Lowering Cholesterol Naturally

Young Again.org

Lowering Cholesterol Naturally

- Roger Mason

Heart and artery disease are THE leading cause of death in the U.S. We eat about 42% fat calories mostly from saturated animal fats. It's not hard to figure out the connection. About half of us will suffer from heart disease as we age. Half the adults in the U.S. have high blood cholesterol levels. People who suffer heart attacks usually have high cholesterol and clogged arteries. Those who die from the heart attacks have even higher levels generally. People who have low levels almost never have a heart attack if their levels run about 150. The typical American runs about 240 total cholesterol. The average rural Chinese, Thai, Viet Namese, Korean, or Japanese person about 150- they can't afford rich food. You have to keep your level about 150 if you plan to be around any length of time and have a high quality of life. What does the average person in our country do when they have high cholesterol and triglycerides? Run to the doctor and take dangerous, expensive, toxic "statin" drugs of course. These can easily cost $120 a month and they cause so much damage your blood and liver must be monitored regularly. You can keep eating those cheeseburgers and milk shakes though. Statins do not lengthen life at all! And to falsely suppress your blood fat levels when you aren't eating right and aren't getting any exercise is obviously pretty crazy anyway.

The ideal is to eat a sensible diet with whole grains, beans, vegetables, seafood, fruits, and salads. Get a half hour of exercise even if you just walk the dog. That's the right way to do it obviously, but most people can't be bothered. We only get one life, so why not live a long time and be healthy? Yes, some people do have genetically high cholesterol, but they can dramatically lower their levels with diet and exercise.

There are lots of natural ways to lower your cholesterol and triglycerides. Unfortunately many of them are impractical for one reason or another. Various plants gums, fibers, amino acids, herbs, vitamins and hormones (natural hormones) can lower your levels safely, effectively and inexpensively.

The one supplement that stands out most is the beta-sitosterol complex. There are too many studies to count on these plant sterols to lower cholesterol and triglycerides, improve liver and bile function and even prevent and cure gallstones. You need about 300 mg of mixed sterols a day. You can take 600 mg a day for the first year if your problem is more serious. You can find beta-sitosterol if you look, but you won't find it in your local GNC. (What you will find there is an overpriced product with several ingredients but none of which in the amounts you need). The herb "guggul" has much less studies on it but is easily available from health food stores and herb shops and catalogs. You need 1,000 mg with 2.5% sterones and the sterones must be listed on the label. What else has been scientifically proven to help in published international studies? Beta carotene 25,000 IU, vitamin C no more than 500 mg, chromium 200 mcg (not mg), selenium 200 mcg (not mg), soy isoflavones with the genestein and daidzein listed on the label, flax seed oil 2 g a day, vitamin E 400 IU and beta glucan 100 mg a day (use an oat source rather than yeast) and magnesium about 500 mg.

What else can you do? Balance your basic hormones. Choleseterol is, in fact, a hormone. Are you over 40? Make sure your testosterone level is youthful (women, too). Take melatonin and pregnenolone. Use progesterone cream (men, too). Make sure your DHEA is also youthful. Women should test all three estrogen. Test your free T3 and T4. All hormones work together harmoniously as a team.. Just use an inexpensive saliva test kit for most of these tests. All this is explained in Zen Macrobiotics for Americans.

If you want to read good books on diet please read Robert Pritikin or his father Nathan, Dean Ornish, Neal Barnard, Terri Shintani, Michio Kushi, Gary Null, or Susan Powter.

There is always a natural alternative to dangerous drugs, surgery and radiation. Health is wealth and without good health what difference does it make how much money you have. In fact the wealthy tend to be less healthy despite the money they spend on doctors due to rich diet and lack of exercise. Please read my book Lower Cholesterol Without Drugs.