by Vic Shayne, PhD

High cholesterol is a big money-maker. Billions of dollars are made in the manufacture and sale of drugs used to lower cholesterol. But what about natural solutions?

Ron Rosedale, MD, stated (with the last line tongue-in-cheek): “The latest recommendation given by a so-called panel of “experts” recommends that a person’s cholesterol be as low as possible, in fact to a level so low they say it cannot be achieved by diet, exercise, or any known lifestyle modification. Therefore, they say cholesterol-lowering drugs; particularly the so-called “statins” need to be given to anyone at high risk of heart disease. Since heart disease is the number one killer in this country that would include most adults and even many children. The fact that this might add to the $26 billion in sales of statin drugs last year I’m sure played no role in their recommendations.”

Many doctors are showing that high cholesterol can be lowered without drugs, which is a great thing if you realize that all drugs have side effects.

RED YEAST RICE: Red yeast rice is the product of yeast grown on rice. A dietary staple in some Asian countries, it contains several compounds known to inhibit cholesterol production. A recent study to compare red yeast rice with statin drugs showed that the food outperformed the drugs, and without side effects. ” The alternative treatment group experienced a 42.4 percent reduction, and the statin group experienced a 39.6 percent reduction. Members of the alternative therapy group also had a substantial reduction in triglycerides, another form of fat found in the blood, and lost more weight.” (sciencedaily)

Red yeast rice was described in an ancient Chinese list of drugs as useful for improving blood circulation and for alleviating indigestion and diarrhea.

Here are some other foods and herbs that are successful in a cholesterol-lowering program. The items with links will take you to products that contain these foods:

• Psyllium
• Flax fiber
• Curcumin
• Fish oils
• Pectin
• Green Tea extract Natural Vitamin C with bioflavonoids as antioxidants
• Red Yeast Rice
• Grape seed extract has been studied in animals with good results in terms of reducing atherosclerosis, which is another name for hardening of the arteries.

Michael Murray, ND, writes, “Diets rich in legumes, including peanuts, are being used to lower cholesterol levels and soy protein has been shown in some studies to be able to lower total cholesterol levels by 30% and to lower LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, levels by as much as 35-40%. Nuts and seeds, particularly almonds and walnuts, are also quite useful in fighting against heart disease by lowering cholesterol through their fiber, monounsaturated oil, and essential fatty acid content. Hazelnuts have an exceptional concentration of copper, a key component in the intracellular form of an important antioxidant enzyme called superoxide dismutase, which disarms free radicals that would otherwise damage cholesterol and other lipids. Ground flax seed lowers two cholesterol-carrying molecules, apolipoprotein A-1 and apolipoprotein B. Other foods that have shown beneficial effects on lowering cholesterol include avocados, cocoa butter, Brewer’s yeast, royal jelly, shiitake mushrooms, saffron, turmeric, honey, shellfish, alfalfa sprouts.”

Adjunctive Nutritional Schedule

• Red Yeast Rice
• DigestPlex (1 tablet per meal)
• SuperGreens PhytoFood

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