Here's a fact for you to consider! A person with a total serum cholesterol number of 260 mg/dL (6.6 mmol/L) increases his or her chance of a heart attack by 500% (Annals of Internal Medicine (United States), 1979)
Elevated cholesterol is associated with a greater-than-normal risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. While antioxidants can inhibit cholesterol from oxidizing onto the linings of the arteries, knowing and controlling your cholesterol levels is still an important step in preventing cardiovascular disease
Types of Cholesterol, and the Impact on Your Health
Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL)
Low density lipoprotein (LDL) is called the "bad" form of cholesterol. LDL carries most of the cholesterol in the blood, and the cholesterol from LDLs is the main source of damaging accumulation and blockage in the arteries. Thus, the more LDLcholesterol you have in your blood, the greater your risk of disease. If you have coronary heart disease (CHD) and your LDL is higher than 100 mg/dL (2.5 mmol/L), your cholesterol may well be too high for you
High Density Lipoprotein (HDL)
High density lipoprotein (HDL) is called the "good" form of cholesterol. HDL picks up and transports cholesterol in the blood back to the liver, which leads to its elimination from the body. HDL can help keep LDL cholesterol from building up in the walls of the arteries. If your level of HDL cholesterol is below 35 mg/dL (0.9 mmol/L), you are at substantially higher risk for CHD. The higher your HDL cholesterol level, the better. The average HDL-cholesterol for men is about 45 mg/dL (1.1 mmol/L), and for women it is about 55 mg/dL (1.4 mmol/L)
Triglycerides (TG)
Triglycerides are a form of fat carried through the bloodstream. Most of your body's fat is in the form of triglycerides stored in fat tissue. Only a small portion of your triglycerides are found in the bloodstream. High blood triglyceride levels alone do not cause atherosclerosis. But lipoproteins that are rich in triglycerides also contain cholesterol, which causes atherosclerosis in many people with high triglycerides. So high triglycerides may be a sign of a lipoprotein problem that contributes to CHD.
Here are the 1999 dietary recommendations from the American Heart Association:
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"Cholesterol is found in meat, poultry, seafood and dairy products. Foods from plants-such as fruits, vegetables, vegetable oils, grains, cereals, nuts, and seeds-don't contain cholesterol. Egg yolks and organ meats are high in cholesterol. Shrimp and crayfish are somewhat high in cholesterol. Chicken, turkey, and fish contain about the same amount of cholesterol as do lean beef, lamb and pork."
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The following nutritional supplements offer synergistic benefits to assist dietary modification to reduce total serum cholesterol and elevate HDL cholesterol:
- Policosanol, take one tablet twice per day with meals: one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Or Sytrinol, one capsule twice daily. Note:Do not take if it causes your cholesterol to drop below 180 mg/dL
- Fiber, 4 to 6 grams before any high-fat meal.
- Chitosan, three to six 500-mg chitosan capsules and one 1000 mg ascorbic acid capsule right before a high-fat meal.
- Niacin, 1500 to 3000 mg a day (if tolerable).
- Artichoke extract, 300 mg, 3 times a day.
- Garlic, 600 to 4800 mg a day.
- Curcumin, 900 to 1800 mg a day.
- Gugulipid, 140 mg 1 to 2 times a day.
- Green tea, 750 mg a day of green tea, 93% polyphenol extract.
- Perilla oil, 6000 mg a day. We suggest taking six 1000-mg gel caps daily. If triglycerides are high, consider taking 4-8 softgels of fish oil (EPA/DHA).
- Vitamin E, 400 to 800 IU daily
- Soy protein extract, 2 heaping teaspoons (5 to 6 grams) of soy powder daily.
- Selenium, 200 to 600 mcg daily.
- Herbal Cardiovascular Formula, two-six capsules daily with food in divided doses.
-From Life Extension articles.
-For full article, click http://www.lef.org/protocols/prtcl-032.shtml
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