Cholesterol Program
Is your total cholesterol below 200?
Total cholesterol is the number most often considered when deciding to take a cholesterol lowering drug or supplement. Most doctors now recommend that your total cholesterol be below 200 and we agree with this.
This 200 number is not magic…it is not true that below 200 you are “safe” from health concerns, and above 200 you are not. The higher your cholesterol, the higher your risk of atherosclerosis (clogging of the arteries), heart disease, and stroke. Even a cholesterol of 200, brings a higher risk of these diseases, than a cholesterol of 180. And 220, is much better than 260.
Conversely, you need cholesterol to make your hormones, especially the adrenal hormones, and the sex hormone testosterone. We do not recommend a cholesterol below 150 because of this.
The total cholesterol is broken down into LDL, the “bad” cholesterol, and HDL, the “good” cholesterol. LDL is considered bad because of its size, and studies have found that it does the most damage to the arteries. HDL is not as damaging, and when high, has been found to be protective.
Our goal for LDL is below 100, and for HDL is above 50
Traditional labs and doctors are not as concerned about a LDL between 100-130, but we don’t agree.
Cholesterol is affected by estrogen, this is why post-menopausal women often see their cholesterol go up, as their estrogen goes down. Hypothyroidism can also cause cholesterol to be elevated.
Cholesterol is made in your liver from the food in your diet. Too much sugar in your diet will cause your liver to make cholesterol to store, because your body can’t use it all up when you eat it. 80-85% of cholesterol is made from glucose, and the rest is made from fat, especially saturated and trans (“partially hydrogenated”) fats. This is why we believe the focus needs to be on eating less sugar.
Changing your eating habits is the best way to lower Cholesterol
Cholesterol has a natural life cycle in the body and is excreted through the liver into the bile. If there is good bile flow, and plenty of soluble fiber in the bowel, the cholesterol will be pulled out of the body. If there is not enough fiber in the bowel, the cholesterol will be reabsorbed. PGX is a type of fiber found especially good at binding and removing cholesterol. Fiber treatment can lower cholesterol anywhere from 5%-26%.
Fish oils are essential fatty acids (EFA’s). They are called “essential” because your body cannot make them, so you must ingest them or you will become deficient. Fish oil is made of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids, EPA and DHA. These Omega 3’s are especially good at lowering Triglycerides, another measure in the lipid profile that is often elevated.
EPA and DHA are also important for many functions in the body, including lowering inflammation, improving brain function and depression, improving sugar metabolism and insulin resistance. It is an integral part of all the treatment programs at the Center for Nutritional Medicine.
Policosanol is a lipid lowering agent that is derived from sugar cane wax. It is thought to work by inhibiting cholesterol synthesis in the liver, by a mechanism different than “statin” drugs. The precise mechanism of action is not understood yet. But we do know that it is safe, and that at doses of 20 mg per day it lowers total Cholesterol by 17-21%, and LDL cholesterol by 21-29%. It also raises HDL by 8-15%.
Studies have shown that "plant sterols" can lower LDL Cholesterol by 5-17%
Plant sterols have been in the news for several years, and can be found as an additive in margarine like Benechol. Plant sterols work by binding cholesterol in the bowel and preventing re-absorption.
In our medical practice, we use Beta-Sitosterol, a plant sterol that can be taken as a pill, in Meta-Sitosterol.
The final component of our cholesterol lowering program is Vitamin E Tocotrienols. Tocotrienols are one of the components of Vitamin E, that when separated out and given by itself, can lower cholesterol.
We have had good success with the addition of Tocotrienols to our program, and recommend taking 100 mg at bedtime.
For your convenience we've created an "easy to take" Cholesterol lowering supplement kit
This kit has PGX fiber supplement, Cholarest (Policosonol), and Tocotrienols and is available and ready to be shipped directly to you.
The most common pharmaceutical treatment of high blood cholesterol is the prescription of statin drugs such as Lipitor.
Most of our patients with high cholesterol come to us because they are experiencing side effects from these drugs, which include stomach upset, liver problems that resulted in abnormal liver tests, and mild to severe muscle cramping and/or pain.
They want to find a better way to lower their cholesterol without these adverse side effects.
Other patients come to us to help them lower their cholesterol in a more natural way.
In the many years we’ve used the supplements in our cholesterol lowering program, none of our patients have reported side effects, and we have never needed to stop any because of this.
For most people, this is the better way to go.
We have seen this program reduce total cholesterol by up to 70 points, and would be a good way to start for people with cholesterol levels below 300.