Elaine Magee
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 THE LOWDOWN ON BAD CHOLESTEROL
You may not know low-density lipoprotein by name; most people know it by its nickname, "bad cholesterol." LDL has a nasty habit of attaching to the artery walls as it travels through the bloodstream. As it builds up, it creates hard deposits that can restrict bloodflow and eventually lead to blockages associated with heart attacks and strokes. Therefore, if we are going to study the way diet influences heart disease risk, a good place to start is by evaluating how what we eat raises or lowers LDL and triglyceride levels. |
Andreas Moritz
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 Researchers saw the bad cholesterol of the policosanol group plunge by 25 percent. Total cholesterol fell 17 percent. And their ratio of total to good cholesterol (the most important risk factor) improved by a whopping 27.2 percent! Another study compared policosanol against a popular statin drug. Those given policosanol lowered their bad cholesterol by an average of 19.3 percent, versus just 15.6 percent for the statin subjects. Most importantly, policosanol improved the most crucial ratio, total cholesterol to good cholesterol, by 24.4 percent, while the statin drug only improved it by 15. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 Yes, saturated fat raises cholesterol, but it raises both the good and the bad cholesterol. And though there may be a relationship between saturated fat and cholesterol, the relationship between saturated fat in the diet and heart disease or mortality is far less clear. In fact, an entire nexus of researchers, doctors, and statisticians led by the brilliant Swedish scientist Uffe Ravnskov, M.D., Ph.D., has been questioning some of the "conventional wisdom" on saturated fat and cholesterol for years. They have an organization called The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (http://www. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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 Torce-trapib, slated to be Pfizer's next drug, works by raising HDL, the "good cholesterol," and thus has a mechanism of action that is complementary to that of Lipitor, which lowers LDL, the "bad cholesterol." Pfizer expected Torcetrapib to be its next best-selling medication.
Unfortunately, after reviewing the data from a clinical trial of Torcetrapib, the independent monitors found that the drug appeared to be causing more subjects to die of heart attacks and other complications of high blood pressure than seen with placebo. |
| For those of you who may be taking statins right now, you have probably seen an amazing reduction in your bad cholesterol levels, perhaps as much as 20%. "What a great drug!" It's a popular refrain, one I have heard from friends and colleagues who take the drugs. However, there is convincing evidence that statins aren't a miracle solution.
First, taking a statin won't prevent you from having a heart attack or dying if you have heart disease. It only slightly lowers your risk and, again, only if you are known to have heart disease. |
| Omega-3s are better at increasing good cholesterol and lowering bad cholesterol than are omega-6s. It is often pointed out that ancient diets had a ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 of 1:1, whereas current diets have much higher amounts of omega-6, largely through the substitution of calories in the form of leafy plants with grains and seeds. |
Marshall Editions
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 This test measures levels of triglycerides (fat in the blood), high-density lipid protein (HDL, good cholesterol), and low-density lipid protein (LDL, bad cholesterol). Cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams of cholesterol per deciliter of blood (mg/dL) and fall into the following catergories:
• Desirable level: Cholesterol in the blood is less than 200 mg/dL.
• Borderline high level: Cholesterol in the blood is 200-239 mg/dL.
• High level: Cholesterol in the blood is 240 mg/dL or above. |
David W. Grotto, RD, LDN
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 By the end of the study, good cholesterol had increased without an increase in bad cholesterol.
DIABETES: Diabetic rats on a high-millet diet had decreased levels of insulin sensitivity and better glucose management compared to their control group.
Tips on Using Millet
SELECTION AND STORAGE:
• Millet comes in both packages and bulk. Beware of "webbing" in bulk bins, a sure sign of bug infestation!
• Store in a cool, dry place. Millet can also be kept in a sealed container in the refrigerator. |
Gerald E. Markle and Frances B. McCrea
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 Statins
Statins are a category of drug9 that slow the body's ability to produce cholesterol and increase the liver's ability to remove low density lipids (LDLs), so-called bad cholesterol. We pose three questions: (1) do statins lower blood cholesterol? (2) do statins prevent heart attacks? (3) are statins effective in the treatment of heart disease?
First, there is widespread agreement that statins do lower blood cholesterol. According to the Physician's Desk Reference: 2005, there is a therapeutic response within weeks, with a maximum response in about four months. |
Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C. with Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D.
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 In fact, his studies showed that when rats were fed sugar, they developed dangerously high levels of both bad cholesterol and triglycerides. Your "chances of developing [heart disease] would be significantly reduced if you reduced your sugar consumption," Dr. Yudkin asserted in his landmark 1972 book Sweet and Dangerous.
Now, decades later, Dr. Yudkin's theories are being backed by new research. |
Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.
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 Although short-term studies funded by nut companies show that they may positively affect good and bad cholesterol, I know of no long-term studies indicating that they can arrest and reverse heart disease, and patients may easily overingest them, elevating their cholesterol levels.
Now, for the foods you are allowed—in fact, encouraged—to consume. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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| Nevertheless, the connection has prompted drug-makers to come up with pharmaceutical solutions to lower bad cholesterol.
Your doctor decides you need cholesterol-lowering medication based on his or her calculation of risk factors that have been quantified by a study called the Framingham Study. These factors include obesity, family history of heart disease, smoking, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Your specific data (i.e., weight, blood pressure, etc.) are fed into a computer, and out comes a risk score that tells the doctor whether you need medication. |
Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.
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| More and more of them converge on the site, becoming engorged with bad cholesterol and eventually forming a bubble of fatty pus— an atheroma, or "plaque," the chief characteristic of atherosclerosis.
Old plaques contain scar tissue and calcium. As they enlarge, they severely narrow and sometimes block the arteries (see Figure 4 in insert). A significantly narrowed artery cannot give the heart muscle a normal blood supply, and the heart muscle, thus deprived, causes chest pain, or angina. |
Dr. Steven R. Gundry
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 Many doctors haven't heard of what I call "bad cholesterol with an attitude," and even if he or she has, your doctor has been taught that neither statin drugs nor dietary changes have any effect on it and therefore they don't bother testing you for it.
If your ancestors hail from northern Europe or the British Isles, there's a good chance you carry the gene. The harsh climate in northern Europe meant that the diet was often deficient in vitamin C, predisposing the population to scurvy. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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| Research is currently going on to determine whether beta-glucans might actually boost the ability of the body to kill cancer cells, in addition to their ability to lower bad cholesterol and triglycerides, some of this research is quite promising.
Oatmeal also has a very low glycemic load, meaning it has a very, very modest effect on blood sugar. Type 2 diabetics also seem to benefit from the beta-glucan, as it appears to be helpful in stabilizing blood sugar, which is probably why Bernstein allows it. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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 Thus, the concept of LDL-cholesterol as the "bad cholesterol" and HDL-cholesterol as the "good cholesterol" was born. In this view, the total level of blood cholesterol is less important than how well it is mobilized or expelled.
Scientists have theorized that the ratio between different cho-lesterols is a more important indication of the risk of cardiovascular disease than is the total cholesterol level alone. |
| The cholesterol profile was favorably affected in the green tea drinkers, and LDL-cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) decreased while HDL-cholesterol (the good cholesterol) increased in those who drank the most green tea.
Free-radical deimage to blood vessels, which is a contributing factor to the initiation of atherosclerosis, can be measured by the levels of lipid peroxides in the blood. Because of the numerous free radicals in tobacco smoke, smokers have much higher lipid peroxide levels than nonsmokers; which partially accounts for the increased risk of heart disease in smokers. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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| Apples contain pectin, a valuable source of soluble fiber that can lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and help regulate blood sugar. Speaking of sugar: Yes, apples do have some sugar (fructose), but I wouldn't worry about it (unless you are a diabetic or have serious blood sugar challenges). The sugar in apples come wrapped with 5 g of fiber and a rich blend of nutrients, very different from the high-fructose corn syrup used to sweeten every junk food on the market. And one study, by Dr. |
Craig Pepin-Donat
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 The killer is that partially hydrogenated oil is laden with deadly trans fats that can cause fat clogs in our arteries by actually increasing our low-density lipoproteins (LDL or bad cholesterol) while possibly lowering the high-density lipoproteins (HDL or good cholesterol).
According to epidemiologists at Harvard University, "By our most conservative estimate, replacement of partially hydrogenated fat in the U.S. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 As of this writing, mainstream medicine still sees the cholesterol story this way: Excess amounts of LDL, or "bad cholesterol," cling to the walls of arteries. Over time, a buildup of these deposits, called plaque, will narrow the arteries and restrict blood flow to the heart. Heart disease and heart attacks are often a result of the restricted blood flow caused by the plaque. HDL is considered "good cholesterol" because it reverses the action of LDL by removing the plaque. Enter niacin. What niacin does that medications can't do is both lower the LDL cholesterol and raise the HDL cholesterol. |
Marshall Editions
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Exercising three to four times a week lowers bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol levels.
HOMEOPATHY
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High cholesterol levels are best treated by an integrated medical approach that can include constitutional homeopathic prescribing. However, for homeopathic treatment to have the greatest chance of success, it needs to be provided by a homeopathic practitioner. The following self-help suggestions can also help in managing cholesterol levels. |
Michael Pollan
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 It turns out that "a higher intake of trans fat can contribute to increased risk of CHD through multiple mechanisms"; to wit, it raises bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol (something not even the evil saturated fats can do); it increases triglycerides, a risk factor for CHD; it promotes inflammation and possibly thrombogenesis (clotting) , and it may promote insulin resistance. Trans fat is really bad stuff, apparently, fully twice as bad as saturated fat in its impact on cholesterol ratios. |
Marshall Editions
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| Policosanol has also been shown to reduce bad cholesterol (LDL), as well as increase good cholesterol (HDL); take 5-10 mg twice a day. Take 2-3 capsules of garlic a day to lower cholesterol, and perhaps also lower blood pressure. Ginger has also been shown, in some studies, to lower cholesterol by binding to it and inhibiting its absorption. Take 8-10 g of a ginger capsule a day in divided doses and drink ginger tea throughout the day. Do not take more than 1 g of ginger if you are pregnant. Reishi, a mushroom extract that has been shown to lower cholesterol, can be taken at 800 mg twice a day. |
Ray D. Strand
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 After this discovery we started checking not only total cholesterol levels but also determining the amounts of both good and bad cholesterol present. We calculate a ratio by dividing the total cholesterol by the HDL cholesterol. The lower this ratio is, the better off the patient is when it comes to heart disease. It is now common practice to routinely check both HDL and LDL cholesterol levels. Needless to say, we are all acutely aware of the importance of cholesterol and the detrimental effects of LDL cholesterol.
What I have shared with you so far is pretty common knowledge. |
Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.
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| He had no family history of heart disease, was not overweight or diabetic, and did not have high blood pressure or a bad cholesterol count. In short, he was not the usual candidate for a heart attack. Nonetheless, he had been struck—and struck hard.
In this book, I tell Joe Crowe's story, along with those of many other patients I have treated over the past twenty years. My subject is coronary artery disease, its cause, and the revolutionary treatment, available to all, that can abolish it and that has saved Joe Crowe and many others. |
Andreas Moritz
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| Consequently, Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL and VLDL, also called bad cholesterol) are increasingly prevented from leaving the bloodstream, hence the rise in blood serum cholesterol.
Since gallstones are porous, they can pick up or absorb toxins, bacteria, viruses, parasites and cysts that are passing through the liver, like fishing nets collect fish. The stones can become a constant source of infection, supplying the body with an ever-increasing number of fresh bacteria. |
Mark Sircus
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 He refused the advice on using a prescription drug from his MD, and tried magnesium instead with a lowering of bad cholesterol by almost 250 points, and is now back to very near acceptable levels, a truly gratifying surprise and benefit of increasing magnesium levels. We are both thrilled beyond words.
Claudia French RN, LPHA
Extreme Athletics
Issue: Muscle aches, cramps, and pain, strength recovery
I did the magnesium soak two days ago with 4 ounces. The next morning I was better. Yesterday I did a 101 mile bike ride up a 6200 foot mountain. |
Gabriel Cousens
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 Sometimes called "bad cholesterol." meal plan—A guide to help people get the proper amount of calories, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in their diet. microalbumin—A protein found in blood plasma and urine. The presence of microalbumin in the urine can be a sign of kidney disease. nephropathy—See diabetic kidney disease. neuropathy—See diabetic nerve damage. non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NJDDM)—See Type-2 diabetes.
Neutral Protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin—An intermediate-acting insulin obesity—Excessive accumulation and storage of fat in the body. |
Andreas Moritz
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| The injuries caused by these acidic protein deposits require that much of the bad cholesterol be used as a band aid to prevent multiple occurrences of heart attack. Eventually, however, the arteries become increasingly hard, rigid and occluded. This may raise arterial blood pressure and further stress the heart.
The vicious cycle completes when the liver cells are no longer able to receive enough of the LDL and VLDL cholesterol. They naturally assume that the blood does not contain sufficient amounts of cholesterol. |
Mike Adams
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 The consumption of refined carbohydrates increases the level of triglycerides in the blood, increases the levels of bad cholesterol (LDL), and can even result in a loss of heart function that is frequently diagnosed as a physical deformity. But on a low-carbohydrate diet, supplemented with healthy oils and adequate protein, all of these symptoms reverse: triglyceride levels fall, bad cholesterol drops while good cholesterol rises, and heart murmurs and other symptomatic disorders often vanish. |
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