Lower Your Cholesterol And Increase Your Chance Of Stroke

Recently, The New York Times published an article entitled – “US calls for major cholesterol reductions” and which was also printed in numerous local papers

Sounds like a great way to fight heart disease, right?

Let’s take a look at what the article does not tell you about lowering your cholesterol Because you must understand the effects of artificially lowering your cholesterol levels without implementing other strategies which are crucial to your health

Because the fact of the matter is the Framingham Heart study – which has followed people for over 5 decades – proved without a doubt that LDL cholesterol is just one of many misleading factors of heart disease

In fact, LDL cholesterol levels are only a very minor factor of heart disease and only under certain conditions

Here is a quote from Christie Ballantyne, MD, a cardiologist from the Baylor College of Medicine – “The majority of people who end up having heart attacks or stroke don’t have high cholesterol”

Here is another quote from an article in the Red Flags Daily By Malcolm Kendrick, MD who talks about the Framingham Study results as published in the Journal of the American Medical Association

“There is a direct association between falling cholesterol levels over the first 14 years and mortality over the following 18 years”

You guessed it, the mortality rate goes UP

Scientific research has also proved without a doubt that as people lower their LDL cholesterol level, their chances for stroke go up

Using cholesterol lowering drugs may artificially lower cholesterol levels, however, they will also increase the death rate from stroke And because of toxicity to the body, you will also face liver and kidney failure

You see, your body not only produces cholesterol, it also needs cholesterol for a variety of functions Cholesterol is an essential part of each and every cell membrane

Cholesterol also provides the critical starting point and building block for the steroid hormones in our bodies These hormones include testosterone and estrogen

As you can see, cholesterol itself is not bad It is the oxidation of cholesterol which is just one of the factors of developing heart disease

Oxidation of cholesterol is the more specific problem which would enable the cholesterol to become “sticky” and start to form plaque in the walls of the arteries

We have all seen an apple cut open and watch as it turns brown – this is oxidation Your body will oxidize on the inside unless steps are taken to help prevent this

The way to keep oxidation from damaging your cholesterol is to zap them with antioxidants!

You can keep oxidation of cholesterol in check by eating plenty of food and supplements which are rich in anti-oxidants

A few of the most powerful anti-oxidants are:

CoenzymeQ10

Vitamin E

Vitamin A

Vitamin C

And the mother of all anti-oxidants – Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA)ALA is produced naturally by your body but, as you age, your body produces less and less

Low cost food sources which you can easily get, which are high in omega 3′s and the right fats to help keep your cholesterol levels in balance

Garlic

Ginger

Olive oil

Olives

Almonds

Walnuts

Flaxseed

Eggplant

Okra

Organic Eggs

Fresh fruit

These are easily purchased, safe, proven and natural ways to prevent cholesterol from becoming a problem

And if you are someone who truly needs to lower their cholesterol, there is an organic plant alcohol from sugar cane which is one of the most powerful ways to reduce bad cholesterol levels It’s called – Policosanol

As for the majority of you, focus on raising your HDL cholesterol levels because as you raise your good cholesterol it decreases the concern about your LDL levels of cholesterol and gives you a better total cholesterol profile

Some of the best ways to improve your “Good” or HDL cholesterol is through:

Exercise

Vitamin D

Niacin
Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with raising HDL cholesterol levels

Sources:

Framingham Heart Study conducted on healthy people since the 1950s cholesterol misleading as only one of 240 factors in heart disease

Health Sciences Institute e-alert “Cholesterol Cowboys”, August 2nd , 2004, Jenny Thompson

Dr Al Sears Health Confidential for Men – “Ignore the hype focus on cholesterol that matters” April 4, 2004

Hyman, Mark MD, Liponis, Mark MD, Ultra-Prevention, The 6-Week Plan that will Make you healthy for life, New York, Scribner, 2003

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About The Author

Lee Cummings has been helping people solve problems and feel better with proven nutrition for over 4 years Lee publishes the montly LC Nutrition newsletter For a No cost Report – mailto:report@lc-nutritioncom Discover proven nutrition information visit: http://wwwLC-Nutritioncom

leeman@wirrcom

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