High Cholesterol

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High cholesterol

Many of us know our cholesterol counts as well as we know our phone numbers, and with good reason: High cholesterol is a risk factor for the heart attacks that kill more than a half-million Americans a year.

Cholesterol itself isn’t harmful. Produced in the liver, it’s necessary for certain metabolic functions. But too much in the bloodstream leads to the formation of plaque, a sticky substance that accumulates in and blocks the arteries, which can lead to a heart attack.

Experts agree that a total cholesterol reading below 200 mg/dl (milligrams per deciliter of blood) is desirable. More important, though, is the ratio of HDL (high-density lipoprotein, the good cholesterol) to LDL (low-density lipoprotein, the harmful type that clogs your arteries). HDL helps remove LDL from your body. Exercise, not smoking and a high-fiber diet low in cholesterol and fat will improve your cholesterol count. And the natural remedies in this chapter—used in conjunction with medical care and with your doctor’s approval—may help lower cholesterol, according to some health professionals.

See Your Medical Doctor When... You experience a sudden lapse in attention, paralysis, weakness or loss of consciousness, vision or the ability to speak. You experience chest pain or pressure, especially after exertion or emotional stress. You have cramping, pain or discomfort in your legs when you walk, especially if you are walking uphill or carrying heavy packages.

Ayurveda

Cinnamon has blood-thinning properties that can help lower cholesterol levels, says Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc., director of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He suggests this tea: Mix 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1¼4 teaspoon of trikatu (a blend of ginger and two kinds of peppers) directly into a cup of hot water, then stir and steep for five minutes. Add a teaspoon of honey once the tea has cooled. Dr. Lad says to drink this beverage twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening. Trikatu is available from Ayurvedic practitioners and in some health food stores; you can also purchase it by mail order (refer to the resource list on page 634).

Food Therapy

Besides avoiding meats, dairy products and other foods that are high in dietary cholesterol and fat, another way to lower cholesterol is to eat more grapes, says Elson Haas, M.D., director of the Preventive Medical Center of Marin in San Rafael, California, and author of Staying Healthy with Nutrition. “There’s a compound in grape skins and seeds that helps lower cholesterol.” He says this is one reason why wine made from grapes has been shown to lower cholesterol. “In fact, grapeseed oil has been shown in several studies to help lower cholesterol better than other oils,” he says. He says that his detoxification diet (see “Detoxing Your Ills” on page 48) can also help significantly lower cholesterol.

Garlic is another food that has been found to lower cholesterol, says Dr. Haas. And he points out that grapefruit, carrots and apples are rich in pectin, which reduces cholesterol levels by bonding with dietary fat and cholesterol and removing them from the body through the intestine before they are absorbed through your bloodstream.

Herbal Therapy

Scientific studies indicate that one clove of garlic or its equivalent, taken every day, is effective in reducing cholesterol levels, according to Varro E. Tyler, Ph.D., professor of pharmacognosy at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He says that one way to get the equivalent is with garlic supplements, a processed form of the herb that is available in most health food stores (and in many drugstores, too). There are two advantages to these supplements, says Dr. Tyler. Allicin, the active ingredient in garlic, is best absorbed in supplemental form. And taking supplements allows you to bypass the bad breath that can be an unfortunate side effect of eating fresh garlic.

Dr. Tyler says the most effective form for a garlic supplement is enteric-coated capsules, which pass through the stomach and dissolve in the small intestine. But no matter which form you choose, he suggests following the dosage recommendations on the label.

Imagery

In Rituals of Healing: Using Imagery for Health and Wellness, Barbara Dossey, R.N., director of Holistic Nursing Consultants in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and her co-authors suggest that you imagine following a beam of light into one of your blood vessels. As you approach the wall of the vessel, notice the dome-shaped accumulation of sticky cholesterol that has collected over an old injury to the vessel. Now picture yourself gently peeling off layers of fatty material and handing them over to special cells that pass by. Like little garbage trucks, these cells haul the cholesterol to the intestine, where it begins its journey out of your body.

Next, travel over to your liver, where cholesterol is manufactured. Imagine talking to the supervisor of cholesterol production and suggesting that production quotas should be lower, so less cholesterol is made. He agrees and promises that your cholesterol will be maintained at a lower, healthy level.

Dossey recommends doing this exercise twice a day, 15 to 20 minutes each session.

Reflexology

To help your body rid itself of cholesterol more efficiently, St. Petersburg, Florida, reflexologist Dwight Byers, author of Better Health with Foot Reflexology, says you should work the thyroid gland and liver reflexes on your hands or feet.

To help you locate these points, consult the hand and foot reflex charts beginning on page 582. For instructions on how to work the points, see “Your Reflexology Session” on page 110.

Relaxation and Meditation

Studies suggest that meditation can help reduce blood cholesterol levels, says Roger Walsh, M.D., Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, philosophy and anthropology at the University of California, Irvine, California College of Medicine. To try a simple meditation, see page 117. Practice this technique for 20 minutes once or twice a day, Dr. Walsh suggests.

Vitamin and Mineral Therapy

The first step in lowering cholesterol is to increase your intake of fiber and to eat more garlic, onions, oat bran and soy products, says David Edelberg, M.D., an internist and medical director of the American Holistic Center/Chicago. He also says that people with high cholesterol may want to use the following vitamin, mineral and herbal regimen to help control the condition: 100 milligrams of niacin twice a day; 200 micrograms of chromium twice a day; 400 milligrams of magnesium aspartate twice a day; 1,200 milligrams of lecithin three times a day; 500 milligrams of meta-sitosterol twice a day; one fish oil capsule three times a day; 2,000 milligrams of vitamin C twice a day; one garlic capsule three times a day; one ginseng capsule twice a day; and one guggulipid capsule twice a day. (Guggulipid is an Indian herb.) Lecithin, meta-sitosterol, fish oil, garlic and ginseng supplements are available in most health food stores. Guggulipid capsules can be purchased through mail order (refer to the resource list on page 643).

Yoga

Cholesterol can rise with your stress level, says Stephen A. Nezezon, M.D., yoga teacher and staff physician at the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.

To lower stress, you can do a daily routine of breathing exercises, meditation and poses, says Alice Christensen, founder and executive director of the American Yoga Association.

The complete breath exercise (see page 152) can be done whenever you’re feeling stress, whether it’s at the office, in the car or at home, according to Christensen. She adds that daily meditation (see page 153) helps clear your mind and teaches you to relax at will.

And choose three or four yoga poses from the Daily Routine, which begins on page 606. Be sure to vary the poses from day to day to keep your interest high and strengthen different parts of your body, says Christensen. Dr. Nezezon adds that you should include at least one relaxation pose, such as the corpse (page 612), knee squeeze (page 612) or baby (page 618), in your daily yoga routine.