High Cholesterol

Lower Cholesterol Without Drugs

Most experts would agree that a high cholesterol level is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. But how high is too high? What’s the best way to bring it down? And how important, in the overall scheme of things, is high cholesterol?

The Conventional Approach to High Cholesterol

Most physicians will tell you that the best tool for lowering a high cholesterol level is statin drugs. More than 15 million Americans take Lipitor, Zocor, Mevacor, Pravachol, and other statins, making them the best-selling class of medications in history, with more than $15 billion in worldwide sales every year.

This is nonsense. For starters, statins are not very effective. Yes, they do lower cholesterol, but if you look at the research, you’ll find that, except for a very limited number of people, there is no evidence that statins protect against heart attack or premature death. For details, click here.

Furthermore, these drugs have very serious side effects. They deplete levels of coenzyme Q10, a natural substance that is crucial for health. They’re hard on the liver and can trigger memory loss and complete amnesia. (If you’d like to learn more about the cognitive problems associated with statin use, click here.)  Statins routinely cause muscle pain and weakness, and, in rare cases, deadly rhambodmyolysis, or complete muscle breakdown. These drugs have also been linked with increased risk of kidney disease, immune system suppression, and cancer. Click here to read more about the downside of these drugs.

Alternative Therapies for High Cholesterol

Conventional physicians seem to believe that high cholesterol is the end-all in cardiovascular disease. But the truth is, half of all Americans who suffer a heart attack have total cholesterol levels between 150 and 200 mg/dL. This means that factors besides high cholesterol must be taken into account.

The bottom line is, there are far safer and more effective methods of lowering cholesterol that also reduce your risk of heart attack and improve your overall health.

Nutritional Supplements for High Cholesterol

Anyone concerned about high cholesterol and heart disease should know about a handful of nutritional supplements that have been proven to bring down high cholesterol. Niacin, which is a form of vitamin B3, works so well that conventional physicians actually recommend it for patients with high cholesterol. Flaxseed and other types of supplemental fiber not only lower cholesterol but also protect against diabetes and constipation. Red yeast rice, policosanol, and phytosterols also effectively lower high cholesterol. To learn more about these and other nutritional supplements for high cholesterol, click here.

Lifestyle Changes for High Cholesterol

Of course, lifestyle changes are also important. In a landmark study conducted by Dean Ornish, MD, patients with serious heart disease were placed on a diet, exercise, and stress-reduction program as their primary therapy. One year later, they were compared with a similar group of patients who had been treated with standard medications.

The cholesterol level of the patients on the lifestyle regimen fell by an average of 24.3 percent and their LDL cholesterol dropped 37.4 percent—without drugs. They also had fewer episodes of angina (chest pain) and arterial blockages were actually reversed. During the same time, the patients treated with medications got worse. To find out more about foods that cut high cholesterol, click here.

The fact of the matter is the nutritional supplements and lifestyle changes mentioned above can go a long way toward managing high cholesterol and protecting your cardiovascular health for years to come.