Lower Your Cholesterol
By Dan Ho , Alternative Health Correspondent
Heart disease is the number one killer in the Western
world today. More than 40% of men will die from it.
What is particularly disturbing is that strokes and
heart attacks are becoming much more common in younger men.
Witness the recent death of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher
Darryl Kile, who was felled in his prime, only 33 years
old. Although it seems counterintuitive, athletes, in
fact, can be even more vulnerable than the average person.
When men engage in vigorous exercise, they create an
excess of free radicals. These free radicals cause
tremendous amounts of damage to the body with devastating
effects, one of which is elevating their cholesterol.
But taking a powerful antioxidant such as Total Balance,
will help neutralize these free radicals before damage
occurs. Nowadays, due to lifestyles, diet, and the deeper
understanding in the role that genetics plays, younger men
should be acutely aware of the importance of keeping their
cholesterol at optimum levels.
As an indication of this importance, one of the major
pharmaceutical companies is even in the process of seeking
FDA approval to provide a statin drug to children to lower
their cholesterol. Elevated cholesterol is considered the
best "marker" for potential heart disease and it is a
condition that 1 in 4 people have.
In order to prevent future problems, it is widely recommended
that you check your cholesterol levels and if they're "out
of line," take action to normalize them -- regardless of your age.
Are you at risk?
A common misconception is that people with high cholesterol
must be overweight or subsist on a diet of greasy burgers
and fries. The truth is that the amount of cholesterol you
have in your bloodstream is not directly related to your
diet. I will explain why momentarily.
Another prevailing and incorrect view is that only older
people need worry about their cholesterol levels. The reality
is that having a predisposition to high cholesterol and heart
disease are genetically influenced factors.
Elevated cholesterol levels can stalk even young men and women
who are in seemingly good shape and otherwise take care of
themselves. Indeed, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute advocates that the young, middle-aged, and old
lower their cholesterol, whether it be to prevent heart
disease, or because they already have it.
Therefore it's important to know your family history and,
accordingly, take prevention to ensure the health of your
heart for many years to come. But first, what exactly is
this "silent killer" known as cholesterol?
What is cholesterol?
It is important to understand that cholesterol itself is
essential to good health. Cholesterol is a non-soluble waxy
substance that your body needs for making hormones, cell
walls and nerve sheaths. However, there are two forms of
cholesterol. One form is called LDL -- or the "bad"
cholesterol -- and the other is HDL -- or the "good" cholesterol.
LDL transports the cholesterol to your cells, whereas HDL
travels around in your bloodstream picking up excess
cholesterol and taking it back to your liver for reprocessing,
functioning as a "garbage collector" of sorts. Too much LDL
creates the risk of clogging up your arteries, which can
lead to heart failure or stroke; not enough HDL will result
in the same problem due to inadequate "housekeeping."
Therefore, the most important figure to examine is not your
total cholesterol per se, but the ratio between the LDL and
HDL readings, and the levels of each type. You want the LDL
as low as possible and the HDL as high as possible.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends that
everyone over 20 have their cholesterol checked every 5 years.
For optimal health, total cholesterol should be less than 200,
whereas the LDL cholesterol remains at less than 100, and the
HDL greater than 60.
How's your diet? Does it affect cholesterol?
Diet does not impact on your cholesterol levels as much as
you think it does. It is not that extra egg you have for
breakfast that raises your cholesterol appreciably.
This is because around 80% of your blood cholesterol is
manufactured by your liver.
To improve your cholesterol levels, you must both slow down
the manufacture of cholesterol, and reduce the oxidation of
LDL while raising your HDL.
Apart from normal, sensible lifestyle improvements such as
better nutrition and more exercise, there are a couple of
proven strategies to return your cholesterol to its optimal level.
Option 1: Prescription Drugs
A range of drugs known as "statins" are widely used in the US
and other Western countries. In fact, they are currently the
most prescribed medicine in the world.
These drugs work by blocking an enzyme that the liver needs
for the manufacture of cholesterol. They have been proven
effective in reducing levels of LDL, but unfortunately they
will not raise levels of HDL (the good cholesterol). The
downside is that there are a large number of negative side
effects such as liver damage, fatigue, upset stomach,
abdominal pains and cramps, gas and constipation, and in the
case of one statin drug -- "Baycol" -- large numbers of deaths.
An investigation into the side effect of statin drugs is
being conducted by the National Institute of Health. Discuss
the pros and cons of this medication very carefully with your
physician in the event of a statin drug being prescribed for you.
There is another treatment that has nothing but beneficial
side effects...
Option 2: Natural Treatments
Even though the general public hears very little about them,
there are effective natural alternatives to lowering one's
cholesterol, and such therapies exhibit no side effects.
One such brand is Xtend-Life Natural Cholesterol Formula ,
available by CLICKING HERE.
The fascinating aspect of some of these natural options is that
some of the natural ingredients being used have been proven
to consistently and significantly outperform the statin drugs
in dozens of double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials
and studies. And with no negative side effects. (The only
side effects reported were weight loss.)
What to look for
Two key ingredients to look for in any natural cholesterol
product are Policosanol and Guggulipid Extract. Policosanol
is an extract from sugar cane wax and has been the subject
of multiple clinical trials, all of which have outperformed
the statins.
Guggulipid, on the other hand, is an ancient herb from India
extracted from the guggul tree. "The gum resin of the guggul
tree has been used in Indian Ayurvedic medicine since
approximately 600 BC to treat a wide variety of ailments,
including obesity and [cholesterol] disorders," writes
author David D. Moore, Ph.D., and professor of molecular
and cell biology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
Moore goes on to state, "It really does lower cholesterol
in a number of clinical studies..." What Moore didn't mention
was that studies show an interesting added benefit from
Guggulipid: it has been more effective than prescription
tetracycline when used orally for treating nodulocystic acne.
It also assists in the lowering of Triglycerides and weight loss.
Know what you're buying
With all of these benefits, it would seem that finding any
natural formula containing these two ingredients is a sure bet.
But take caution; there are many products currently on the
market claiming to use policosanol to lower cholesterol, but
are in fact using octacosanol, which is an incomplete form
of policosanol. Octacosanol does not exhibit the same results
as true policosanol in clinical trials.
The Xtend-Life Natural Cholesterol Formula uses only the
genuine policosanol extracted from sugar cane wax. When it
comes to your heart's health and longevity, don't settle for
sub-par supplements.
Xtend Life Natural Cholesterol Formula is available by ...CLICKING HERE
