Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 With all of that in place: getting lots of water into your diet, avoiding processed salt (sodium chloride), consuming garlic and blueberries and other natural substances such as red yeast rice and combining it with moderate levels of cardiovascular exercise, you will quite readily and noticeably reduce your LDL cholesterol levels, bringing them back into a healthy balance.
It's really not difficult. This isn't rocket science at all. There are no prescription drugs needed whatsoever. All that you need to do is make lifestyle changes that are proven to enhance your cholesterol health. |
| One of the best things you can do to avoid unhealthy cholesterol levels is to avoid consuming hydrogenated oils. These are artificial oils that have been processed in a laboratory for the convenience of food manufacturers and food marketing companies. They have no business whatsoever in the human body, and yet virtually every snack product in the grocery store is made with hydrogenated oils.
Margarines are made with hydrogenated oils as well. Unless they say, "no hydrogenated oils" right on the label, they contain it. Vegetable shortening, by the way, is pure hydrogenated oil. |
| Blueberries have now been proven to be more effective than statin drugs in reducing cholesterol levels, and yet they have absolutely no negative side effects whatsoever. You can get blueberries throughout the year if you go to the right stores.
If you can't find them at a grocery store, check out my book called "Secret Sources," which gives you the location of an online retailer where you can purchase freeze-dried blueberries, and you can store them all year long and use them any time you want. That's a very convenient way to take blueberries. |
| And of course, it's a fraction of the cost of actually ending up in the hospital with out-of-control cholesterol levels.
Also, all on the nutrition side, as you have already guessed, it is very important to avoid saturated animal fats. You don't want to be eating any hamburger or red meat at all. In short, if you avoid red meat you will also be doing yourself a huge favor in terms of avoiding environmental toxins. Red meat consumption also promotes colon cancer. |
| Your level of physical activity has a strong influence on your cholesterol levels. In a simple sense, you could say that cardiovascular exercise converts LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) into HDL cholesterol, which is the good cholesterol. I know that's a simplification, but the point is still valid. When you exercise on a regular basis, you will lower your LDL levels and raise your HDL levels. And remember, it's the ratio of these two that is the predictor of cardiovascular disease.
It is essential to get on a regular cardiovascular exercise program. |
| The fact that you are now avoiding meat and dairy products is excellent progress in reducing your high blood pressure and restoring healthy cholesterol levels. The fact that you are also consuming a lot of fruits is outstanding. Be sure to get plenty of berries in your diet at the same time.
Let's talk about high blood pressure first and what a person can do to reduce high blood pressure naturally without relying on prescription drugs or surgical procedures. |
Jack Challem
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 Inadequate levels of this mineral may increase your cholesterol levels.
• Pantethine, a form of the B-vitamin pantothenic acid, may also reduce cholesterol levels. Try 200 to 300 mg, three times daily.
To lower your triglycerides, take this supplement:
• Omega-3 fish oils, 1,000 to 3,000 mg daily. The omega-3s are the best supplement for lowering triglyceride levels.
To improve your endothelial function, take these supplements:
• L-arginine, 1,000 mg twice daily. This constituent of protein is the precursor to nitric oxide, the chemical that regulates blood vessel tone. |
Marshall Editions
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 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.
Diet: Cut down on all forms of saturated fat, including red meat, cream, butter, cheese, and full-fat milk. |
| A lipid (fat) test can be taken on a blood sample to determine your cholesterol levels. 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. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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 The Norwegian study of 20,000 middle-aged adults that we discussed earlier in terms of cholesterol levels also included data regarding blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure decreased steadily in both men and women as their average tea intake increased. Research conducted on animals revealed a similar inverse relationship between tea intake and blood pressure. When mice were subjected to stressful conditions, such as overcrowding, their blood pressure rose, but adding decaffeinated green tea to their water kept rising blood pressures in check, despite the mounting stress levels. Dr. |
| Men who drank ten or more cups of green tea daily had significantly lower cholesterol levels. 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. |
| However, other dietary factors, particularly the amount of saturated fat in the diet, do influence cholesterol levels greatly.
In an effort to reconcile the uncertainties in the cholesterol theory of cardiovascular disease, many scientists have focused their attention on the roles of different types of lipoproteins that transport cholesterol and other fats through the bloodstream to various parts of the body. Low density lipoproteins transport the greatest percentage of the body's cholesterol, and they transfer some of it to artery walls, where it may accumulate as plaque. |
Michael Pollan
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 And so it would appear to be: We reduced our saturated fat intake, our cholesterol levels fell, and many fewer people dropped dead of heart attacks.
Whether the low-fat campaigners should take the credit for this achievement is doubtful, however. Reducing mortality from heart disease is not the same thing as reducing the incidence of heart disease, and there's reason to question whether underlying rates of heart disease have greatly changed in the last thirty years, as they should have if changes in diet were so important. |
Steven V. Joyal
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 We also believe that the lowest possible dose of statin should be used to achieve target cholesterol levels in diabetics and non-diabetics alike.
If you take a statin, we recommend that you supplement it with CoQIO. Statins deplete CoQIO levels, and supplements help to minimize or avoid altogether many of the side effects associated with statins, including muscle pain and memory problems. In the vast majority of cases, CoQIO supplementation dramatically reduces statin-induced side effects. |
Too Profitable to CureBrent Hoadley, Ph.D.
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| Normal" blood pressure was once considered to be 120/80; "normal" blood sugar was considered in the range of 80 to 120; and "normal" cholesterol levels were anything below 180. New guidelines find all these figures rearranged. If your blood pressure sneaks above 110, you may be "at risk." If your fasting blood sugar rises to 120, you may be pre-diabetic. And as for cholesterol: anything above 150 demands treatment. These small redefinitions greatly increase the number of consumers for a variety of medications. Additionally, anxiety, restlessness, anger, fear...normal human emotions... |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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| Along with a program of regular exercise and a healthful diet, green tea can play a valuable role in a heart disease prevention plan, since it lowers cholesterol levels, reduces blood pressure, and decreases the risk of heart attack and stroke.
THE CAUSES OF HEART DISEASE
Cardiovascular diseases comprise a large number of conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels, including atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), heart attack, and stroke. |
| THE PREVENTION OF UNHEALTHY BLOOD CLOTS
Aside from abnormally high cholesterol levels, other factors contribute to the development of atherosclerosis and, potentially, to a heart attack. Abnormal clotting of the blood is one such factor. The blood's ability to form clots is very important; without clots, bleeding from a cut or torn blood vessel could continue unchecked and ultimately lead to death. |
Michael Pollan
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| Here is where the low-fat campaigners have chosen to make their last stand, pointing proudly to the fact that after peaking in the late sixties, deaths from heart disease fell dramatically in America, a 50 percent decline since 1969. cholesterol levels have also fallen. Epidemiologist Walter C. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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| Just the opposite was found to be true when this issue was investigated; tea (despite its caffeine content) lowers cholesterol levels. An Israeli study that documented a cholesterol-lowering effect for tea also noted that tea drinkers are much less likely to be heavy smokers or alcohol drinkers. Just the opposite is true for coffee drinkers. It would probably be a good idea for coffee drinkers to trade in their cup of coffee for a cup of tea and adopt the other healthful habits of tea drinkers, as well. |
Michael Pollan
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| The consensus hinged on two suggestive links that were well established by the early sixties: a link between high rates of cholesterol in the blood and the likelihood of heart disease and a link between saturated fat in the diet and cholesterol levels in the blood. Both these links have held up, but it doesn't necessarily follow from them that consumption of saturated
*In 1945, 217,000 deaths in the United States were attributed to heart attacks. By 1960 there were 500,000. By 2001 that number had fallen to 185,000. |
| Some researchers no longer do, pointing out that half the people who get heart attacks don't have elevated cholesterol levels, and about half the people with elevated cholesterol do not suffer from CHD.) One other little grenade is dropped in the paper's conclusion: Although "a major purported benefit of a low-fat diet is weight loss," a review of the literature failed to turn up any convincing evidence of this proposition. |
Marshall Editions
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| Niacin, taken at 1,000-2,000 mg a day, reduces cholesterol levels and increases good cholesterol. Take 60-100 mg of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) a day, which improves circulation and has been shown to help with heart function. It is even more helpful to take CoQ10 if you are on statins (cholesterol-lowering medications), since they decrease the levels of CoQ10 that may be contributors to liver and muscle abnormalities. Chromium, at 200-400 meg a day, increases HDL and lowers total cholesterol. Taking 400 IU of vitamin E a day helps with inhibiting cholesterol oxidation. |
Ray D. Strand
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 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. Are you ready for the uncommon knowledge?
LDL cholesterol is really not "bad." God didn't make a mistake when He created it. Native LDL cholesterol, the kind that the body originally makes, is good. In fact it is essential for building good cell membranes, other cell parts, and many different hormones that our bodies need. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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 A paper published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 2007 found that when cholesterol levels were pushed to very low concentrations (LDL < 100 mg/dL) using the high doses of statins currently in vogue with many U.S. doctors, there was a statistically significant increase in cancer rates. If you are over age seventy, evidence from the PROSPER study I review on page 67 suggests that statins given even at normal doses increase cancer rates by 25% with no benefit for heart-disease prevention if you don't have a prior history of heart disease. |
Ray D. Strand
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| When you combine these two efforts, the inflammation in the body readily comes back under control and your cholesterol levels improve.
Several studies have shown significant clinical improvements in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, and almost any disease that involves inflammation when they consume these important essential fats in supplementation.10 This is a very important aspect of maintaining your health or redeeming your health if you have already lost it.
We have looked at various aspects of our immune system and how it is supposed to work. |
| Many people use high doses of niacin as a natural way to decrease their cholesterol levels. Using pharmaceutical levels of niacin supplementation should always be done under the direction of a physician. The levels of niacin recommended in Chapter 17 are in a very safe range. Niacin is now also being used along with the statin drugs, which are especially effective in lowering cholesterol.
Vitamin BB (Pyridoxine)
Vitamin B6 is one of the few water-soluble vitamins with a possible risk of toxicity. Doses greater than 2,000 mg can cause symptoms of nerve toxicity. |
| Following this research, cholesterol levels greater than 200 were considered abnormal and a cholesterol level greater than 240 placed the patient at high risk of developing a heart attack.2
In the early 1980s physicians began to learn that not all cholesterol was bad. We learned that HDL (high density lipoproteins) cholesterol is actually good, and the higher our HDL cholesterol is, the better. It is the LDL (low density lipoproteins) cholesterol that is bad. LDL cholesterol accumulates along the artery walls, forming plaque and narrowing the arteries. |
| In fact doing highly sensitive CRPs allows the physician to identify those patients who have normal cholesterol levels and may still be at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Homocysteine Blood Levels
Checking patients' fasting homocysteine blood levels is not only easy but also critical in determining whether they are problematic or not. Hopefully, as the test becomes more standardized between labs it will become more affordable. Presently, a serum homocysteine level test costs between $45 and $150. |
| The Economic Powers of Medicine
You can now appreciate why more than half the people who suffer heart attacks have normal cholesterol levels. Why did it take twenty-five years after Dr. McCully presented his hypothesis on homocysteine for the medical community to pay attention? Dr. Charles Hennekens, a professor at Harvard Medical School and chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, cites a parallel example. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 Though they had significantly less heart disease and less risk of dying, their cholesterol levels pretty much didn't budge.
Though some studies have shown a reduction in heart disease with cholesterol-lowering medications, the amount of reduction pales when compared to what's achievable with lifestyle changes. High-risk men in the WOSCOP study (a statin drug study) achieved about a 30 percent reduction in heart disease by going on drugs, but the women in the Nurses' Health Study showed 31 percent reduction in heart disease just by eating fish once a week. As Harvard's Dr. |
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