Dr. HingHau Tsang's Crusade on Nutrition
Newsletter #10
------ Maintain a healthy Cholesterol level
It is easy for nearly everyone to significantly lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL levels with diet, exercise and supplements, that it seems extreme for health care providers to prescribe cholesterol-lowering drugs until other, simpler measures have been taken and failed. The exception to this would be if you are in imminent danger of having a heart attack and need to take extreme measures.
Total cholesterol levels should not be relied upon alone to determine the health of your heart. New research suggests that it is not high cholesterol levels but oxidized cholesterol that is the primary contributor to heart disease.
STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY CHOLESTEROL LEVEL
Eat more fiber. Studies show that fiber has a direct and dramatic cholesterol-lowering effect. You can get plenty of fiber by eating fresh, whole unprocessed foods and a plant-based diet. Pectin, a soluble form of fiber found in apples, blueberries and grapefruit, particularly helps reduce cholesterol. If you want to add more fiber, take Psyllium or Glucomannan (Capsule) daily. Psyllium is the active ingredient in Metamucil, but Metamucil also has added sugar, preservatives and food colorings. Stick to the plain psyllium which is cheaper too.
Make olive oil and fish oil your predominant dietary fats. They both can actually lower LDL cholesterol. Eat deep sea fish or take Omega 3 Fatty Acid daily.
Take Cardio-Edge with Sytrinol, Plant sterols and pomegranate which significantly lower total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides of 27, 25, and 30%, respectively. (Newsletter#94 --- Safe Natural Alternative to Statins (Lipitor)).
Take HDL Rx to increase your HDL Cholesterol. High risk individuals are those with total Cholesterol level>240, LDL>160 and HDL<40. The American Heart Association recognizes both LDL-Cholesterol (Bad Cholesterol) and HDL- Cholesterol (Good Cholesterol) as strong and independent risk factors of heart disease. However, raising good cholesterol levels is thought to provide greater protection than lowering bad cholesterol. Every 1% increase in HDL-Cholesterol decreases the risk for heart disease by 2% in men and 3% in women. Please read Newsletter #110 --- Boost your HDL-Cholesterol naturally.
Add garlic to your diet. Garlic is a powerful cholesterol-lowering substance, and lowers blood pressure too. Add it liberally to your diet or take supplement like GarliPure.
Have a glass of red wine with dinner or a cup of Green tea, caffeine free, or take a bioflavonoid supplement such as Grape seed extract and/or Green tea extract daily. Both are known to have a cholesterol-lowering effect. However, too much alcohol (more than two drinks per day) will raise cholesterol levels.
Take niacin in the form of inositol hexanicotinate.
Exercise will directly raise HDL-cholesterol. It's a must for healthy arteries.
Eat cholesterol-busting foods and take cholesterol-busting supplements as following.
Cholesterol lowering foods
- Apples, Alfalfa sprouts, Berries, especially blueberries and raspberries.
- Brewer's yeast, Carrots (raw), Fenugreek (an herb).
- Fish, especially salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, cod, tuna, trout.
- Eggplant, Garlic, Grapefruit, Legumes, Oat bran, Onions, Prunes.
- Soy products such as miso, tempeh and tofu.
- Whole grains including rice, barley, millet, oats, wheat and rye.
- Yogurt.
HELPFUL SUPPLEMENTS FOR MAINTAINING A HEALTHY CHOLESTEROL LEVEL
Vitamin C: 1,000 mg three times daily. If this high a dose gives you diarrhea, cut back the dose.
Magnesium: 400 - 800mg daily. Magnesium prevents heart muscle spasm, keeps blood flowing smoothly, raises HDL cholesterol, maintains normal blood pressure and keeps the heartbeat regular.
Vitamin E: 400 IU (total 800 IU daily). In one study, ingesting this amount daily brought a 26 percent reduction in LDL or "bad" cholesterol production.
Lower your homocysteine level with additional B-100 complex Vitamin daily. Numerous studies over the last couple of decades have demonstrated that elevations in homocysteine lead to an increased risk of heart attack, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, phlebitis and cancer. Homocysteine can be safely and easily lowered in most cases with proper supplementation with folic acid, B6 and B12. In the November 29th, 2001 issue of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine a double blinded control study was reported on angioplasty. The study involved 205 patients, half of the patients were treated with folic acid, B12 and B6 daily while the other group received inactive placebo. The study was conducted for 6 months after each patient underwent angioplasty. In the group treated with the B vitamins, restenosis (reblockage) of the arteries occurred in just under 20% of patients compared to nearly 38% of patients who developed restenosis who took the placebo. Patients that took the B vitamins also had fewer cardiac events such as heart attacks in the months following their procedure.
Omega 3 Fatty Acid
Glucomannan significant reduces total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides.
Psyllium 1 to 2 teaspoons a day. Be sure to drink eight glasses of water a day too.
Green tea extract: The active beneficial ingredients in green tea are called polyphenols, substances that act as antioxidants, neutralize harmful fats and oils, strengthen the liver and lower LDL cholesterol while increasing HDL levels.
Grape seed extract: Containing PCOs or proanthocyanidins which work specifically to stop "bad" cholesterol from forming and sticking to artery walls.
N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC): 600 mg twice a day. This will help raise your glutathione levels, which will support your liver so it can more efficiently excrete cholesterol.
Boosts GOOD (HDL) CHOLESTEROL with HDL Rx and L-carnitine (an amino acid), Fish, Guggulipid and Yams.
Cayenne: This spice lowers cholesterol. Take a daily supplement of cayenne in capsules, or use it liberally on your food.
Curry: Another spice that lowers cholesterol.
Guggul: Ancient India remedy.
Conclusion
1. Total cholesterol levels should not be relied upon alone to determine the health of your heart. Total cholesterol itself is not that important.
It is the ratio between Total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol that counts. The ratio should be under 4.5.
Treatment (with diet and/or drugs) for high LDL aims to lower LDL to a target value based on your overall risk of heart disease. Your target value is:
- LDL less than 100 mg/dL if you have heart disease or diabetes.
- LDL less than 130 mg/dL if you have 2 or more risk factors.
- LDL less than 160 mg/dL if you have 0 or 1 risk factor.
Risk factors include cigarette smoking, hypertension, low HDL (< 40 mg/dL), family history, age (male 55 or older; female 65 or older), being overweight, and failure to exercise regularly.
2. What is much more important than your cholesterol measurement is your Omega 3 Fatty Acid intake, antioxidant intake (Grape seed extract, Green tea extract, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, CoQ10 and Alpha Lipoic Acid), healthy homocysteine levels (Vitamin B complex is required to maintain healthy levels) and other factors.
3. There are many people who die everyday in this country with so called "perfect" cholesterol levels of less than 200 or even 180. It actually accounts to 50 % of people who died of heart attack. In fact, when cholesterol levels hit 150 the rates of depression and death increase.
4. Cholesterol is our friend and it is required to produce hormones and to protect cells. It only becomes dangerous when it is oxidized by free radicals due to a lack of antioxidants.
Read more newsletters
Get all your nutritional needs at the Informative "Tsang Nutrition" Store - Finest Supplements at Everyday Low Discount Prices. Please click the logo below to enter.
Free newsletters and unlimited e-mail consultation with Dr. Tsang are offered to Tsang Nutrition customers.
Disclaimer
Dr. Tsang wishes to share his knowledge & Opinion with the public regarding the importance of " Nutritional Supplements ". This is for your information only. He is not in any way try to replace your physician. Drugs have powerful effects on the body, so please don't abruptly stop taking any prescription medication. Always consult your physician or health care provider before you use any nutritional supplement or switch from drugs to natural health products.
Top Of Page