Tag: Lower Cholesterol

Tips To Lower Your Cholesterol Without Medication

High cholesterol is a major risk factor for the development of a heart attack or stroke due to plaque formation in your arteries (atherosclerosis).

Here are some simple ways to reduce your cholesterol that are non prescription’ to start lowering your risk for heart attack and stroke:

  • Portion control: use your hand as a guide to the size of portions of meat (palm), fruit (fist), and veggies (cupped hand).
  • Serve up mostly heart healthy foods: 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
  • Go to the sea twice a week: eat fish twice a week, good for omega-3 fatty acids.
  • Whole grains: oatmeal or whole grain cereal to start your day and brown rice, quinoa or whole wheat pastas/breads.
  • Go nuts: a handful of almonds daily.
  • Unsaturated fats: you need 25-35% of your calories to come from fat, use only canola, olive and safflower oils.
  • Beans, beans: eat fewer potatoes and more beans.
  • Exercise: 30 minutes of vigorous activity 5 times a week and walk or take the stairs instead of driving or elevators.
  • If you are ‘eating out’ at a restaurant: pick a dish that is broiled, baked, steamed, or grilled, not deep fat fried.
  • Reduce your stress.
  • Lose weight.
  • Follow your Doctors’ advice.

Diet, exercise and weight loss are always ‘sure fire’ ways to help lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.

Here is also an extensive list of foods and other products known for lowering cholesterol:

Mayo Clinic Likely Effective List:

  • Artichoke
  • Barley
  • Beta Sitosterol-from certain margarines and ‘Promise’
  • Blond Psyllium-from seed husks and ‘Metamucil’
  • Garlic
  • Oat Bran-from oatmeal and whole oats
  • Sitostanol-from certain margarines and ‘Benecol’
  • Others-Fish oil, flaxseed (ground), green tea extract, red yeast rice

WebMD Effective List:

  • Niacin (Vitamin B3)
  • Niacinamide (Vitamin B3)
  • Kefir

WebMD Possibly Effective List:

  • Alfalfa
  • Almonds
  • ArtichokeAvocado
  • Barley
  • Beta Glucans
  • Chocolate
  • Flaxseed
  • Red Wine
  • Safflower
  • Soy
  • Post Fermentation (dark) Tea

Incorporate these recommendations and products/foods into your life and you can make a difference in reducing your risk for heart attack and stroke!

Should I Still Be Taking My Cholesterol Lowering “Statin” Prescription Drug My Doctor Prescribed?

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recently issued a new safety alert for ‘high dose statin’ drugs prescribed by Doctors to lower cholesterol in patients at risk for heart disease.

The FDA named the prescription drugs Crestor (rosuvastatin), Lipitor (atorvastatin), Zocor (simvastatin), and Pravachol (pravastatin), as well as the combination drug Vytorin (zetia/simvastatin) in the safety alert.

The warning stated that the use of these drugs in high doses may be linked to memory loss, diabetes, and muscle pain.

This was a general statement derived from a recent review of many different studies that were all part of the Women’s Health Initiative.

The conclusions made from the analysis of these studies are likely overstated.

Last year 21 million American patients were prescribed one of the statin drugs to lower their cholesterol and reduce their risk for heart disease and stroke.

The benefits of taking a statin drug to lower the risk of heart disease and stroke are indisputable from numerous studies over many years of research done on the statin drugs.

The side effects of these medications are of low incidence and the knowledge that blood sugars may worsen in some patients has been known for years and have been included in their package insert from the beginning of distribution of the drugs.

Any patient on one of these statins should never stop taking their medication on their own without first consulting their Doctor.

The bottom line is that for the patient taking a statin drug to help lower their risk of heart disease and stroke by lowering cholesterol, the benefits of these medications far outweigh the risk of raising blood sugar, forgetfulness or muscle pain.

However, any patient who has concerns that they have a significant side effect to their statin medication (or any prescription medication they take), please see your Doctor for advice on what you should do before stopping your medication.

How To Start Lowering Your Cholesterol Without Medication!

42 million Americans have high cholesterol and another 63 million have borderline high cholesterol.

High cholesterol is a major risk factor for the development of a heart attack or stroke due to plaque formation in your arteries (atherosclerosis).

Here are some simple ways to reduce your cholesterol that are ‘non prescription’ to start lowering your risk for heart attack and stroke:

  • Portion control: use your hand as a guide to the size of portions of meat (palm), fruit (fist), and veggies (cupped hand).
  • Serve up mostly heart healthy foods: 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
  • Go to the sea twice a week: eat fish twice a week, good for omega-3 fatty acids.
  • Whole grains: oatmeal or whole grain cereal to start your day and brown rice, quinoa or whole wheat pastas/breads.
  • Go nuts: a handful of almonds daily.
  • Unsaturated fats: you need 25-35% of your calories to come from fat, use only canola, olive and safflower oils.
  • Beans, beans: eat fewer potatoes and more beans.
  • Exercise: 30 minutes of vigorous activity 5 times a week and walk or take the stairs instead of driving or elevators.
  • If you are ‘eating out’ at a restaurant: pick a dish that is broiled, baked, steamed, or grilled, not deep fat fried.
  • Reduce your stress.
  • Lose weight.
  • Follow your Doctors’ advice.

Diet, exercise and weight loss are always ‘sure fire’ ways to help lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.

Here is also an extensive list of foods and other products known for lowering cholesterol:

Mayo Clinic Likely Effective List:

  • Artichoke
  • Barley
  • Beta Sitosterol-from certain margarines and ‘Promise’
  • Blond Psyllium-from seed husks and ‘Metamucil’
  • Garlic
  • Oat Bran-from oatmeal and whole oats
  • Sitostanol-from certain margarines and ‘Benecol’
  • Others-Fish oil, flaxseed (ground), green tea extract, red yeast rice

WebMD Effective List:

  • Niacin (Vitamin B3)
  • Niacinamide (Vitamin B3)

WebMD Likely Effective List:

  • Beta Sitosterol
  • Blond Psyllium
  • Kefir
  • Oats
  • Sitostanol

WebMD Possibly Effective List:

  • Alfalfa –Macadamia Nut
  • Artichoke –Magnesium
  • Avocado –Olive
  • Barley –Pectin
  • Beta Glucans –Red Yeast Rice
  • Black Psyllium –Rice Bran
  • Calcium –Safflower
  • English Walnut –Soy
  • Flaxseed –Soybean Oil
  • Green Tea –Sweet Orange
  • Guar Gum –Yogurt
  • Jiaogulan
  • Others: Red Wine, Almonds, Cashews, Beans, Chocolate, Spinach