Sunday, December 26, 2010

How Useful Are Cholesterol Supplements?


Cholesterol may serve as a wax-like, fat-like compoundwhich your body needs to have, however when you have so much, it will build-up in the walls on yourblood vessels. In long run, you most likely are risking your chance to get heart attacks, vascular dementia and strokes.

Cutting down on cholesterol may bejust about the mostessentialmatterthat can be doneto elevate your long-term health and fitness, when you areone of several many of those withhigh-cholesterol levels. Cutting your cholesterol level lessensyour opportunity for aquiring a plaque burst and cause stroke.

There are actually cholesterol reducingprescription drugs the FDA has approved which usethreatening side-effects that features liver toxicities, vitamin deficiencies and accelerated risks of colon cancer.

What are the cholesterol supplement that may bedependable?

Lessen your weight and working outmight helplessen yourlevels of cholesterol, you can also find some natural cholesterol supplements food you can contribute into your own everydaymeals.

Dietary fiber is found in oats, barley, bran, peas, and citrus fruits, plus invitamin supplements. Though it's greatto your heart in numerous ways, insoluble fiber has no effect on blood cholesterol.

Red yeast rice can be described as fungus that develops on rice and hasa small amount of a naturally sourcedsort of lovastatin, a sort of statin that may be also found in prescription medications. it may be idealrefrained from. That's because this material contains a natural form of lovastatin, a prescription cholesterol-lowering drug. Since botanical supplements are nevertheless largely unregulated in the U.S., it might betough tosee how much of this drug can befrom the product.

Soy Isoflavones assist incontinue to keep healthy LDL. The American Heart Nutrition Committee instructed Americans with high-cholesterolto supply soy protein to their diet plans.

Garlic: As reported by some experiments, garlic may cut down blood numbers of total cholesterol with a few percentage points. Other scientific studies, having said that, declare thatit will not be as favorable as once figured. This could also have considerableuncomfortable side effects and/or connections with some specificprescription drugs. Garlic may lengthen bleeding and blood clotting time, so garlic and garlic supplements should not be consumed prior to surgery and should not be taken with blood-thinning drugs along the lines ofCoumadin (warfarin). Nonetheless You can easily still see a lot ofgarlic extract supplements from drugs stores.

Always remember too that onlybecause many cholesterol supplements are natural, they may still produce side-effectsor interact with other chemicals.Hence you should note extra note on any possible side effects that may further damage to your health while buying these.








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Do You Really Need A Pill to Lower Your Cholesterol Count?


Why has our society today come to believe that we need a pill for every ill?

Is it because we just simply accept what the medical profession says to us? Or is it because we are just too lazy to take responsibility for the choices we make? By implication we are actually saying I'll just live my life the way I want to, eat what I want to, drink what I want and if anything goes wrong I'll just go to the doctors and he will just give me a pill to cure it?

In my opinion the problem is that most people in society today just believe what their doctor tells them without ever questioning whether or not they are right.

Our society has been brought up to believe that if a doctor says it then it must be true. If the doctor talks about cholesterol numbers, cholesterol count, or cholesterol hdl ldl being too high then Joe Public just expects he is going to get a pill and he will take it in most cases without questioning.

To be honest the problem doesn't just lie with the public not questioning the status quo, part of the problem is he has to a large extent been deceived into thinking certain things are good for him when in fact they are harmful.

Take for example margarine, it was hailed as a miracle invention that would help to lower your cholesterol count or your cholesterol numbers when in actual fact the Trans-fats or hydrogenated oils contained in margarine have been doing an immense amount of damage to the arteries of the users since the products first came out.

Now it has been said that 'what you don't know won't kill you' but that is not true in this case. The hydrogenated oils help to form the plaque that close up the arteries and causes a heart attack. The emphasis of the medical profession is to lower the cholesterol count which is really just treating the symptoms. What should be emphasized is we should be getting rid of the plaque buildup in the arteries.

Now the general public didn't know this until recently and what you don't know you can't really be blamed for. However the evidence today is overwhelming and so each person should be considering the implications of their own health and start to change their lifestyles.

You can indeed lower your cholesterol without ever needing to take a pill and at the same time you are accomplishing this you can be dissolving the plaque buildup in your arteries. Click on the link below and visit the website for the vitamin supplements that combined with a healthy lifestyle can reverse arterial damage.

Heart disease is the major killer today in the western world. Congestive heart failure, heart attack, heart attack symptoms, and heart disease, are primarily avoidable but you need to know what to do and then you need to do it.








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Hal - Runs several limited companies and consults on a diverse range of business aspects. He is a keen sportsman and has a sense of good humour.


Routes to Take High Cholesterol Treatment


There are two ways forms of high cholesterol treatment that people can pursue to live a longer and healthier life. One of these is by using therapeutic drugs to lower the levels and the other is by making certain lifestyle changes. Each has its positives and negatives attached to them, but both can lead a person back down the path of living a full and healthier life.

The major problem with high cholesterol is it is related to being the basis for cardiovascular dysfunction in the human body. High cholesterol is a known cause for arteries becoming clogged due to plaque buildup. The buildup of this plaque material is caused by the hardening of blood vessels, which become stuck on the walls of veins and arteries. When they become clogged, heart attack and heart failure become greater risk factors and can lead to a person's death.

Therapeutic drug therapy is one of the ways in which people can lower their cholesterol quickly. Lipitor and Crestor are just a few of the examples of the variety of drugs available on the market that reduce high cholesterol levels. However, though it may be easy to just take medication, these pills have certain negative side effects on the body that can dissuade a person from considering them.

Besides taking a variety of pills, another way to lower high cholesterol is simply by altering the way someone eats. Cutting out high sodium concentrated foods like salt and canned good can help but a better way is to eat plenty of fish. Fish oil is a natural elixir and helps cut out the bad low density lipoproteins that cause these problems.

Other kinds of dietary changes may be necessary if a person has a family history of heart conditions. Foods that are high in fiber, assorted nuts like almonds and walnuts, and olive oil can also have positive effects on the body's circulation system. Just like the fish oil, these foods all lower the bad cholesterol called LDL's and retains the good cholesterol HDL's, high density lipoproteins.

Lowering cholesterol revolves around two types of high cholesterol treatment. These treatments are drug therapy and lifestyle change. The drug therapy methods are easier because a person can still eat what they want, however, they will incur certain side effects. Lifestyle change may be harder for people who can't resist delicious foods but is an overall great decision because the body will naturally heal itself. People must weigh the options and decide which method is truly right for them.








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Red Yeast Rice - Cholesterol Lowering Supplement


In recent months, red yeast rice has received a lot of attention from the medical community because there is hope that it may be a great alternative to prescription cholesterol medication. I will attempt to offer some background about the substance, what it is, and finally how it can help you.

What is Red Yeast Rice?

By reading the name you can understand fully that it is a rice that is covered in a red fungus. Like the yeast you use to make bread rise or to make beer, it naturally occurs in nature with rice. As spelled out for you in the name, it is a red substance that coats some kinds of rice. In China, medical experts have found ancient writings about this miracle substance that recounted its amazing effects in improving stomach problems, improved the circulatory system, and spline function.

This news of this amazing substance has been taken very seriously because it can be an alternative to prescription cholesterol drugs. Many people know that these types of drugs carry with them the risk for extremely severe muscle conditions that lead to death.

What are the benefits?

Studies at the University of Pennsylvania concluded that the substance successful reduced the levels of bad cholesterol (or ldl) in the blood. The blind study was conducted by offering half of the group 2 tablets of 600 mg red yeast rice to one group and placebo (sugar pills) tot eh other group with instructions for improving diet, exercise, and relaxation.

Statistically, the study proved that the group who received red yeast rice showed reduced levels of bad cholesterol. The group saw no decrease in good cholesterol or important blood enzymes (as is common with cholesterol drugs) The study proved that this amazing substance can definitely improve cholesterol numbers and help people who are unable to take prescription drugs.

How Does Red Yeast Rice Work?

Red yeast rice is a product of fermentation by monascus purpureus a kind of fungus that grows on rice. The fermentation process creates a substance called lovastatin. This substance is exactly the same as in the drugs that conventional medicine offers to patients. Even more amazing is that it works without the side effects or the high price of those other drugs.

Lovastatin works by preventing the liver from producing more cholesterol to send to the rest of your body. There is debate as to whether or not red yeast rice is a drug or a supplement because of this naturally occurring substance, lovastatin.

Where Do I Find It?

There are many supplements that contain red yeast rice. Unfortunately, not all of them are effective. Some do not actually contain the much needed lovastatin. If the supplement version does not contain this ingredient it is almost completely worthless.








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The characteristics of these 3 supplements that make them the best are their ability to reduce cholesterol, their price, and their overall customer feedback level.

To learn more about red yeast rice cholesterol supplements read our reviews.

You too can finally have lower cholesterol. I hope this article inspired you to take action today so you don't have to suffer the consequences of high cholesterol tomorrow.


Natural Cholesterol Remedies Explained


As a long time sufferer of high cholesterol, if I had a dollar for all of the so called natural cholesterol remedies that people recommended, and in some cases I tried without success, I would be a very wealthy woman!

Most people mean well when you are battling something as serious as high cholesterol, and especially those who know you well, and know that family members and friends died prematurely from heart disease.

And to be honest, when you are not in a position to take prescription cholesterol lowering medications, because of their adverse side effects, and you are terrified of dying young yourself, you will try everything and anything to survive.

Some of the natural cholesterol remedies out there are as follows:

Garlic Capsules

Garlic is considered wonderful for the heart. However, with regard to lowering cholesterol, whilst studies show that garlic can lower cholesterol by a tiny amount, there is no evidence that it can sustain this over a long period of time.

Guggul Supplements

Guggul is a herbal medicine used to control obesity and is considered by some as one of the most effective natural cholesterol remedies. It boasts a wide therapeutic range from the common cold, skin problems, reduced arthritis pain, etc., to name but a few. Almost sounds like a miracle pill! Results of studies carried out have conflicting results regarding the cholesterol lowering capabilities of guggul.

Arjuna Supplements

Arjuna is a tree grown in India and similar climatic countries. The bark is used to create this supplement and boasts a wide range of healing and health beneficial properties, including lowering cholesterol, improved cardiac function and improved liver function. Mixed feedback from people on actual results achieved and concerns over use compared to other natural cholesterol remedies.

Niacin Capsules

Niacin is a B vitamin found in meat, dairy and fish. It has been proven to lower triglycerides and LDL and raise HDL. However, it has also been proved that taking Niacin over a long period of time results in adverse side effects, one of which is liver damage.

I could provide an endless list of all the natural cholesterol remedies out there. Some are trying to be everything and anything to all ailments. Some even claim to prevent heart attacks. The problem I found with the majority of them, was that, they seemed to add lowering cholesterol as an addendum. They claim to deal with everything from lowering blood pressure, increasing cardiac function, preventing colds, reducing menstrual pain, reducing arthritis pains, weight management, etc.

I mean, how on earth can you have any faith in a supplement that claims to fix everything that could possibly be wrong with you!

Of all the natural cholesterol remedies out there, I did find one that focussed purely on lowering cholesterol, without any side effects. No outrageous claims, simple facts, detailed list of nutrients, simple explanations, just what you need.

But before I would advise anyone to simply start taking natural cholesterol remedies, I would suggest reading through the entire research first and be aware of how cholesterol works and why it is so important to lower cholesterol naturally.








Mary Ruddy is a strong advocate of natural and safe health care and enjoys nothing more than helping others make a positive impact on their lives. To find out more about how you too can improve your health naturally visit her website today at http://www.curing-cholesterol.com/

Visit her site http://www.curing-cholesterol.com/ to learn the natural and safe way for lowering cholesterol.


Discover Natural Ways to Lower Cholesterol - Save Money While Building a Healthier Heart


For many individuals, when they learned that they need to lower their cholesterol, they really are uncertain what the best thing to do is. Natural ways to lower cholesterol are far better than using cholesterol medication. After a very short period of time of changing your eating habits and getting a little more exercise, you will feel better and have more energy.

You see, the best way to lower cholesterol is free. There are no pills to buy. No unnecessary trips to the doctor. And you can actually save money by spending less on red meat than you had previously been doing. That's because the most effective ways of lowering cholesterol involves reducing the amount of saturated fat in your diet and substantially increasing the amounts of high fiber vegetables, fruits and nuts.

Fiber is important because it efficiently removes cholesterol from your body. As a matter fact, cholesterol actually attaches itself to fiber in the digestive system so that it is eliminated. However, it is equally important to remove saturated fats from your diet.

Now don't get me wrong. You can still have the occasional beef, but it needs to be lean cuts such as sirloin pork tenderloin, and you should consume it on a less regular basis.

I have found that a great substitute for ground beef is ground turkey when seasoned properly. As a matter of fact it is more enjoyable than ground beef because it lacks all the grease found in hamburger.

You will also want to take a serious look at the amount of carbohydrates in your diet. Empty carbs such as white rice and potatoes can quickly increase cholesterol levels. However, the opposite is also true. By eliminating these types of foods, and replacing them with high fiber foods such as brown rice or wild rice, triglyceride levels drop rapidly.

If you really want to find natural ways to lower cholesterol diet is the place to begin. I invite you to visit my website where you can learn about other steps you can take to lower your cholesterol and improve your overall health.

Keep these things in mind next time as you go to the grocery store and focus on some cholesterol lowering foods that will actually make you healthier in the long run. That's one thing medication cannot do for you.








Van Crawford has been studying health and nutrition for over 10 years as he has researched ways to lower his own cholesterol levels. Visit his website now for more information on powerful ways to improve your health and lower your cholesterol: Tips For Lowering Cholesterol


Lowering LDL Cholesterol the Natural Way


Let's start with the obvious.

DIET

If you start out with a healthy diet, which consists mostly of lean protein sources, vegetables that grow above the ground, and fruit, that will help. In addition to a basically healthy diet, to control cholesterol most experts counsel avoiding eating red meat and animal fat in general. For example, if you eat the breast of birds such as chickens and turkeys instead of the legs and thighs, you will eat less animal fat. You can also avoid animal fat by not eating the skin.

Now, if your cholesterol problems are diet based, eating a healthy diet will probably solve the problem. If not, then you might need to look into some sort of supplement to help you control your cholesterol levels.

I assume if you're reading this article, you've already ruled out statin drugs because they are carcinogenic and often have side effects such as muscle pain and weakness, nausea, insomnia, fatigue, slurred speech, balance problems, memory loss, liver problems, sexual dysfunction, personality changes and irritability.

Fortunately, there are less destructive and expensive alternatives available.

NIACIN

Niacin has been known to lower cholesterol since the 1950s. Of particular interest is a comparative study between Lovastatin (a popular statin drug) and Niacin. 136 patients with high cholesterol were randomly assigned either Lovastatin or Niacin over a 26 week period. Although the Lovastatin initial lowered LDL cholesterol more quickly than the Niacin, by the end of the study, there was not a whole lot of difference, with Lovastatin lowering LDL by 32% and Niacin lowering LDL by 23%.

But where Niacin really shines is in increasing HDL (the good cholesterol) and lowering Lp(a), a lipoprotein which is highly predictive of heart disease. By the end of the study, Niacin had increased HDL by 33% and lowered Lp(a) by 35%, compared to 7% and 0% for Lovastatin, respectively.

However, there are some problems with Niacin. It causes unpleasant flushing and can impair blood sugar control in diabetics. Worse, if using sustained-release Niacin, almost half of users develop liver toxicity, although it should be noted that if using regular Niacin, there is little danger of liver toxicity.

Fortunately, there is a form of niacin called inositol hexaniacinate, which has been used in Europe for many years to control cholesterol levels.

INOSITOL HEXANIACINATE

Inositol hexaniacinate's side effects are minimal and it works even better than regular niacin, according to a study comparing the effect of niacin and inositol hexaniacinate on hyperlipidemic Buscat rabbits (The role of nicotinic acid and inositol hexaniacinate as anticholesterolemic and antilipemic agents. Nutr Reports Int 1983;28:899-911). The inositol hexaniacinate caused a 79.5 % reduction in cholesterol while niacin caused a 74.9% reduction. Better yet, inositol hexaniacinate caused a 63.2% triglyceride reduction, compared to a 30.9% reduction for regular niacin.

This same correlation was found by Welsh and Ede (Inositol hexanicotinate for improved nicotinic acid therapy, Int Record Med 1961;174:9-15).

If you plan to take inositol hexaniacinate to lower your cholesterol, experts recommend that you start out with 500 mg, 3 times a day with meals for 2 weeks. If you tolerate that okay, they suggest upping the dosage to 1000 mg, 3 times a day with meals. Although inositol hexaniacinate appears to have little in the way of side effects, it might still be prudent to have your doctor test your cholesterol levels and liver enzymes with a frequency of every 3 months, at the very least.

Like regular niacin, inositol hexaniacinate is not recommended for use by diabetics, because it can interfere with blood sugar metabolism.

Given inositol hexaniacinate's effectiveness, that's probably a good choice to try first. However, if you cannot tolerate inositol hexaniacinate, there are more options you can try.

PANTETHINE

Pantethine, a stable form of vitamin B5, inhibits the production of cholesterol by the liver. In a one-year clinical trial conducted with 24 patients, pantethine was shown to decrease LDL (the bad cholesterol) by 21% and increase HDL (the good cholesterol) by 23%, with virtually no toxicity (Effectiveness of long-term treatment with pantethine in patients with dyslipidemia, Clin Ther. 1986;8(5):537-45).

The dosage of pantethine usually recommended for cholesterol management by experts is 300 mg, 3 times a day.

VITAMIN C

It has been shown that the higher the level of vitamin C in the blood, the lower the total cholesterol count and the higher the HDL (the good cholesterol) is (High plasma vitamin C associated with high plasma HDL- and HDL2 cholesterol, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 60, 100-105).

In particular, for every increase of .5 mg/dl in vitamin C plasma content, there was a corresponding increase in HDL of 2.1 mg/dl in men and 14.9 mg/dl in women.

Many experts recommend taking 2000 mg of vitamin C a day as general nutritional insurance. That should be plenty for cholesterol control purposes as well.

GARLIC

Believe it or not, garlic has a substantial effect on cholesterol levels, but you would need between 1 to 4 cloves of fresh garlic a day to achieve a significant therapeutic result. Fortunately, the compounds in garlic responsible for its therapeutic benefit can be isolated in pill form.

However, in order to be effective, the supplement must supply the equivalent of 4,000 mg of fresh garlic, not aged garlic. Aged garlic has been proven not to be as effective (A double-blind crossover study in moderately hypercholesterolemic men that compared the effect of aged garlic extract and placebo administration on blood lipids, Am J Clin Nutr. 1996 Dec;64(6):866-70).

On the other hand, a study done at the Clinical Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana showed that treatment with standardized fresh garlic of 900 mg a day resulted in a drop of 11% in LDL (the bad cholesterol) (Can garlic reduce levels of serum lipids? A controlled clinical study, Am J Med. 1993 Jun;94(6):632-5).

So, if you wanted similar results, you could either take 900 mg a day of a standardized fresh garlic supplement or 1 to 4 cloves or fresh garlic a day.

GUGULIPID

Gugulipid is extracted from the mukul myrrh tree, which is native to India. It appears to get it's cholesterol lowering effects from increasing the liver's metabolism of LDL (the bad cholesterol).

In a double blind study of 125 patients comparing the effect of gugulipid with the cholesterol lowering drug clofibrate over a period of 12 weeks, the gugulipid group lowered their LDL (the bad cholesterol) by 11% and the clofibrate group by 10% (Clinical trials with gugulipid. A new hypolipidaemic agent, J Assoc Physicians India. 1989 May;37(5):323-8). While HDL (the good cholesterol) was unchanged in the clofibrate group, the gugulipid group typically increased HDL levels by between 16%-20%.

With purified gugulipid preparations, there are no significant side effects. Experts recommend a standardized extract of gugulipid containing 25 mg of guggulsterone per 500 mg tablet, 3 times a day for elevated cholesterol.








Michael Kydonieus is an anti-aging expert and author of "Why Can't I Lose Weight? The Metabolic Syndrome Diet." For more free articles about anti-aging strategies, see http://AntiAgingTipster.com