I personally prefer to lower by cholesterol by the safest method first, followed by prescription medication only if the natural methods don’t work. Pills can be convenient but not always safe!

Statin drugs can have serious side effects and you need to be an informed consumer. They are often given by physicians as a prescription answer to your high cholesterol. Drug companies would like you to believe it’s quick, convenient and safe.

Yes, they do the job well, and do lower cholesterol, but it has been estimated that one in five patients may suffer some sort of side effects from these medications. Although the serious side effects are not that frequent, they must be recognized early and the medication stopped. Here is a list of some of the common and serious problem symptoms:

Common side effects include either constipation or diarrhea, dizziness, nausea, stomach pains, or headache. These may or may not be bothersome enough to stop the medication.

1. Severe side effects include muscle aches, muscle weakness, even a change in the color of the urine to a dark or dark red color. This indicates a serious problem of the muscle tissue breaking down. Contact your doctor immediately if you have these symptoms.

2. Numbness, weakness, burning pain, or prickly sensations on the skin. This can mean a problem with the nerves themselves–called peripheral neuropathy. Again, call you doctor if you experience these symptoms after starting a statin drug.

3. Rarely, some can develop problems with memory and have a feeling they are developing Alzheimer’s. This usually clears in a few days after the medication is stopped.

4. Development of liver disease.  Doctors will monitor your liver function tests when they start statin drugs. This can be done easily with blood tests. If the blood tests show liver function abnormalities, the statin drugs will be stopped by your physician

If your cholesterol is so high that it needs to be brought down immediately, then there is no doubt the prescription medications should be tried.  This is usually not the case, and there is time for a stepped approach. Here are some suggestions for lowering cholesterol.

1. Change your diet to cut out all those high-fat fast foods. Stick to a low fat diet and eat more vegetables and fruits, less red meats. Keep your weight down and exercise.

2. Add a natural supplement such as Bios Life Complete that has been clinically proven by placebo-controlled studies to lower cholesterol. There are no serious side effects to this supplement, and it works. Try it for two months before having your cholesterol re-tested. This supplement is not a substitute for sensible eating habits. Keep to the lower fat diet!

3. Use prescription drugs as the last step if the above two steps are unsuccessful. Bios Life Complete studies have shown that it can work with people already on statins to lower the cholesterol even further. this is called a synergystic effect. It can also take a lower dose of the drug to be effective. It’s OK to take both together, but check with your doctor.

4. It’s a good idea to take Co-enzyme Q10 if you are on statins.  There is some evidence of less side effects. Statins work to interfere at the cellular level with the synthesis of Co-Q10. Less Co-Q10 means less production of energy at the level of the cells.  Taking Co-Q10 has not been shown to interfere the cholesterol-lowering effect of the statins.

Your health depends on you being an informed consumer. Taking the time to read information like this blog is a good first step.

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I have hereditary high cholesterol, I am not overweight, I workout regularly, and I don’t consome alot of cholesterol foods. Ldl is bad cholesterol that builds up in your arteries and hdl is good cholesterol. Please do not suggest surgery or any medication.
Surgery is not the treatment for high cholesterol. Medication is one treatment. Cholesterol comes from heredity and lifestyle. One you can do something about, the other you cannot. If you always eat low saturated fat foods and exercise regularly, you have conquered the lifestyle portion of the equation. There is nothing you can do about your heredity. If the lifestyle changes have not lowered your numbers adequately, you must resort to medication. The alternative is heart and circulatory disease, causing heart attack and stroke. Please re-evaluate your stance on the statins that can lower your numbers to an acceptable level.

We know how importance lower cholesterol levels are. It can decrease our risk for heart disease, stroke and heart attack. But can our cholesterol levels be too low? Since our bodies make cholesterol it makes sense our body needs this chemical, but what happens if the body doesn’t have the cholesterol it needs?

First, abnormally low cholesterol levels have been linked with anxiety, depression, suicide, and violent behavior. An article published in the periodical Psychosomatic Medicine in May of 1999 makes a startling revelation.

Total Cholesterol Levels
It refers to a study of healthy young women with total cholesterol levels below 160 mg/dl. It reports these women were more likely to make high scores on tests used to measure levels of depression and anxiety than those with normal cholesterol levels.

Medical data has also shown men with low cholesterol levels are 50-80 percent more likely to be the victim of a homicide, suicide or fatal accident than those with normal cholesterol levels.

Link
Researchers suspect there may be a link between low cholesterol levels and low serotonin level. Serotonin is a “feel good” chemical found in the brain. People with low levels of serotonin are those who have problems with depression and anxiety. So, these lower cholesterol levels can cause depression.

Other studies into the effects of abnormally low cholesterol also show there may be some link between low blood cholesterol and cancer. Researchers are finding the lower the blood cholesterol level the higher the risk for cancer. Seemingly, the lower cholesterol levels may also increase your risk for cancer.

Increase Risk
Perhaps the most surprising result of all is that having abnormally low cholesterol can increase your risk for a stroke. While it is generally reported to be the other way around, there are studies that show abnormally low levels of cholesterol can cause more strokes than high cholesterol.

According to information in an article entitled The Cholesterol Myth posted on the website Second Opinions states studies of the Japanese people have backed up the fact lower cholesterol
than normal may cause more strokes.

The Japanese were an ideal people for the stroke study because they have had a rapid change over the past couple of decades in their eating habits. They have evolved from eating a low cholesterol diet high in rice and vegetables to eating more high fat foods. While it seems the Japanese who ate a higher fat diet would be more likely to have strokes, the number of strokes has decreased among the Japanese as their dietary fat increased.

Further Research
Further studies have shown there are two different types of strokes, those caused from clots and those caused from hemorrhaging. While high cholesterol does increase your risk of clot type strokes, research shows chances for a hemorrhagic stroke is increased by an abnormally low cholesterol level.

As you can see, while it is dangerous for your cholesterol to be too high, it is also dangerous for your levels to be too low. Research has shown that abnormally low cholesterol may be linked to depression and anxiety as well as an increase in strokes. Lower cholesterol may not necessarily be better.

Julia Carmichael
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/lower-cholesterol-can-your-low-cholesterol-level-be-bad-123296.html

My husband has high cholesterol, does anyone have any tips for me to help him eat better? Right now he eats a good amount of fast food, and I want to help him transition into eating better.
Fruits n veggies. Eat lots of fiber. Some of the best soluble fiber rich foods include; oatmeal, barley, lentils, Brussels sprouts, peas, beans (kidney, lima, black, navy, pinto), apples, blackberries, pears, raisins, oranges, grapefruit, dates, figs, prunes, apricots, broccoli, and sweet potato. Avoid oily food. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002

I’ve always been curious as to which foods exactly contain good cholesterol. The type of cholesterol (HDL) that will actually lower the cholesterol that is bad for you.
foods contain no good cholesterol,your body makes the good cholesterol.Only animal foods(meat and dairy) contain cholesterol. Eating a low-fat vegan diet may be better at managing type 2 diabetes than traditional diets, according to a new study. Researchers found 43 percent of people with type 2 diabetes who followed a low-fat vegan diet for 22 weeks reduced their need to take medications to manage their disease compared with 26 percent of those who followed the diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA). In addition, participants who followed the vegan diet experienced greater reductions in cholesterol levels and weight loss than those on the other diet. A vegan diet is plant-based and consists of vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes and avoids animal products, such as meat and dairy. People who are on a vegan diet are at risk for vitamin B12 deficiency, and so B12 vitamins were given to the participants on that diet. “The diet appears remarkably effective, and all the side effects are good ones — especially weight loss and lower cholesterol,” says researcher Neal D. Barnard, MD, adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University, in a news release. “I hope this study will rekindle interest in using diet changes first, rather than prescription drugs.” Barnard is also president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit health organization that opposes animal research and advocates a vegan diet. Vegan Vs. ADA Diet For Diabetes In the study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, researchers compared the effects of following a low-fat vegan diet and the ADA diet on reducing the need for drugs to manage diabetes, kidney function, cholesterol levels, and weight loss in 99 adults with type 2 diabetes. Meals were not provided, but participants met a dietitian to come up with a diet plan and then met regularly each week for nutrition and cooking instruction. Forty-nine of the participants followed a low-fat vegan diet consisting of about 10 percent of daily calories from fat, 15 percent protein, and 75 percent carbohydrates. They were asked to avoid animal products and added fats and instead favor foods like beans and green vegetables, but portion sizes and total daily calories or food intake were unrestricted. The other 50 participants followed the dietary guidelines recommended by the ADA, including 15-20 percent protein, 60-70 percent carbohydrates and monosaturated fats (such as olive oil), and less than 7 percent saturated fats (such as animal fats and butter). Total cholesterol was also limited to 200 milligrams or less per day. Overweight participants in the ADA diet group were also advised to reduce daily calorie intake by 500-1,000 calories per day. The results showed that both diets improved diabetes management and reduced unhealthy cholesterol levels, but some improvements were greater with the low-fat vegan diet. For example: 43 percent of those on the vegan diet reduced their need to take drugs to manage their diabetes compared with 26 percent of the ADA diet group. Weight loss averaged more than 14 pounds in the vegan diet group vs. less than 7 pounds in the other group. LDL “bad” cholesterol dropped by an average of 21 percent in the vegan group compared with 11 percent in the ADA diet group who did not change their cholesterol drug use. Measures of blood sugar control also improved more significantly among those who followed the low-fat vegan diet than among those who followed the ADA diet and who did not change their diabetes drug use. Researchers say the vegan diet represents a major change from current diabetes diets because there are no limits on calories, carbohydrates, and portions, which may make it easier for some people to follow. Talk to your doctor about what diet changes you might consider to help with diabetes or other medical conditions. SOURCES:Barnard, N. Diabetes Care, August 2006; vol 29: pp 1777-1783. News release, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. By Jennifer Warner Reviewed by Louise Chang, M.D. © 2006, WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.

Everyone knows that cholesterol is bad. It can block the arteries and lead to heart attacks. But, what many people don’t know is that there are two different kinds of cholesterol. LDL and HDL cholesterol are two very different things and one is actually good for the body.

LDL cholesterol is different than HDL cholesterol. The LDL type is the kind that forms plaque in the arteries. Over time, this plaque can build up badly and lead to a clogging of the arteries. This can, of course, lead to heart attacks and even strokes. It’s highly recommended that people have their cholesterol levels checked on a regular basis to ensure low levels of the bad type of cholesterol.

On the other hand, HDL cholesterol is considered the “good” kind. It is believed by many to actually help the body get rid of the bad cholesterol by bringing it back to the liver where the body can ensure it’s removed. Considering its “good status,” hdl cholesterol is desired in the body in certain levels.

Making sure the body has enough HDL cholesterol is something most people don’t even realize they need to do. In reality, the hdl levels should be 40 mg/dL or more to decrease the chances of heart disease. Any less and the risk tends to go up.

There are ways for those who have too little HDL cholesterol to increase the levels in their blood and help take advantage of its heart attack foiling properties. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways for boosting the levels of good cholesterol in the blood stream.

Exercise: Aerobic exercise especially can boost HDL cholesterol levels. Pretty much anything from running and cycling to aerobics and beyond can help raise the level of good cholesterol in the blood.

Weight loss: While this is a good idea for anyone that has a few extra pounds, it can really help increase HDL cholesterol levels in the blood. This can also decrease the levels of bad cholesterol in the process.

Reduce trans fat intake: Anything that says it has hydrogenated vegetable oils can be removed to help increase hdl cholesterol levels and decrease the bad type of cholesterol in the process. Removing these fats from the diet or at least cutting them back can help with weight loss, too.

Alcohol: Some research supports that a drink or two a day can help increase HDL cholesterol levels. This one should be exercised with caution and it’s important to remember that overdoing won’t improve health.

Quit smoking: Anyone who smokes can increase their HDL cholesterol levels simply by quitting.

Diet change: When fiber is added along with monounsaturated fats, the results toward hdl cholesterol level increases can be great. Whole grains, olive oil and so on can actually increase levels and lead to a better overall diet.

We all know that cholesterol is bad for the body. What many people don’t know is that there are two types. The good type, HDL cholesterol, should be a priority to actually have high levels of.

Riley Hendersen
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/hdl-cholesterol-is-actually-good-for-you-140330.html