5 Tips to Lower High Cholesterol Naturally

Here are my top 5 tips to lower high cholesterol naturally. If you can avoid taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, you will be healthier and happier. Making the following suggestions a part of your routine will help you do that.

Tip 1 - Exercise Regularly

Exercising raises good HDL cholesterol levels. HDL particles carry fats and cholesterol away from your bloodstream and back to the liver for reprocessing or disposal. Bad LDL cholesterol gets stuck in your bloodstream. The particles carry fat and cholesterol to your cells and tissues, rather than back to your liver.

HDL particles will also "pick up" LDL cholesterol when it comes across the particles in your bloodstream. So, as your HDL levels increase, your LDL levels decrease naturally.

Tip 2 - Avoid Saturated and Tran-Fats

Dietary cholesterol is less of a problem than saturated and trans-fats. Research indicates that if you severely limit your cholesterol intake, your liver will produce more of it. Your body needs cholesterol for a variety of functions. Having blood cholesterol that is too low is just as bad as having high cholesterol.

Saturated and trans-fats increase the total blood triglycerides, the total fats in your bloodstream. They also cause increased production of LDL cholesterol. Saturated fats are found in butter and other fats that are solid at room temperature. Trans-fats are found primarily in processed foods as partially hydrogenated oils.

Tip 3 - Get More Soluble Fiber in Your Diet

Soluble fiber is found in whole grains like oatmeal and in other foods. Some cholesterol is found in your digestive tract, because of the foods you eat and also because blood cholesterol is deposited in the digestive tract. The cholesterol in the digestive tract can be reabsorbed into the bloodstream instead of passing out of your body as waste.

Soluble fiber absorbs cholesterol in the digestive tract and carries it out of your body. Less cholesterol is reabsorbed and less is absorbed from the foods that you eat. So, soluble fiber lowers high cholesterol naturally.

Be very cautious about fiber supplements derived from psyllium husks. They can cause blockages. Supplements derived from kiwifruit pulp and skins are the best alternatives. They contain soluble and insoluble fibers, as well as phenolic compounds that contribute to good digestion.

Tip 4 - Take Fish Oil

Fish oil can raise HDL levels. It is a healthy source of fat. The supplement may also reduce the risk of clot formation and prevent cholesterol from sticking to the inside of the arterial walls.

Tip 5 - Take a Good Multi-Nutritional Supplement

The better multi-nutritional supplements contain ingredients that are known to lower high cholesterol naturally. Ingredients to look for include:

· Policosanol (raw sugar cane extract)

· Theaflavins (green tea extract)

· Phytosterols (from soy and other plant foods)

· Rice bran oil (oryzanol)

· Lecithin (a soy extract)

· D-limonene (citrus rind extract)

Many of these nutrients are sold as stand-alone supplements for lowering cholesterol. While any one of the ingredients may be somewhat effective, together they may work in synergy to produce results as good as those of prescription drugs.

The results are actually better, because you get lower cholesterol naturally without the side effects of prescription drugs.

By Larry L. Taylor

Lower Cholesterol Naturally - Alternatives to Statin Drugs

Huge topic. I can write a book on this but best not yet! Two more years of med school yet and by then I'll be even more versed in how to lower cholesterol naturally.
First: What is cholesterol?
According to Stedman's Medical Dictionary, cholesterol is "the most abundant steroid in animal tissues, especially in bile and gall stones, and present in food, especially rich in animal fats, circulates in plasma complexed to proteins of various densities and plays an important role in the pathogenesis of atheroma formation in arteries."
What is pathogenesis of atheroma? It is the beginning stage of atherosclerosis which is the building of lipid [cholesterol] plaques within the structure of arteries. These plaques narrow the vessel wall thereby limiting the flow of blood. Limiting the flow of blood causes turbulence which causes further deposition of plaque. The slowed speed of blood through the arteries helps lay down more plaque as well.
Ways to lower cholesterol naturally:

1. Exercise: damn. How many times do you have to hear it - everyone says it. Because it works better than any drug out there. Why does it work? Simple biochemistry and physiology. Exercise requires energy. Energy comes from sugars, fats and proteins. When the sugars and proteins are burned, fats must be converted into useable forms of energy. The liver steps up by making good cholesterol, HDL. HDL goes around and picks up bad cholesterol, LDL. It converts this into useable energy. So, by exercising, your energy requirements increase thereby lowering cholesterol naturally. Exercise 30 minutes a day as often as you can in a week. Try one day a week and build up. You'll become addicted to it. Better that than statins.
2. Eat soluble fiber: Where can you find that? In beans and whole grains. Fruits and vegetables contain insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber actually binds to cholesterol removing it from your body. Insoluble fiber adds bulk to your stools making you more regular - which is extremely vital as well.
3. Limit animal fat foods: damn again. Even Stedman's Medical Dictionary said cholesterol is the most abundant steroid in animal tissues. They didn't say plant tissues. I'm not saying avoid it completely. Just keep an eye on it - don't chomp down endless roast beef sandwhiches with mayo and four kinds of cheese.
4. Inositol: This is time-released niacin in the no-flush form. Niacin is a main player in cellular metabolism. If one is low in niacin, then the energy reactions do not go forward. If they do not go forward, lipids accumulate which is directly tied to high levels of choleterol. A study on time-released niacin shows its effectiveness. The study I found used pharmaceutical time-released niacin but I believe these two are very similar - with the natural form being superior. The bottom line of the study: "The results show that niacin ER [extended release] produces a beneficial effect on lipoprotein subclasses, specifically decreasing the more atherogenic small, dense LDL particles and enhancing the cardioprotective large HDL particles." Remember what I said about bad LDL and good HDL? The inositol sounds pretty good now doesn't it?
5. Red Yeast Rice: This is what the pharmaceutical companies make some statin drugs from - directly! So why not take it in its natural state? It works quite well. It works by limiting the cholesterol reaction from going forward. This means that cholesterol's production is slowed down thereby lowering cholesterol naturally. I have found a great research article on PubMed for Red Yeast Rice. The research was done by the Center for Human Nutrition and is not biased by a natural supplement company. Here is another study about the cholesterol-lowering effects of a proprietary Chinese red-yeast-rice dietary supplement.
6. Policosanol: This is sugar wax. Sound safe? It is. It does not turn off the cholesterol forming reaction as strongly as statin drugs. Our bodies need some cholesterol formed. Without it, numerous hormones would not be made and we would be dead. Thus, it is better to moderately limit production rather than severely limit. Policosanol has also shown to increase the levels of HDL. Do statin drugs do this? No. There is a good study on Policosanol that I found on PubMed. You'll notice it is not a study made by a natural supplement company or with biased interests. The title of the study is: Comparison of the efficacy and tolerability of policosanol with atorvastatin in elderly patients with type II hypercholesterolaemia.
7. Bio Lipotrol: Bio-Lipotrol has been shown to naturally lower cholesterol  Bio Lipotrol has Red Yeast Rice, Inositol, Policosanol and Guggal Gum extract. I have visited with physician after physician that have used Bio Lipotrol and the results are seen within a few weeks. Now this doesn't mean you can sit on your couch eating hamburgers and pizza while popping Bio Lipotrol capsules. I have already stated that exercise is the best medicine - along with the limitation of animal fats and an increase in soluble fiber. I did not know about Bio Lipotrol until a classmate kept buying it. I found her in the hall one day and asked her what it is. She told me it is working very well on her grandmother's high cholesterol levels. Then I became more interested. The benefits of being in med school - you find what works and what doesn't.

What are the dangers of Statin drugs?I don't know all of the dangers but I know one that is not often addressed. Statin drugs give the false impression that the one taking them does not have to be proactive in lowering cholesterol. If a drug is lowering cholesterol without them doing anything, why not chomp on fatty foods? I'll tell you why. Statin drugs limit the production of cholesterol. They do not limit the intake of cholesterol. You do.
Also - statin drugs seriously limit the production of Coenzyme Q10. This is a major energy source for the human heart and electron transport chain. So if you are on statin drugs, take CoQ10. I believe statin drugs also limit the conversion of active Vitamin D. This I need to check on but it makes sense if following the reactions down from HMG-CoA, which is the limiting step in cholesterol synthesis.
If you want to lower cholesterol naturally, these steps will no doubt help you. I recommend having a sit-down chat with your physician. Most docs will listen to you and be supportive and knowledgable about this arena. If not, find a licensed and qualified naturopathic physician who will listen to you.
This information is not telling you to stop taking your statin drugs. It is merely information. Do not stop your statin drugs without consulting with your physician. Only then, under their direction, stop the meds if you implement other means.
If you are not on statin drugs and you don't have money to see a doctor, these steps may help you lower cholestrol naturally. But as I am not a doctor yet, I am not prescribing any of this information to you. It is up to you.
I hope you are still awake. That is a ton of information. I know I'm wiped. I've got to get away from this computer now.

Take care and stay healthy. And again - if you have any health questions, do ask me. I am here to help.
In health,
Ben Lynch