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eLearning Series: Cholesterol
My Cholesterol Level Is Too High -
What Can I Do?
( 8 pages )
Natural
Treatments For High Cholesterol (Part II) Eat garlic
The cholesterol
lowering effects of garlic has been demonstrated repeatedly
in people
with normal and high cholesterol. Eat
all the garlic you can. It also seems to raise the HDL levels
as well. If you are worried about the odor, take the tablets
instead. They have proven to be nearly as effective as the
cooked or raw cloves.
Take niacin – carefully
We discussed niacin earlier. Remember as one of the B vitamins,
it is proven effective for lowering LDL and raising HDL. It
is also one of the cheapest drugs available for lowering cholesterol.
But, without medical supervision it may not be totally safe.
A dose high enough to lower cholesterol can cause extremely
high blood sugar or liver damage.
Take vitamin E
Studies indicate that vitamin E may have a positive impact
on lowering cholesterol when taken in fairly large quantities
– up to 800 IU per day. This is more than you can get from
your diet alone. Larger amounts do not seem to cause any harm.
Further studies showed that even amounts of just 25 IU per
day helps in preventing LDL from sticking to blood vessel walls.
That amount is only slightly higher than the recommended daily
amount (RDA) of 12 to 15 IU. It’s interesting to note that
even that small amount has an impact on preventing that hardening
of the arteries.
Take Calcium
One study indicates
that when 56 people took a calcium carbonate supplement,
their total cholesterol went down 4 percent and
their HDL increased 4 percent. That was taking a dosage of
400 milligrams of calcium three times a day with no harmful
effects reported. That dosage refers to calcium carbonate.
Take a multivitamin – it can’t hurt
While you are
building your calcium and vitamin E intake, remember the
old standby, vitamin C. It is the number one immune
system booster and also drives up HDL. A study of people who
took more than 60 milligrams of vitamin C per day (60 milligrams
is the RDA) had the highest HDL levels.
Fill up on fiber
Remember several years back when oat bran was the latest craze
for lowering cholesterol? Later studies arrived at inconsistent
results, but the medical community does agree that soluble
fiber, the kind found in oat bran, does help lower LDL and
raise HDL. As little as three grams per day of fiber from oat
bran or oatmeal can be effective. There are 7.2 grams of soluble
fiber per 100 grams of dry oat bran and five grams of soluble
fiber per 100 grams of dry oatmeal. There are other sources
of fiber as well such as barley, beans, peas and many other
vegetables. Corn fiber is also good for reducing LDL, lowering
it by as much as 5 percent in a recent study. Researchers used
20 grams of corn fiber a day. That would be a bit difficult
for the average user when you take into account that one serving
of corn has three grams of corn fiber. But, every little bit
does make a difference. Pectin, which is found in fruits like
apples and prunes, reduces cholesterol even better than oat
bran, as does psyllium which is the fiber you find in many
breakfast cereals and bulk laxatives.
Quit smoking
Smoking promotes the development of atherosclerosis. Tobacco
smoke is actually more damaging to the heart than the lungs.
Smokers have a higher chance of having a heart attack (three
times greater than nonsmokers) and a greater risk of dying
of the attack (twenty one times greater than nonsmokers.) Tobacco
smoke contains carbon monoxide, which is uniquely damaging
to the heart. Not only does it reduce the amount of oxygen
the heart receives, it also actually damages the cells of the
heart, rendering them less able to produce energy and thereby
weakening the heart. In addition to the dangers of carbon monoxide,
there’s the danger of the nicotine. Nicotine interferes with
the electrical impulses that cause the heart to beat. When
the blood flow is compromised, the heart can beat in a fast,
uncontrolled, irregular beats that actually cause a heart attack.
If you smoke, reducing the risks of atherosclerosis is yet
another reason to stop. Even if you have smoked for years,
stopping now can still immediately help combat the development
of atherosclerosis.
Reduce sugar intake
Many people don’t realize that sugar affects cholesterol and
definitely affects triglycerides. Sugar stimulates insulin
production, which in turn increases triglycerides. Men in particular,
seem to be sensitive to this effect from sugar. The mineral
chromium which helps to stabilize blood sugar, can also raise
the level of HDL. 100 mcg of chromium three times daily can
help to improve your cholesterol levels.
Eliminate alcohol
The jury is still out and the different schools of thought
are still at odds regarding the benefit or lack of benefit
to consuming alcohol. This suggestion has nothing to do with
our previous discuss on red wine. A moderate amount may be
helpful. The problem is that to one person a moderate amount
might be a glass of wine with their meal, while to another
it might be a half bottle of Scotch! Anything above the arbitrary
“moderate” amount elevates serum cholesterol triglycerides
and your uric acid levels as well as potentially increasing
blood pressure all of which promote heart disease. So, the
best bet would be to eliminate it totally.
Exercise regularly
There is positive evidence that exercise can lower LDL cholesterol
and boost HDL cholesterol. Both aerobic exercise such as walking,
jogging, swimming, bicycling and cross country skiing and strength
training like lifting weights or using weight machines all
promote the improvement of cholesterol levels. An analysis
of 11 studies on weight training showed that this exercise
lowered LDL by 13 percent and raised HDL by 5 percent. If you
lift weights, use light to moderate weights and do many repetitions.
Eliminate caffeine
We Americans definitely have a love affair with our coffee!
People who drink large amounts of caffeine (more than 6 cups
a day) are far more prone to elevated cholesterol. That connection
does not hold for tea drinkers. Limit your coffee intake to
no more than one cup a day and eliminate caffeinated sodas
entirely.
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