Knowing how to lower cholesterol naturally can save your life AND your health.
Although cholesterol is produced in your body and a certain amount is necessary to make healthy cells, vitamin D, nerve insulation and essential hormones, high cholesterol can contribute to atherosclerosis – the build up of plaque in your arteries.
Plaque narrows blood vessel walls limiting blood flow to the heart and brain. This makes having high cholesterol a major risk factor for both heart disease and stroke.
But there's another very important reason to lower cholesterol naturally. Statin drugs, (such as Lipitor) for artificially lowering cholesterol, can have devastating side effects.
Health Problems Caused by Statin Drugs
Here's the hefty price you can pay for using statin drugs:
- Permanent serious liver damage and abnormalities
- Rapid loss of memory and mental clarity, confusion and even amnesia
- Sexual dysfunction and performance problems
- Negative personality changes – irritability and hostility
- Nausea, diarrhea, constipation, headaches, insomnia and fever
- Destruction of vital nutrients essential for heart strength and brain function
Extreme muscle pain (neuropathy), muscle disease (myopathy), muscle breakdown (rhabdomyolysis), weakness and problems walking
Ways to Lower Cholesterol Naturally
Begin gradually (but persistently) making these simple lifestyle and diet changes:
- Exercise 30 minutes a day. It works better than any drug out there. Exercise increases good cholesterol (HDL), reduces bad cholesterol (LDL) and naturally lowers total cholesterol levels – with no negative side effects.
- Increase your dietary fiber. Include more high fiber foods, such as fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains and fiber supplements in your diet. The soluble fiber from beans and whole grains actually binds with cholesterol and carries it out of your body.
- Eat good fat, eliminate bad fat. Reduce animal fats, especially from dairy and red meat. Stick with extra virgin olive oil and fatty fish as your main sources of fat. The fish oil from omega 3 fish not only improves cholesterol, it also helps lower blood pressure and can dramatically reduce your risk of heart disease.
- Feast on fruits and vegetables. Phytonutrient antioxidants in colorful fruit and vegetables have been shown to help lower cholesterol and protect against heart disease. So replace sweets and processed foods with healthy produce.
- Take healthy-heart supplements. Quality omega 3 fish oil capsules have been proven in numerous studies to be highly effective in naturally preventing and reversing heart disease. Fish oil does a better job than statin drugs with no negative side effects. Whole food supplements, including B complex, GTF chromium and garlic, can also help.
Blood Lipid Profile Guidelines
To lower your all-around risk of both heart disease and stroke, the #1 and #3 causes of premature death in the U.S., your blood lipid profile should look like this:
- Total cholesterol below 150 mg/dl
- Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) below 130 mg/dl
- High-density lipoproteins HDL) above 40 mg/dl
- A ratio of LDL divided by HDL – 3 to 1 or lower
- Total triglycerides below 150 mg/dl
My highest recommendation can be found at the fish oil web site.
Be sure to check out my Natural Health Newsletter .
Click here for the site map.
Articles you might also enjoy
List of High Fiber Foods
The Anti Aging Benefits of Antioxidants
All Natural Health Supplements For Humans
Omega 3 Fish Oil for Overall Health
To subscribe to the Natural Health Newsletter, just enter your email address in the subscribe box at the bottom of this page.
©Copyright Moss Greene. All Rights Reserved.
Note: The information contained on this website is not intended to be prescriptive. Any attempt to diagnose or treat an illness should come under the direction of a physician who is familiar with nutritional therapy.
Save to Del.icio.us
