As the old saying goes, “‘What goes up must come down.” In the case of high cholesterol, you must bring your level down if you want to reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. But the question is how to get it down. Unfortunately, gravity isn’t going to help. If you’re facing this problem (and you probably are if you’re reading this article), you’re anything but alone. About half of all adults in America have cholesterol levels that are too high. Even if you don’t know your cholesterol numbers, if you’re overweight (as three in five adults are) or sedentary (as two in five adults are), it’s quite likely your levels of cholesterol and other blood fats are out of whack. So what’s to be done? If you’ve already been diagnosed with high cholesterol, your doctor has probably told you to watch what you eat, get more exercise, and maybe fill a prescription. But chances are that’s the only help you got. You probably didn’t get specific advice about which...
Imagine taking your car in for servicing and only having the oil checked. It wouldn’t make sense, would it? Yet that’s essentially what you’re doing if you focus only on your cholesterol counts to gauge the health of your arteries. True, those numbers are a strong indication of your risk of heart disease. But they don’t tell the whole story. In fact, as many as half of all people with heart disease have normal cholesterol levels. What else is going on here? Researchers are beginning to uncover the answers to that question, and those answers include myriad factors, ranging from blood components like C-reactive protein and interleukin-18 to your state of mind and even the length of your legs. Sometimes it seems as if the risk factors and markers for heart disease grow as fast as grass during a rainy July. There are so many, in fact, that one study found just 18 percent of American adults had no risk factors for heart attack. If you have only one risk factor, the odds of trouble are...
When you find out your cholesterol levels have been red-flagged, your reactions may run the gamut from nonchalance to fear to fatalism. For some people, knowing they have a cholesterol problem is what finally makes the obscure risk of heart disease seem real—and moves them to action. Perhaps you’re a 52-year-old woman going through menopause, and the normal blood test results you’ve always received have suddenly gone haywire. Or you’re a 40-year-old man who had his cholesterol checked for the first time—and found out some uncomfortable news. Maybe you’re surprised or even resentful. But remember: Cholesterol numbers don’t come out of nowhere, Quite likely you are overweight, don’t get enough exercise, smoke, or live life as if you’re perpetually running for a train that’s just pulling out of the station. Focusing solely on your cholesterol generally won’t be enough to lower your risk of coronary heart disease (CHD); to avoid a heart...
Every aspect of the Plan is important. Some psychologists would argue that good mental health and a nurturing network of friends matter most. And if you happen to be training for a triathlon, good for you— enough exercise can erase a lot of other lifestyle sins. But for most people the “heart” of the Plan will be the diet. After all, eating is something all of us do every day, often with some degree of abandon, so it stands to reason that therein lies the biggest opportunity for improvement. When researchers look for a cause-and-effect relationship between our lives and our cholesterol levels, diet always comes out on top. Various studies show drops of 25 percent or more in total cholesterol from many of the simple dietary changes that make up the eating plan. For instance, by cutting back your consumption of saturated fat (the kind in hamburgers and ice cream) to less than 7 percent of your total calories, increasing your fiber intake by 5 to 10 grams (about one serving of a raisin...
According to one definition, the word “supplement”? means “something added to complete a thing, to extend or strengthen the whole.” And that’s just what the supplement portion of the Plan is intended to do strengthen your efforts to lower your cholesterol and improve your overall heart health. The supplements we outline in this chapter serve different purposes. Some make blood platelets less sticky, reducing your risk of artery-blocking clots; some prevent the oxidation of LDL, making it less likely to lead to plaque; others help minimize certain side effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs; still others act as alternatives to prescription drugs. Some of the supplements in this chapter won’t be right for you. Others will—especially the two we advise everyone on the Plan to take. In addition to these two, we list seven supplements that, since they have the strongest evidence behind them in terms of lowering cholesterol or protecting you from heart disease, we think you should...
When’s the last time you changed the channel without using the remote? Walked to the store for milk instead of driving? Took the stairs instead of the elevator, or parked at the far end of the parking lot instead of circling around for five minutes looking for a closer space? If you’re like most Americans, it’s been awhile. Desk jobs, television addiction, and convenience devices like remote controls and riding lawn mowers, coupled with our fixation on cars, have created a sedentary nation, with more than 6 of 10 American adults either inactive or underactive. Small wonder that this country is in the midst of an obesity epidemic. What does this have to do with your heart? Everything. Moderate exercise alone isn’t going to lower your cholesterol significantly, but it will help you avoid a heart attack—most likely the reason you wanted te lower your cholesterol in the first place. Exercise is a virtual panacea for the cardiovascular system, lowering blood pressure, reducing resting...
Every aspect of the Plan is important. Some psychologists would argue that good mental health and a nurturing network of friends matter most. And if you happen to be training for a triathlon, good for you— enough exercise can erase a lot of other lifestyle sins. But for most people the “heart” of the Plan will be the diet. After all, eating is something all of us do every day, often with some degree of abandon, so it stands to reason that therein lies the biggest opportunity for improvement. When researchers look for a cause-and-effect relationship between our lives and our cholesterol levels, diet always comes out on top. Various studies show drops of 25 percent or more in total cholesterol from many of the simple dietary changes that make up the eating plan. For instance, by cutting back your consumption of saturated fat (the kind in hamburgers and ice cream) to less than 7 percent of your total calories, increasing your fiber intake by 5 to 10 grams (about one serving of a raisin...
Ideally, the Plan is all you need to bring your cholesterol levels into the “safe” zone and reduce your risk of heart disease. But for some people it won’t be enough. If your doctor suggests that you take a prescription drug, don’t get upset. It doesn’t mean you’ve failed, nor does it mean you should stop following the Plan. Rather, it means you need a bit of help. Maybe you have a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol. In that case, making dietary changes, getting more exercise, and even taking supplements simply might not do the trick. So be thankful for the cholesterol-lowering drugs now available. One major reason people live longer today than they did 50 years ago ts the plethora of safe, effective medications at our disposal. True, all drugs have potential side effects, but so does crossing the street. Chosen wisely, medication is much more likely to contribute to your health, well-being, and longevity than to cause harm However—and this is critical—taking medication...
Ideally, the Plan is all you need to bring your cholesterol levels into the “safe” zone and reduce your risk of heart disease. But for some people it won’t be enough. If your doctor suggests that you take a prescription drug, don’t get upset. It doesn’t mean you’ve failed, nor does it mean you should stop following the Plan. Rather, it means you need a bit of help. Maybe you have a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol. In that case, making dietary changes, getting more exercise, and even taking supplements simply might not do the trick. So be thankful for the cholesterol-lowering drugs now available. One major reason people live longer today than they did 50 years ago ts the plethora of safe, effective medications at our disposal. True, all drugs have potential side effects, but so does crossing the street. Chosen wisely, medication is much more likely to contribute to your health, well-being, and longevity than to cause harm However—and this is critical—taking medication...
