Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally

I have read that liquid vitamins are easier for the body to handle in that they are ingested more quickly than the tablet form. I’m going to research this further, and I will write on it in the near future. It would seem logical. Some writers say that a lot of the tablet-type vitamins go right through the body because they are not assimulated as quickly as the liquid form. It seems probable. I’ll check it out.

One thing I want to point out is that It is better to have small pills of vitamins 2 or 3 times a day than one heavy dose say in the morning. This is because the body will use what it needs at the time and discard the rest. For example: I take a 1000 mg vitamin C capsule in the morning. It would be better for me to take a 500 mg in the morning and one at supper time. Other vitamins are the same.

As I pointed out in an earlier post – the oil soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) should be taken with oil or some fat – like at a meal otherwise they will not be absorbed by the body. And these vitamins are very helpful to our bodies and our cardiovascular systems.

If you want to Lower your total cholesterol, all you have to do is follow the old-time, natural-food diets and get some regular exercise. Unfortunately, that is not as easy as it seems. Today in our fast-paced world, people are more inclined to grab a lunch at the fast food restaurant and gobble it down. Fast food once or twice a week is probably okay, but more frequent than that, it becomes very hazarodous to you heart health.

What I’d like to talk about is the word ‘gobble’ as I used it above. A heart-friendly  diet should not leave one so hungry during the day that he or she has to ‘gobble’ up their food. I snack during the day – I am nibbling at something a good bit of the time. I love nuts – I probably eat too many of them. And I love oranges, apples, canned pineapple – fresh pineapple when I come across it is really a treat! I don’t allow myself to feel hunger.

If you sit at a desk all day, it is easy enough to buy some canned nuts and grab a handful now and then. They can be high in calories - I never really count – I know I eat less than 2,000 calories a day even with all the nuts I eat. I usually think that eating too many nuts is much better for me than eating  too many donuts or coffee cake.

Getting back to ‘gobbling’ – strive to not let yourself get famished during the day. Nuts, raisins, a piece of fruit can all keep you from getting hungry and help your cholesterol and your heart as well.

Sometimes when I’m eating a meal I think before I place a bite of food in my mouth ‘Did early man eat this?’ I think this is an important thought because in those early days our physiologies were being developed off of the foods that were available. And the foods were natural ones. Mostly easily available fruits, nuts, seeds, roots, insects (yuk), worms (yuck), and large animals when they could kill one.

I bet early man did not have problems with heart disease. He got plenty of exercise chasing anmals and at times being chased by animals. He didn’t have fast food prepared for him in trans fats and then washed it down with sugary soda pop. His body wasn’t being bombarded by manufactured foods that taste incredibly good, but do create havoc with ones arteries.

Hot off the presses: A study conducted in collaboration with researchers from the University of Illinois and Mars, Incorporated found that, as part of a balanced, low-fat diet, the daily consumption of CocoaVia® dark chocolate bars with added plant sterols (natural plant extracts) significantly lowered total cholesterol by 2 percent and LDL cholesterol (or “bad” cholesterol) by 5.3 percent in individuals with elevated cholesterol.

In contrast, when the same study participants consumed dark chocolate bars without added plant sterols, neither total nor LDL cholesterol level was significantly affected, supporting that the consumption of plant sterols was responsible for the cholesterol reductions. Interestingly, the regular consumption of these flavanol-rich chocolate bars was also shown to result in a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure, reducing systolic blood pressure by 5 percent after 8 weeks. Of importance is that these improvements in cholesterol and blood pressure were observed without any adverse affects on HDL (‘good’ cholesterol), triglycerides, or body weight.

Policosanol is a non prescription supplement that is touted as a natural way to treat high cholesterol levels. It is a mixture of alcohols isolated and refined from sugar cane. The main ingredient in Policosanol is octacosanol, but as the name implies, Policosanol is actually a mixture of many (hence the prefix “poli”) alcohols, including hexacosanol, triacontanol and others. Many animal studies with Policosanol, conducted in Cuba by a US based corporation, demonstrate a cholesterol lowering effect, and more recently human studies have suggested that LDL cholesterol can be reduced to a degree similar to that achieved with statins, and that HDL cholesterol can be increased by as much as 10 – 25% (an effect difficult to achieve with statins).
Studies completed in the US have shown no significant cholesterol lowering effect in human subjects after using Policosanol. Policosanol is controversial in that many people outside the United States take it to lower their cholesterol.

If you are considering using this drug, discuss it with your medical doctor first. It hasn’t yet been proven to be effective in US studies.

Some writers say that if you are really athletic you should avoid fast food. There just are too many fats especially saturated fats  in meats and French fries. I’ve always subscribe to this philosophy.

Additionally the soda pops come in large and enormously large sizes. This much sugar and caffeine entering your body at one time is a shock to the system. I’ve read that some writers have said that if you order the food and not the soft drink that comes with it, you’ll be fine. This sounded to me like a represenative of the fast food company making a (positive)statement. I think it is bunk.

Fast food is probably the biggest contributor to the obesity epidemic that we have today.  The saturated fats and trans fats keep the customer’s cholesterol way too high for heart-healthy living.

Most people think that you have to do an incredible number of sit ups to develop clearly-defined, six-pack-abdominal muscles. That is all bunk!

First of all, if you follow a heart-friendly diet and exercise regularly and you have a potbelly it will go away. The diet is the key to unmasking your abs. Everyone has abs, but in most cases they are not clearly defined like those of body builders. To develop those abs you need specific exercises in addition to eating a good healthy (heart-friendly) diet.

When I was road racing (the 10K) I had decent abs. You could see the muscles although they didn’t pop out in your face like those of body builders. The way I look at it, it is like frosting on the cake. For following a good healthy diet and  protecting your heart, you are rewarded by a healthy looking, strong abdomen. It makes me proud. It should do the same for you.

If you do embark on this journey to uncover those great abs – remember to check with your medical doctor first.

Craig Ballantyne helps people develop six-pack abdominals. Click below if you wish further information on this subject.
http://tinyurl.com/38hgdm

Enjoy!

A heart-friendly diet consists of eating fresh vegetables along with small cuts of meat or fish. Vegetables are  thought to be loaded with vitamins and nutrients. Or is this true?

Vitamin manufacturers present a very good argument that goes like the following. Farmers, or today agribusinesses, cultivate large acreages of land to one crop. This can occur year after year. Vegetables are a source of many vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients which they draw up from the soil beneath them. This continuous monoculture cultivation depletes the soil of vitamins and nutrients. So to get your daily vitamins you need to buy and use vitamin pills, since vegetables no longer are so rich in vitamins.

I think this argument is a pretty sound one.  However, one thing vitamin manufactureres don’t consider is synergism that is the way one vitamin acts together with other vitamins and/or nutrients. When you eat a carrot, within the carrot is a whole bundle of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, fibers, and other foreign items. How all these react when they hit your stomach and go through your gut can’t be duplicated by a vitamin pill. They react in ways that we still don’t understand.

Another important factor is that the vitamins A, D, E, and K are oil soluble. This means that when you take these vitamins there should be some oil or fat near by so that the vitamins will be properly absorbed by the body. Therefore if you take a multivitamin tablet having one or more of these vitamins in it with a glass of water only, there is a good chance these vitamins will not be absorbed and flow uselessly through your body. The simple solution is to eat the oil soluble vitamins with a meal having some oil or fat in it.

“Inflammation is now understood to play a critical role in the conversion of a stable cholesterol plaque into a worrisome, unstable lesion (injury),” says Dr. Ridker, who practices cardiology at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Inflammation can cause even small amounts of cholesterol plaque to rupture — like an angry zit — causing the formation of a blood clot at the rupture site which can block the artery and cause a heart attack or stroke. Even those with low cholesterol are vulnerable, because most of us have some plaque in our arteries by the time we reach middle age.

First, you can ask your doctor to order a blood test measuring your high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). Make sure you’re getting the “high-sensitivity” test, because the older test, simply called the “CRP,” doesn’t measure inflammation as precisely as the high sensitivity version. “We’re talking about an extremely low level of inflammation – so low that the person has no symptoms and isn’t sick,” says Ridker. “Until recently, we couldn’t even detect the inflammation with a blood test.” If your inflammation is higher than normal, try the well-known life style measures. If you smoke, stop. Exercise regularly, weight training and aerobics. “Cigarettes smoking drives [inflammation] up and exercise reduces it,” says Dr. Ridker.

If you are overweight, reduce. “Obesity heightens the inflammatory process,” says Ridker. Even gaining an extra 10 or 20 pounds can raise your inflammation level substantially. Diet is also a factor. Eating a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol is important.

Eating a heart-healthy diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, and small pieces of meat or fish is definitely a good way to keep yourself out of the high cholesterol woes. Or is it?
The problem with fruits and vegetables is that in our society farming is done very much on a mono cultural theme. That is that agribusiness farms large acreages of land to one crop. Pesticides and herbicides are added to the soil to make the crops grow quickly and efficiently. Large yields are gathered in this manner.
After years of the soil being cultivated to one crop, the minerals and the vitamins in the soil are depleted. And when you read in magazines or elsewhere that broccoli has so much vitamin A or this fruit has so much vitamin C or… Does it really?
Another problem comes in, in the transportation of the produce. Some vitamins will be depleted if the fruits or vegetables are left in sunlight too long or are not refrigerated fast enough. So the handling of the produce after the harvest can also affect its vitamin potency.
The above arguments are put forth by vitamin manufacturers in an effort to get you to buy their products. And these statements are logical and believable. But the quality of vitamins may suffer from the shipment and storage argument presented above.
Tim
http:www.waystoloweryourcholesterol.com