Bottom Line Health
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| A diet that is low in saturated fats (10% or less of total calories) and high in fruits and vegetables (at least nine daily servings) and whole grains can often lower cholesterol as much as a moderately powerful statin. Regular exercise also helps. Walking 45 minutes per day reduces cardiac mortality by 50%. And if you do go on medication, a healthy diet and regular exercise will enable you to use a lower dosage.
To ensure that you're being prescribed the appropriate amount of medication, ask your doctor what percentage of LDL cholesterol reduction you need. |
| This means that if you used one tablespoon four times a day, which is the amount recommended to lower cholesterol, you could consume nearly 14 g of trans fats in a week, just from Benecol spread alone.
Many companies are replacing trans fats with saturated fats, fust because something has zero trans fats doesn't mean people can eat as much as they want.
Samantha Heller, MS, RD
That's important because trans fats, like saturated fats, can raise the risk of heart disease by increasing levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol.
Currently, the FDA estimates that Americans consume an average 5. |
Marshall Editions
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 Supplements: Take 3-4 g of fish oil a day to reduce arterial inflammation and lower cholesterol. 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. |
| Alfalfa: This common herb can modestly lower cholesterol when taken daily. Steep 5-10 g of dried herbs in a cup of boiling water and drink three times daily. Alfalfa may react with certain drugs such as anticoagulants and diabetic drugs.
Oats: Oats have been aggressively marketed as a "heart healthy" food and can reduce cholesterol. Like psyllium, oats have been shown to decrease LDL, but seem to have no effect on HDL. Oats and oatmeal are easily included in a balanced diet. |
Joan Liebmann-Smith, Ph. D., and Jacqueline Nardi Egan
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 Joint stiffness can also be a reaction to a number of drugs, including antibiotics such as minocycline, statins (used to lower cholesterol), and aromatase inhibitors (used to treat breast cancer).
WARNING SIGN
People with rheumatoid arthritis are at increased risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.
CREAKY KNEES
Do your knees make you sound like the Tin Man from The Wizard o/Oz? If there's no pain involved, your creaky knees may be a sign of some benign temporary mechanical maladjustment. |
David W. Grotto, RD, LDN
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 Beta-glucans, which lower cholesterol and aid in immune function, are found in the soluble fiber portion. In fact, barley is the richest source of beta-glucans compared to any other grain. It also contains B vitamins, iron, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, and copper, and is one of the richest sources of chromium, which is important in maintaining proper blood glucose levels. |
Tori Hudson, N.D.
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 The same ginger that is used in cooking and ginger ale has been shown to inhibit platelet aggregation (blood platelets sticking together),308 lower cholesterol,309-312 inhibit atherosclerosis,313 and decrease blood pressure.314 Ginger stimulates the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids and increases bile secretion, thereby lowering cholesterol by promoting its excretion and impairing its absorption. Most research studies have used one gram of dry powdered ginger root.
Ginger
1 g per day powdered ginger root
Globe Artichoke (Cynara Scolymus). |
David W. Grotto, RD, LDN
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| While the control diet did not lower cholesterol, the one containing rice bran oil lowered LDL cholesterol by seven percent. In studies of Finnish men, intake of brown rice is inversely related to not just cardiovascular-related death, but to all causes of death.
CANCER: Brown rice contains plant lignins, especially enterolactone, that help establish healthy flora in the human intestines credited with protecting against breast and other hormone-dependent cancers as well as heart disease. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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 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. |
Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.
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 The patients who had the drug treatment to lower cholesterol had fewer hospitalizations for chest pain and fewer heart attacks than those who underwent angioplasty and standard postoperative care.3
The larger lesson of that study is that systemic treatment of disease through aggressive reduction of cholesterol is clearly superior to selective intervention at a single site where an artery has been clogged and narrowed. And it caused considerable uproar among cardiologists. As Dr. Waters observes, "There is a tradition in cardiology that doesn't want to hear that."
Why? Money! |
David W. Grotto, RD, LDN
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| Celery contains phalides, which may help lower cholesterol, and coumarins, possibly useful in cancer prevention.
Home Remedies
Wild celery was used as a medicinal plant throughout the Middle Ages. People used it to "treat" conditions such as anxiety, insomnia, rheumatism, gout, and arthritis. Wild celery was also thought to provide strength and purify the blood. The Romans wore wreaths of celery leaves as an antidote against the intoxicating effects of wine and the ensuing headache. In Vietnam, celery has been used as a remedy for lowering high blood pressure. |
Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.
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| You have numerical proof, in the form of radically lower cholesterol levels, that you are conquering the disease that was destroying you.
But remember: the drugs alone are not enough. In Chapter 5, I cited a study, recently reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, in which huge doses of statins successfully reduced patients' cholesterol levels well below 150 mg/dL. But even so, as their diet never changed, one out of four of the subjects experienced a new cardiovascular event or died within thirty months. |
Ray D. Strand
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 These fats not only lower cholesterol levels but also decrease the overall inflammation in our bodies.
The next best protein comes from fowl, because the fat of the bird is on the outside and not marbled into the meat. Even though this is saturated fat, by removing the skin from the meat you still can have a very lean protein meal.
Obviously the worst fats and protein come from our red meats and dairy products. If you are going to eat red meat, at least eat the leanest cut you can. You should avoid dairy products except for low-fat cottage cheese, milk, and egg whites. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 While possibly not as effective as plain niacin, it does appear to lower cholesterol.
Niacinamide, the alternative source of vitamin B3, offers no benefit in cholesterol management.
Some products are promoted or labeled as "no-flush niacin" but are really only niacin-like compounds, which may have nutritional value or improve circulation but have not been tested exhaustively in humans like niacin has for its cholesterol benefit. The ingredient section on supplement packaging will indicate the source of the raw ingredient. Make sure the label shows "niacin or nicotinic acid. |
David W. Grotto, RD, LDN
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| Rats and mice who were fed buckwheat flour had lower cholesterol levels, less body fat, and fewer gallstones than mice that were not fed buckwheat flour. Prematurely aging rats that were fed buckwheat flour had improved immune cell function compared to those who didn't consume it. A study done on diabetic rats found that buckwheat concentrate added to rat chow decreased their glucose levels by twelve to nineteen percent after eating. And buckwheat studies with humans also are showing promise—for appetite control. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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| But Lipitor is only approved by the Food and Drug Administration to reduce the risk of heart attack if you have multiple risk factors for heart disease, and its benefits are based largely on its supposed ability to lower cholesterol, which may or may not have anything to do with preventing cardiovascular events and death. In fact, if you read the small print on television ads for Lipitor a couple of years ago, you'd briefly see the following words flash on the screen in tiny letters: "Lipitor has not been shown to prevent heart disease or heart attacks. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 If you ask a typical doctor to name three foods in the grocery store that are shown to directly lower cholesterol, most doctors would be unable to name even one. But there are in fact many such foods available in the grocery store.
I'll be covering this in an upcoming book called "Grocery Healing," which talks about using everyday foods to prevent and even reverse chronic disease. In this book, I'll also be talking about cholesterol. Some of the simple foods you can use to lower cholesterol are blueberries, garlic and soy products. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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| After considering this possibility and conducting a statistical analysis regarding this question, the researchers concluded that the green tea was indeed the cause of the lower cholesterol levels.6
Coffee is associated with higher cholesterol levels, and since both coffee and tea contain caffeine (although caffeine levels in tea are much lower), some scientists postulated that tea might actually cause cholesterol levels to increase. Just the opposite was found to be true when this issue was investigated; tea (despite its caffeine content) lowers cholesterol levels. |
Elaine Magee
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 A typical vegetarian diet includes many cholesterol-lowering foods, such as soy milk, soy burgers, oats, almonds, beans, and plenty of fruits and vegetables, all of which have been individually found to lower cholesterol levels. In one study, after 1 month, participants' LDL levels fell by 29 percent—a drop similar to that seen with some statin drugs. Other cholesterol-lowering benefits of a vegetarian diet include a higher consumption of plant stanols (2 grams a day is ideal) and soluble fiber (reaching the recommended 25 grams a day is relatively easy on a vegetarian diet). |
David W. Grotto, RD, LDN
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| HEART HEALTH: Sorghum is a good source of phytochemicals that may help fight heart disease and lower cholesterol, such as phenolic compounds, plant sterols, and policosanols. In a study of male hamsters who had sorghum added to their diet for a four-week period, decreases in LDL cholesterol levels and reduced cholesterol absorption were observed.
CELIAC DISEASE: Sorghum lacks gluten-containing proteins typically found in wheat, rye, and barley, and is therefore considered safe for those diagnosed with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. |
Dr. Steve Blake
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 Vitamin C works in two ways to lower cholesterol.
Vitamin C is needed to change cholesterol into bile in the liver.
Vitamin C helps contract the gallbladder to release bile.
Vitamin C is needed for the transformation of cholesterol into bile acids and the elimination of bile acids through the gallbladder. In vitamin C deficiency, the breakdown of cholesterol is slowed, resulting in an accumulation of cholesterol in the liver. This can lead to high blood cholesterol and the formation of gallstones. |
Hyla Cass, M.D.
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 You now have the inside scoop: when you're concerned about preventing heart disease, think reduce inflammation, not lower cholesterol.
If you chose to read this chapter, you are probably one of the millions of American adults who take a statin and/or a blood pressure-lowering drug every day. You've probably made this choice based on your doctor telling you that not lowering your cholesterol and/or blood pressure will eventually lead you down the road to heart attack or stroke. |
| The catch is that the drugs probably don't help these people because they lower cholesterol, but because they address another, more important risk factor: inflammation.
However, even this action is open to question. The statins may be changing the results of commonly used tests for measuring inflammation (C-reactive protein tests, for example; more on this below), rather than actually altering the inflammation itself. In other words, we've lowered the marker, but the underlying inflammatory condition remains.
THE INFLAMMATION CONNECTION
Inflammation is the immune system's response to injury. |
Andreas Moritz
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 The FDA approved the sale of the statin drug Baycol to lower cholesterol. One severe adverse reaction, discovered later, was the potentially fatal condition known as rhabdomyolysis, in which destruction of muscle tissue occurs. Despite such a severe adverse reaction, the FDA continues to approve the use of other statin drugs that are also associated with this deadly side effect.
• The FDA has aggressively suppressed natural alternatives to drugs. Red yeast rice, for example, known to be a safe and effective alternative to cholesterol-lowering drugs, was banned by the FDA in 2001. |
David Winston, RH(AHG), and Steven Maimes
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 Studies on various types of animals also have shown that reishi can help control nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, lower cholesterol levels, heal gastric ulcers, and help prevent drug-induced kidney damage. In a horse study (Lai 2004), animals given reishi had increased humoral immunity (CD5+, CD4+, CD8+, T lymphocytes) and were able to produce a much higher level of specific antibodies more quickly. naaptogens for nnimais z / /
Rhaponticum
Rhaponticum (Rhaponticum earthamoides) enhances muscle development, endurance, and blood circulation. |
Jack Challem
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 In follow-up studies, Johnston investigated whether vinegar might lower cholesterol levels. It didn't—but it did, unexpectedly, help people to lose weight. She asked thirty people to take 2 tablespoons of vinegar or cranberry juice (as a placebo) before lunch and dinner each day for four weeks. People taking the vinegar lost an average of two pounds, and some lost four to five pounds, while those in the placebo group maintained the same weight. |
Rainer W. Bussmann and Douglas Sharon
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 Three species were used to regulate hypertension, and one species helped to lower cholesterol levels.
Pain
Thirteen species were used as analgesics, especially for the treatment of headaches, general pain, and toothache.
Infection (Bacterial and Viral)
Bacterial and viral infections, especially wounds, were a major concern. Twelve plant species were used, mostly as poultices, to treat infected wounds, one of them to treat gangrene. Eleven species were used to treat internal bacterial infections. |
Tori Hudson, N.D.
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| One of the ways fiber helps to lower cholesterol is to increase the rate at which food passes through the digestive tract, thereby increasing the loss of cholesterol in the stool. A review of 20 scientific trials on the effect of oat products on cholesterol demonstrates that a modest reduction in blood cholesterol can be achieved by eating oat products daily.86 Eating one bowl of oat bran cereal or oatmeal daily (3 grams of oat fiber) lowers the total cholesterol by 8 to 23 percent. These results have been achieved in as little as three weeks. |
James Dowd and Diane Stafford
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 In fact, people who consume nuts regularly usually have lower weight, lower cholesterol, and lower incidences of heart disease and diabetes.
Here are some tips:
?Buy nuts in the shell or dry roasted without salt.
?Avoid nuts roasted in trans fat.
?Keep nuts in a dry, cool, dark place, or place them in a container in the refrigerator so oils in them won't turn rancid.
?Keep mixtures of different chopped nuts in the refrigerator to use in cooking.
?Remember that nuts are high in calories and omega-6 fats, so be careful not to overconsume.
? |
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