How to Lower Cholesterol - Alternative Treatment for Cholesterol

“Discover The Cholesterol-Lowering Alternative To High-Priced Drugs Riddled With Harmful Side Effects...That Doctors Are Too Embarrassed To Tell You About...And That Big Drug-Making Companies Desperately Hoped You Would Never Discover!”

Cholesterol is a sterol (a combination steroid and alcohol) and a lipid found in the cell membranes of all body tissues, and transported in the blood plasma of all animals. Lesser amounts of cholesterol are also found in plant membranes. The name originates from the Greek chole- (bile) and stereos (solid), and the chemical suffix -ol for an alcohol, as researchers first identified cholesterol in solid form in gallstones in 1784.

Most cholesterol is not dietary in origin; it is synthesized internally. Cholesterol is present in higher concentrations in tissues which either produce more or have more densely-packed membranes, for example, the liver, spinal cord and brain, and also in atheromata. Cholesterol plays a central role in many biochemical processes, but is best known for the association of cardiovascular disease with various lipoprotein cholesterol transport patterns and high levels of cholesterol in the blood.

When doctors talk to their patients about the health concerns of cholesterol, they are often referring to "bad cholesterol", or low-density lipoprotein (LDL). "Good cholesterol" is high-density lipoprotein (HDL); this denotes the way cholesterol is bound in lipoproteins, the natural carrier molecules of the body.

Symptoms of high cholesterol

No symptoms - high cholesterol typically has no noticable symptoms. It is usually found by routine blood tests

Cholesterol has several vital functions:

• Formation and maintenance of cell membranes
• Formation of sex hormones
• Production of bile salts that help digest foods
• Production of Vitamin D

But too much of it can kill.

Reversing high cholesterol is simple, it's a shame that a lot of doctors are not telling their patients how to reverse their high cholesterol instead of putting them on cholesterol lowering medication--which in the long run does more harm than good.

What kind of things raise the levels in our blood?
Certain things can raise the levels of cholesterol in our blood. Here are a few:

• A diet high in fats
• Lack of exercise
• Some medications, especially HIV medicines
• Genetic predisposition (family history)

So what can we do to make sure our cholesterol is controlled?

how to lower cholesterol

Cut out all animal fat in your diet. Also, you would want get rid of margarine, mayonnaise, fried foods and cooking oil. When we sit and eat a meal consisting of steak and eggs, our liver must manufacture enough cholesterol to help digest that high fat meal. It is also known that the liver will continue to manufacture cholesterol up to 14 days later. Imagine, steak and eggs for breakfast, then comes a burger and fries for lunch, then at dinner-- fried chicken and baked potatoes covered with cheese, sour cream and bacon.

Now you can see why high cholesterol is such a big problem especially here in the United States. We eat high fat meals every day three or more times a day. As you can see in the example above, the liver did not get to finish manufacturing cholesterol for the first meal, then comes the second, and so on, and so on.

We find that a total vegetarian, low-fat diet will invariably lower the blood cholesterol by up to 200 points within a month's time (the higher the original level, the more the drop). Drug companies are overjoyed if their cholesterol-lowering products achieve a 10 to 15 point decrease in six months.

natural ways to lower cholesterol

Exercise is the key to reversing all lifestyle diseases. You should walk at least one hour every day.

Try your best to avoid stress at all times. Stress hormones use cholesterol as a part of their molecule, and those who are under much emotional tension will rind that this matter of itself can cause the blood cholesterol to go up.

Take some form of omega 3 oil. Flaxseed is the best source of omega 3 by far. No! It is not fish oil-- besides, you want to stay away from anything that has to do with an animal.

Stop smoking!

Plenty of sunshine. When the sun's rays hit your skin, it turns cholesterol into Vitamin D.

food to eat to lower cholesterol

Fruits

Whole Grains

Legumes (Beans)

Vegetables

Nuts

Fiber

Garlic

Antioxidants

Folates

Treatment with drug medication for high cholesterol

Lipitor is an oral drug that lowers the level of cholesterol in the blood. It belongs to a class of drugs referred to as statins which includes lovastatin (Mevacor), simvastatin, (Zocor), fluvastatin (Lescol), and pravastatin (Pravachol). All statins, including atorvastatin, prevent the production of cholesterol by the liver by blocking the enzyme that makes cholesterol, HMGCoA reductase. They lower total blood cholesterol as well as LDL cholesterol levels. (LDL cholesterol is believed to be the "bad" cholesterol that is primarily responsible for the development of coronary artery disease.) Lowering LDL cholesterol levels retards progression and may even reverse coronary artery disease. Unlike the other drugs in this class, atorvastatin also can reduce the concentration of triglycerides in the blood. High blood concentrations of triglycerides also have been associated with coronary artery disease. Atorvastatin was approved by the FDA in December of 1996.

Side Effects: side effects include constipation, diarrhea, fatigue, gas, heartburn, and headache. Lipitor should be used with caution in patients with alcohol or other liver diseases. Persistently abnormal liver tests during treatment are rare but may require discontinuation of the medication. Rare cases of muscle inflammation (myositis) and breakdown have been reported with other drugs in this class. Muscle breakdown causes the release of muscle protein (myoglobin) into the blood and accumulation of the protein in the kidney tubules, resulting in kidney failure.

The herbal approach: (For quicker results, without side effects)

Like high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels, high levels of LDL cholesterol are recognized as symptoms of imbalance in the system. Naturopaths recognize that the whole system and not just the symptoms should be treated.

Research has demonstrated that a combination of natural remedies, regular exercise and dietary changes can make a significant difference to LDL levels and reduce or even eliminate the need for prescription drugs. Click the banner below for more information