol reduction and at the same time prevent blood clot formation. It also reduces instances of irregular heartbeats. So if you take a dose of one gram omega-3 supplement, it can greatly reduce your risk of cardiac health.

Garlic and Green Tea

According to a study garlic also lowered development of atherosclerosis. Green tea contains high concentrations of polyphenols which act as antioxidants that help in eating the free radicals in your body and help in reducing cholesterol levels.

Even though garlic and green tea are recommended by health gurus, omega 3 fatty-acids are the ones which are backed by The American Heart Association which recommends 1g/day of omega 3 (especially from marine sources) for patients who have coronary heart disease. They also recommend consuming variety of fish (especially fatty fish) at least two times a week. Omega 3 fatty acids significantly lower the triglyceride levels. In a study conducted, it was seen that diet rich in fish resulted in lower levels of different cholesterols.

What can you really expect from omega 3 fatty acids?

There is an abundance of omega 3 fatty acids in fish oil. A high dietary intake of these has been linked to low instances of cardiovascular diseases in most of the studies. Apart from lowering triglyceride levels, the fish oil also prevents arrhythmias, reduces inflammation and lowers blood pressure.

Omega 3 Supplements - The best natural way to reduce cholesterol

It is best to eat fresh fish which is oilier to reduce your cholesterol levels. The best choices for obtaining the most cholesterol lowering omega 3 fatty acids are tuna, Atlantic herring, trout and salmon. However, people who cannot consume fish can opt for fish oil supplements which can be found in most of the health food stores or online stores.

According to a research it was found that Inuit Eskimos who eat high amounts of omega 3 fatty acids as they regularly eat fatty fish, have increased amounts of good cholesterols and very less amounts of triglyceride levels.

The Studies are Promising...

In order to reduce cholesterol levels, some studies show that a dose of 900 mg-5 gms a day are needed. To achieve this kind of dose you need to consume lots of fish. Thus supplements of omega 3 are used as they are concentrated amounts in small pills. If you take 900 mg of these fatty acid supplements everyday for a period of 6 months, there will be a substantial decrease in triglyceride or cholesterol levels in your body. The effectiveness is actually dose dependent.

Overall, the best natural ways to reduce cholesterol is omega 3 fatty acids.

Dino Ascari is an health expert. He studied biology and is particularity fascinated by the benefits of omega 3. Check out his guide about heart disease treatments.

Cholesterol Lowering Tips

The first thing we would suggest is to eat breakfast every morning. Studies have shown that those who start off their mornings with a bellyful tend to have lower cholesterol levels rather than those who skip breakfast. One of the reasons that breakfast skippers have higher cholesterol is that they make up for the missing morning feast by eating a lot of unhealthy snacks later. Rather than those who eat morning entrees, researches have shown that those who eat those ready-to-eat cereals for breakfast have lower cholesterol levels as well.

Remember to nibble throughout the day. Simply changing how often you eat in a single day is another way to lower your cholesterol levels. Recent researches have shown that larger amounts of insulin are released into the body when a patient has large meals, instead than when he has more small ones. Insulin release in turn stimulates the production of an enzyme that increases cholesterol production by the liver. Limit the insulin release by having smaller but more frequent meals (remember not to increase the total number of calories) and this can have an important role in controlling your cholesterol levels and preventing heart disease.

Vitamin C is very important to your diet. Other vitamins and minerals have the tendency to show a benefic effect on cholesterol levels as well. Studies have shown that a higher HDL level may be achieved in people with diets high in vitamin C. Vitamin C is especially beneficial when you get it from lots of fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C is a great cholesterol lowering tip since it has a cholesterol-lowering fiver called pectin. Pectin helps lower cholesterol levels in your bloodstream since it helps transport it out of your digestive system by surrounding the cholesterol and keeping it out of your blood. Some vitamin C rich foods include: strawberries, tomatoes, citrus fruits, apples and spinach.

Remember to go heavy on garlic. Garlic does not only keep away vampires. This food can significantly reduce cholesterol in large doses such as at least, seven cloves per each day. Of course, most people eat that quantity in a month, and not even that. If you are searching for a similar effect you could try odorless garlic pills. According to a research study, when people that had moderately high cholesterol took four capsules a day of an odorless liquid garlic extract - Kyolic - initially they observed a rise in their cholesterol levels, but afterwards their cholesterol levels dropped about 44 points in about six months. You can find garlic pills in almost any health food store.

Jean Helmet is a content editor who focuses on a wide array of niche health topics. Her latest website - Natural Cholesterol Supplement focuses on cholesterol as a whole, and in particular, a natural product our editors personally use with excellent health

High Cholesterol and the Unmentioned Statistic

There was an unmentioned statistic in results from studies on a drug to treat high cholesterol. A cardiologist points to the fact that this is common practice in the pharmaceutical industry. But would you feel the same way about your medicine if you were told this little secret? There are several ways to present statistical results. When it comes to medical drug research, there should no manipulation of the axes in graphical presentations or omission of meaningful statistics, because many lives depend on it.

According to Darshak Sanghavi, a pediatric cardiologist and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, scientists and drug companies usually describe the benefits of many medications in terms of relative risks. This is said to "inflate" the benefits of medical therapy. Dr. Sanghavi said there is an alternative statistic that is not used. It's called the "number needed to treat" (or NNT, for short.)

Using cholesterol lowering drug as an example, he recounts the case with Pravachol years ago when it was reported as causing a 31 percent reduction in heart attacks. This caused billions of dollars in sales. By stating the results of clinical trials in terms of "relative risks", it powerfully exaggerates the benefits of drugs and other invasive therapies.

Thirty-one percent fewer heart attacks!

What did the drug manufacturers mean when they talked about a 31 percent relative reduction in heart attacks? Borrowing Dr. Sanghavi's explanation, it meant that "taking Pravachol every day for five years reduced the incidence of heart attacks from 7.5 percent to 5.3 percent. This indeed means that there were 31 percent fewer heart attacks in patients taking the drug. But it also means that the "absolute risk" of a heart attack for any given person dropped by only 2.2 percentage points." So a 31 percent relative reduction in heart attacks equals (or means the same thing as) a 2.2 percent absolute reduction in heart attacks.

So to break this down further, if 100 people with high cholesterol took statins, 93 of them would not have had heart attacks anyway. Of the remaining seven people, five would have heart attacks despite taking Pravachol. Only two out of the original 100 avoided a heart attack by
taking the daily pills for five years. This means that in order to prevent 2 people taking Pravachol over a 5-year period from having a heart, we would need to treat 100 of them. In other words, the number needed to treat (NNT) is 50 - fifty needed to be treated in order to observer a reduction in heart attacks.

Can you see what a different picture is created by stating drug research results in terms of relative risk reduction vs. absolute risk reduction? Anybody can see that these 50 people could do much better by changing their diets and getting enough exercise in a few months (not even 5 years!) So the objective of this drug medication for diseases and health conditions resulting from lifestyle habits is ____________________ (you fill in the blanks.)

Did you write, "to make more money and keep investors happy?" Something along that line seems obviously right!

Copyright ? 2008 by Bentley Thompson

Sample Diet For Lowering Cholesterol

First let me make one thing clear that I am not a doctor, only a person with a great deal of experience in the field of natural health. So for serious questions, both about medications and a sample diet for lowering your cholesterol, you should consult your doctor or licensed nutritional specialist. That said, I believe that this article just might contain some valuable information that can provide an excellent starting point for both creating and implementing a sample diet for lowering cholesterol.

Before we get down to business there are a couple of factors that can, and often do, disrupt the effectiveness of even the best sample diet for lowering cholesterol.

*Diuretics or dehydration: The use of diuretics has been shown to raise total cholesterol and triglycerides. Most experts believe the increase to be inconsequential, nevertheless it is worth mentioning. Keep in mind that any drug, either over the counter or prescription, that causes water loss or dehydration can elevate your cholesterol numbers.

*Drug interactions: Your physician has run all the tests and prescribes one of the popular statin drugs such as Lipitor or Zocor. You take the pills as prescribed, never missing a single dose, but when your doctor runs a blood test to measure results, your cholesterol hasn't improved. Why? There could be another medication you are taking that is making your prescription cholesterol medication less effective. The moral of this story is be sure and tell your doctor about all medications you are taking to insure the best results.

So now let's move on to our sample diet for lowering cholesterol. This affordable sample diet for lowering cholesterol has worked well for me and my family and it will work for you too!

*Breakfast: Two egg whites on one slice of flax bread or toast. Fruit or juice along with skim milk can also be added but be sure and check labels for sugar content. Some store bought juices contain an astonishing 40 g of sugar.

*Lunch: Old fashioned oatmeal spiced up with either bananas, almonds, or apples. Butter containing stanols or sterols can also be added to add flavor alone with a pack of your favorite artificial sweetener.

*Dinner: Packaged 97 percent fat free turkey, chicken, or low fat beef with steamed vegetables such as broccoli or green beans (both come in easy to use steam able microwave packs). Fish should be considered once or twice a week if affordable. Kale or collard greens are also great choices as are sweet potatoes.

*Snacks: Low fat yogurt (sugar content should not exceed 10 g); almonds, walnuts, and pecans (be sure and check for nut allergies); and whole grain cereals with slim milk.

*Supplements: Fish oil or flax seed oil are excellent supplements both for cholesterol and overall health. They are reasonably priced but pricing does vary slightly. Additionally, there are a number of excellent herbal and natural cholesterol supplements worth considering, to both support and enhance results. Many naturopathic doctors believe supplementation to be an important part of any sustainable sample diet for lowering cholesterol.

What Next? Lowering cholesterol, in most cases, is about changing old habits, adopting new healthier habits, and enlisting the help of convention medications such as statins or Put simply, this basically means finding ways to increase HDL (good cholesterol) and decreasing LDL (bad cholesterol levels) in a meaningful and sustainable way.

5 Foods That Lower Cholesterol

1. Oatmeal & Oat Bran: Both of these are high in soluble fiber. Eating this type of fiber will lower your LDL or "bad cholesterol".

2. Walnuts & Almonds: These are packed with "good" fats and have been shown to have favorable effects on cholesterol levels.

3. Fish: Fatty fish such as mackerel, salmon, sardines, trout and herring also can have positive effects on your cholesterol levels. The omega 3 fatty acids found in fish can also be taken in pill form (fish oil).

4. Olive Oil: Adding extra virgin olive oil to your diet is an easy way to improve your cholesterol levels. Saut? vegetables in it, mix it with vinegar to make a salad dressing or add it to a marinade. This is another way to lower your LDL numbers.

5. Beans (kidney, lima, black, navy, pinto, garbanzo): Like oatmeal and oat bran, these beans are high in soluble fiber. They are also great sources of protein.

Adding these foods in with a regular fitness routine can help reduce or even eliminate the need for medication. Remember, food is not only our fuel but it also serves as our medicine. If your doctor has suggested medication then be sure to ask him/her if your dosage can be lowered or even eliminated if you can lower your cholesterol numbers with diet and exercise. Many doctors will write a script for medication before discussing any other options that you may have. As always, let me know if you have any questions or article suggestions.

Have a good one!
William
Personal Trainer
Boot Camp Instructor

William is the Orlando area's weight loss expert. Feel free to contact him to find out how his programs can help you reach all of your fitness goals.