peterants

First, of course, you need cholesterol. You can’t live without it. The problem comes when you have too much of it, or when you have too much of the bad kind (LDL), and too little of the good kind (HDL). Current recommended levels are less than 200 milligrams per deciliter of blood. (That’s down from 225 a few of years ago. Many people wonder if the reduction was pushed by the drug companies so that they could sell more Lipitor, Crestor, etc.)

Second, its probably not the most important marker of good heart health. More important markers are C-Reactive Protein (CRP), a measure of inflammation in your system, and homocysteine levels. B vitamins (Folic acid, B-6 and B-12) will help lower homocysteine levels. Omega 3 and omega 6 oils (fish oil or flax seed oil) will help with CRP.

When your cholesterol is too high, there are three ways to handle it. (Actually, there are four. The last would be to do nothing. That’s what I told a 95 year old man he should do when his doctor recommended that he take Lipitor to reduce his cholesterol, which was “high” at 227.)

First, you can get a Lipitor prescription. This is probably what your main stream medicine doctor will strongly recommend. This medicine has many side effects, but it will reduce cholesterol. To get a good idea of the side effects, read the pages of fine print in their magazine ads. Also, remember that Lipitor and its cousins remove Co-enzyme Q10 from your system. In fact, the makers of Lipitor knew this when they presented the drug for FDA approval. They were afraid that the FDA would not approve it because of this problem, so they patented Lipitor in two ways-one with CoQ10 added to it and one without. The FDA approved it without the CoQ10! (CoQ10 is a very important substance for heart health. Most people with congestive heart failure have very low levels of CoQ10.)

The second way to reduce cholesterol is to change your eating habits. Cut down on fatty foods, eat more fruits and vegetables and eat less meat and dairy. Add flax seed, ground in a coffee grinder, to your breakfast cereal or lunch snack. Also, eat more oatmeal and other foods containing fiber, as they tend to help remove cholesterol from your system.

The last way to reduce cholesterol is to take natural substances which reduce it. Two such substances are policosanol and krill oil. Krill oil has been found to be as effective as Lipitor, without the side effects. Policosanol is readily available at such vitamin outlets as Swanson Vitamins. Its not as effective as Lipitor or krill oil, but it would be a reasonable place to start, especially if your cholesterol is in the low to mid 200’s. Krill oil is made from krill, which are small creatures eaten by whales. It is a little harder to find, but you can get it at Doctor’s Trust

My advice would be to try the dietary changes first, with the addition of flax seed. If that doesn’t do the trick, then try policosanol or Krill oil. If you decide to follow your doctor’s advice and take Lipitor, at least be sure to supplement with CoQ10.