Cholesterol and Reducing Unwanted Fats

Graeme Bradshaw
B.Sc., Dip Nutr., Dip Herb., Dip Hom, N.D.

I want to convince you to radically reduce the consumption of high fat foods, particularly the saturated animal fats and margarine. These fats are the bad fats that cause heart disease and contribute to many cancers and obesity problems.

Research by the University of Hong Kong has shown over half of adults in Hong Kong aged between 40-60 have high cholesterol in excess of 200mg/ml, with 20% over the very high level of 240 mg/ml. [H.K. Practioner12(3); 1990]. The level at which there is an increased rate of heart disease is over 190mg/dl. Therefore there are a large number of people here with high levels of cholesterol - as in most affluent countries.

Could I have life threatening arteriosclerosis? (hardening of the arteries)
Probably, since 90% of all mature-age, affluent people do. Assuming that your blood levels of cholesterol are "normal" (i.e. average - around 190mg/l.) the probability that you have arteriosclerosis is extremely high. Your levels need to be much better than the average not to have arteriosclerosis.

How serious can arteriosclerosis be?
Serious enough to cause heart attacks which account for about a third of all deaths in affluent societies. In addition, arteriosclerosis is the main factor in deaths from other cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke.

So what is arteriosclerosis?
It's a gradual build up of a rigid material in the walls of the arteries that over time narrows the passageways. This makes the arteries brittle and inflexible. But more important, the vessels have less and less room for blood to flow. This is called an occlusion. Once the occlusion reaches about 70% of the diameter of an artery, there is great danger of a blood clot forming on, or getting stuck in the damaged surface of an artery, leading to complete blockage thus stopping blood flow altogether. If this happens in one of the coronary arteries, it's called a "heart attack". If a blood clot forms around the fatty "plaque" (vessel blockage) in one of the arteries feeding the brain, it's called a stroke. There are other conditions caused by arteriosclerosis; in men it can cause impotence. Unfortunately, for many individuals the first symptom is sudden death. 60% of all people who die from a sudden heart attack have never had angina pain. The best response is to radically lower your animal fat consumption (as well as check for homocysteine and the inflammation marker CRP-us measuring C Reactive Protein – ultrasensitive levels, other important causes of arteriosclerosis). The saturated fats are found in dairy and red meat products. These and stress as well as too little of the good oil called Omega 3, cause the liver to produce too much cholesterol.

How much healthier are the people that eat low-fat diets?
Compare the rural Chinese with the affluent American diets. The average percentage of calories from fat in the Chinese population is less than 15%, but with about 40% for Americans, (which is similar to other Western averages). The average cholesterol level of Chinese is 127, compared with 212 for Americans. In China there is, or has been, virtually no heart disease. The American rate of heart disease is 155 times higher than the rate in rural China. The Chinese figures give a very clear picture that eating 15% of calories from fat provides an excellent level of protection from heart disease and cancer. The Chinese traditional peoples enjoy lower rates of colon cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancer. These are the types of cancer related to saturated fats and low omega 3 levels.

In the 40 year-long Framingham Study (tracing approximately 5,000 individuals since 1948) it was found that people who ate a very low saturated fat diet tended to have total serum cholesterol levels below 160 mg/dl. The study also found extremely low death rates from heart disease when serum total cholesterol levels were below 160mg/l. According to Dr. William Castelli, one of the researchers, they have not seen a single heart attack in subjects whose cholesterol level was below 150mg/l in the 40 years that the study has been in effect.

Are there studies showing the plaque from arteriosclerosis being reduced by a low fat diet?
Yes. Dr. Dean Ornish, a professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco is responsible for the first good research. He compared two groups of patients, all of whom had experienced angina pain caused by proven partial blockage of the coronary arteries. The first group followed the standard medical recommendations of cutting down to 30% calories from fat and ceasing cigarette smoking. They also received standard advice for hypertension and performed aerobic exercise approximately one and a half hours per week.

The other group followed a program including a diet of less than 10% calories from fat (that’s strict), exercise of at least three hours per week, with stress management too. After a year, the average total cholesterol for the first group decreased from 251 to 230 mg/dl, a still dangerous level despite their having followed all of the standard public-health recommendations for high serum cholesterol levels and heart disease. More significantly, the average blockage of their coronary arteries got worse!

In contrast, the total cholesterol of the experimental group fell from 250 to 135 mg/dl, a very low level. None of those on this program had an increase in blockage of their coronary arteries. 85% had a decrease in arterial blockage. Encouragingly, the greatest decreases in blockage were found in the arteries with the greatest blockage.

The overall message of the study is this: while eating 30% of calories from fat is a bit better in terms of health and weight than eating 40% of calories from fat, going down to about 10-20% of calories from fat is necessary to virtually eliminate the risk of heart disease caused by high LDL cholesterol levels.

So what does this mean? 15% of calories from fat? How do I translate that into practical terms?
Each gram of fat has nine calories. If you eat, let’s say, 2,500 calories each day, then you want 375 calories from fat to have a "15% fat" diet. You get that from 40 grams of fat per day. Forty grams of fat is equivalent to about 8 teaspoons of fat (or butter, fat from cheese, meat, etc.)

To lower your cholesterol to a level where you will really prevent heart disease (and certain types of cancer) you must consume a regular diet that contains no more than around 40 grams of saturated fat per day. This translates to around 15% of your calories as fats. Note: some fats are good for preventing heart disease (see The Good Oils, below and Omega 3) and these beneficial oils don’t really count in this equation.

Most people on an affluent diet consume over 100 grams of fat a day, the majority being from saturated fats. To get this down, avoid the high animal fat sources. Note that we are talking about all of the animal fat in your diet. Red meats have about 30% fat within the meaty part, it’s not just around the outside part. Dairy products like cheese are higher in saturated fats - around 50% is common.

In fact, to achieve 15% of calories from saturated fat, you can consume very little animal fats, no regular fat dairy products, and no daily red meat products, sausages etc. It will involve omission of pork, lamb as well as beef from the regular diet. Bacon, sausages, steak and other well-known high fat foods like ice cream, cream and cheese are to be cut virtually completely! To pick out some high fat surprises; 2 croissants will yield 25 grams of saturated fat, 2 donuts 28 grams, 100 grams of cheddar cheese will give you 30 - 40 grams of saturated fat, a beef pie- 33 grams, a club sandwich - 20 grams, beef sandwich - 24 grams of saturated fat. A small vegetarian pizza has about 40 grams of saturated fat.

These levels are near the daily maximum for total recommended fat intake! You see how easy it is for most people, if eating western foods, to consume over 100 grams of fat per day? In calorie terms 100 grams equals about 900 calories. With all this fat the body clogs up in the liver, gall bladder and sooner or later, the arteries - all the while the body is getting fatter!

Are there any other benefits from a low saturated fat diet?
Eating a diet that is very low in saturated fat reduces the risk of several major cancers by up to 80%. Most cancer is avoidable. The carcinogen that kills the most people is burnt animal fat (although cigarettes are a close rival).

Is there a chance of developing arteriosclerosis even if my cholesterol is at normal levels, around 190?
Yes. If your total serum cholesterol is a "normal" 190mg/l. and your LDL cholesterol-to-HDL ratio is a "normal" 4.5, you are at "normal" risk. A "normal" cholesterol level (around190) and ratio (of around 4.5) translates to a probability of you having arteriosclerosis in excess of 90%. So "normal" in this instance does not equate with healthy.

I don’t want to give you the wrong impression – not all this heart disease and arteriosclerosis is due to high LDL cholesterol. Smoking, diabetes and two other causes are probably more important than cholesterol in causing heart disease. So arteriosclerosis is not just because of high LDL cholesterol and the whole thing about cholesterol is to some extent overblown.

Only some 20-30% of heart disease and stroke sufferers have high LDL cholesterol! 80% is from other causes, but if you have high cholesterol all this advice about lower saturated fat diets is relevant.

So what else causes arteriosclerosis and heart disease/stroke?
It turns out that there are several other factors; high blood sugars (diabetes, often suggested by high triglyceride levels and the high insulin), inflammation in the blood vessels and another substance called homocysteine are important other causes. Homocysteine and inflammation turn out to be MORE IMPORTANT THAN CHOLESTEROL in causing heart disease than high LDL cholesterol – each about two times more important!

So if you have high levels of all four (LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, homocysteine and the inflammation marker CRP-us ( see C Reactive Protein – ultrasensitive ) you are in big trouble. Correctable trouble though! Therefore be sure to have the blood markers for all these to be measured and the levels corrected with the appropriate diet changes and add the appropriate supplements.

The inflammation marker is called CRP-us. If there is high CRP-us indicating inflammation in the blood vessels it is sometimes an infection, but more usually a sign of the need of the good omega 3 oils. These have the opposite effect to saturated fats in that they improve heart disease, cancer and inflammation risks. More on that shortly and in related articles. Look for my articles on C Reactive Protein – ultrasensitive , homocysteine and arteriosclorosis to get the whole story.

Apart from animal fats are there other types of fats to avoid?
There is another type of fat also over consumed, called "hydrogenated fats" or "hydrogenated vegetable oils". These are found in margarine and fast foods like "KFC" and "McDonald’s". Man’s attempt to stabilise fats - the hydrogenated fats - produced a plastic food, unnatural and largely indigestible to the cells. These substances give rise to "Trans Fatty Acids" (T.F.A's) as will any oil or fat that is heat extracted and by chemical solvent extraction methods. These trans-fats appear to block certain enzyme pathways in the body including those allowing ready burning of brown fats. (Brown fat metabolism determines the rate at which we can burn off fat).

For similar reasons (trans-fats, highest in margarine’s and other hydrogenated fat products block the proper bodily functions) immunity is lowered and heart disease is initiated. You will find them in virtually all margarine and the hydrogenated fats used in the fast food industry.

Margarine fed to animals has been shown to have even more destructive effects on the blood vessels than animal fats (Kummerow, 1978, Artery, 4:360). Also these "trans" fatty acids raise serum LDL cholesterol, despite their being free of cholesterol. The hydrogenated fats elevate the bad type of cholesterol level, the LDL's, and cause increased risk of heart disease and other health problems. In fact the hydrogenated fats (containing so called "trans fatty acids") are FOUR TIMES WORSE THAN SATURATED FATS in causing heart disease according to a study of over 80,000 nurses in the US (reported in New England Journal of Medicine in late 1997). Also a recent study showed that pregnant mothers give birth to smaller children if using margarine or foods that have the hydrogenated oils added.

Many researchers now say: "There is no bigger mistake anyone can make in their diet than the consumption of hydrogenated oils and margarine. Consumption of margarine literally shuts down and deranges the immune, hormonal, central nervous system and brain from proper function." writes Patricia Kane Ph.D – Essential Fatty Acid researcher for Body Bio Corp. in New Jersey, USA.

If you will only make a few changes in the diet, elimination of the margarines, and most heat extracted vegetable oils packed in plastic bottles (high in trans-fats) is one of the essentials. Replacing these oils with cold pressed or virgin olive oil and soy or canola oils packed in glass bottles - or better still in cans- is most strongly advised. Be careful where you eat, the fast food industry normally uses the bad oils and fats.

THE GOOD OILS

Tell me more about the good oils I can use…
The bad reputation of "fats" is only partially deserved, but for some people all fats have gained a bad reputation. That is deserved only for the "bad fats" i.e., the saturated fats, margarines and so called trans fatty acids created from overheating oils. Some oils are like vitamins and MUST be consumed for good health.

Anyway, totally fat free meals leave one feeling hungry all the time, most undesirable! A former proponent of the Nathan Pritikin Diet, as director of nutrition in Pritikins Longevity Center in Santa Monica, U.S.A., Anne Louise Gittleman should know. The Gearson Diet aimed for as little fat in the diet as possible. She later wrote;
"Like others on the program, I was always grazing, because I was always hungry. The fat free meals never left me satisfied."

She explains in Supernutrition for Women that oils or fats in a meal slows digestion by almost two hours over a non-fat meal. A little vegetable oil, for instance, promotes satiety and prevents late day binges for sugary food when taken at breakfast or lunch.

The desire for some types of fats and oils is natural as some are essential to good health. Medical science has now found that certain dietary fats (found in some vegetables and fish) cannot be made by the human body, yet are necessary for health. It would have made it clearer if they had been called "Vitamin F1, F2" etc. Instead they were called "essential fatty acids". These fats and oils are found in vegetable oils and fish oils, and are often called Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids.

Essential fatty acids are easily found in foods such as oily types of fish (e.g., salmon, herring, sardines) and various vegetable products (such as walnuts, pumpkin, flax and sunflower seeds). Many people do not eat enough of these foods to provide adequate intake of the essential fatty acids for optimal health. This is particularly so of the Omega 3 oils. Omega 3 is only found in fish, marine plankton, flax seeds, walnuts, canola seeds, soy beans, cold water fish and a few other foods.

These Omega 3 fatty acids MUST be consumed in the diet in adequate quantities to promote proper health. They cut heart disease by half. Arthritis, allergies, diabetes, cancer and nerve diseases like multiple sclerosis are reduced by these oils, and mood and nerve functions are improved as well. That's why they are called "essential fatty acids".

Flax oil is the richest source of these omega 3 oils and it can be obtained in the dark bottles or cans, normally cold pressed and organically grown. The omega 3’s support the body’s calcium balance, immune system, heart and lung function, the integrity of the skin, the growth and development of babies and children, especially the function of the brain, nerves and eyes. Fish oils do some of these jobs even better than flax seed oil. See the article on Omega 3.

So, keep animal fats and margarine to a minimum. Some vegetable oils and the fish oils are good. So not all fats are bad.
That’s it. As to the preferred vegetable oils: Olive Oil is the greatest, you can use it freely, with health benefits. Flax seed and walnut oil have high levels of beneficial Omega 3’s, but cannot be used for cooking. Canola oil is good for cooking, and soy oil is also good. Sunflower, peanut, safflower and corn oil are not that good (as they contain too much of something called Linolenic Acid). So in short buy olive oil and use it freely, use canola or soy oil for stir-fry cooking, and walnut or olive oil for salad dressings. Flax seed oil is a great source of omega 3 about 1 tsp. daily.

I also recommend the oils from fish as a supplement taking 1000mg of EPA, an Omega 3 oil. This can be obtained from a product called Nordic Pro EPA, from just two capsules daily. The capsules are essential if no flax oil or oily fish consumed regularly. The most common everyday symptom of deficiency of these oils is dry skin or peeling skin behind the nails.

Yet, even the vegetable oils must not be used if they smell rancid. Vegetable oils, (because of their polyunsaturated nature) easily oxidize (turn rancid) during processing, storage and cooking, and even after being eaten (unless vitamin E is present). The heat extraction process - the method by which most oils are produced, destroys Vitamin E. Rancid fats or oils - animal or vegetable source - damage blood vessel walls and cause the blockages of arteriosclerosis. This is why fresh "cold pressed" or "virgin" vegetable oils from organic sources are the best oils. In their extraction process low heat only is used, minimising changes in the oils. So the best vegetable oils are virgin or unrefined, extracted without heat (cold pressed) and protected from oxidation, light and heat by being canned or packed in dark bottles or cans. Thus they should ideally be purchased if canned or bottled in black containers.

So with fats there is the choice of the good, the bad and the ugly. For "good" read olive oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil and fish oil. Cold pressed vegetable oils from canola & soy are good too, especially for cooking. For "bad" fats read saturated animal fats; i.e. dairy products and most meats especially beef, pork, lamb, bacon, ham, sausages etc. For "ugly" read margarine, hydrogenated oils and any oil or fat exposed to very high temperatures either in processing or cooking.

SELECTED FOOD SOURCES OF OMEGA-3

• Seafood Omega-3 (g.)
• Mackerel, Atlantic 2.6
• Mackerel, chub 2.2
• Mackerel, king 2.2
• Trout, lake 2.0
• Mackerel, Japanese 1.9
• Herring, Pacific 1.8
• Herring, Atlantic 1.7
• Tuna, bluefin (high in mercury- only 1-2x/month) 1.6
• Sable fish 1.5
• Salmon, chinook 1.5
• Tuna, albacore (high in mercury- only 1-2x/month) 1.5
• Anchovy, European 1.4
• Salmon, Atlantic 1.4
• Saury 1.4
• Herring, round 1.3
• Salmon, sockeye 1.3
• Sprat (small herring) 1.3
• Bluefish 1.2
• Capelin 1.2
• Mullet 1.1
• Salmon chum 1.1
• Conch 1.0
• Salmon, coho 1.0
• Salmon, pink 1.0

Other Sources

Flax seed oil (take 5-10 ml daily) 60%
Canola oil (as cooking oil) 9%
Soy oil (another cooking oil choice) 9%
Walnuts, whole seed (good snack food) 8%

Select either:

• 3 serves weekly from the above
• 1 t.sp. daily of flax seed oil
• 2 capsules daily of concentrated Nordic Pro EPA fish oils.
• (Or six capsules daily of regular Max EPA fish oil, not recommended because of common impurities)

To get your total saturated fat level to a minimum is most important. In short; cut the high fat animal products out of the regular diet. The complex carbohydrates including vegetables, salads and fruits form the MAJOR part of a healthy diet and comprise about half of the volume of the diet. Whole grains, especially brown rice or whole meal bread or oats cereals and the legumes (including soy beans, lentils etc) make up a further quarter. Fish and fowl and other concentrated animal proteins like fish and eggs make an optional serving a day. Otherwise use nuts and legumes for some of the protein serves – they are really high in nutritional value.

It takes time to develop new eating habits and a while to let go of the old ones. As you do so, your tastes will change. For the first few weeks, concentrate on getting into the routine of 2 pieces of fruit and much of lunch and dinner as vegetables. Bring your water up to two litres a day.

To summarise; a health promoting low cholesterol diet is:

• mostly fruit and vegetables (5-6 portions a day or about half of lunch and dinner is veggies, with 2 fruits as well between meals),
• the wholegrains and legumes (e.g. oats, muesli, brown rice & lentils) in one or two meals and
• one animal protein serve daily (best at lunch) and it is white meat, fish, seafood and chicken.
• drink mostly bottled water, with occasional Chinese green tea or herb teas – one by the trade name Cholego will lower cholesterol.

The usual pattern of observing this type of diet if balanced is to use a fruit or wholegrain (e.g. oats based) breakfast with one teaspoon of flax seed oil added. Have a larger protein with vegetable meal at lunch, and a vegetarian meal (whole grains, vegetables salads or soups or stir-fry’s) taken at night, at least when eating at home. Fruit is taken between meals on an empty stomach or before breakfast. The best habit for water is two glasses on rising, two mid morning and two mid afternoon.

CHOLESTEROL LOWERING PROGRAM

Most of the cholesterol in your bloodstream has been made by your own liver, not created in from cholesterol foods like shrimps or eggs. High LDL cholesterol in your bloodstream does not come directly from high cholesterol foods.

High LDL cholesterol is usually formed from eating too much saturated fat (animal fats) in the diet. Therefore, reducing the saturated fat from fatty meats and high fat dairy products is of help because the liver is stressed by these saturated fats, especially when there is insufficient beneficial Omega 3 oils that come from fish and flax seed oil. A diet high in saturated animal fats and low in Omega 3 fish oils (or other sources of Omega 3) is the main cause of high LDL cholesterol.

Lowering the intake of all saturated fats – red meats, pork, bacon, sausages and cheese, while increasing Omega 3 oil consumption from oily fish has a big impact correcting most problems. Helping the liver to function better with anti-oxidant nutrients (e.g. vitamin C) and increasing soluble fibre (like oats, apples, carrot) are other simple cornerstones to lowering cholesterol.

You may also need to reduce your total stress load and exercise regularly. Stress tends to increase the cholesterol levels.

Another very common cause of heart disease is raised triglyceride. These are caused from too much sugar, white bread, potatoes and white rice. Many starchy foods are like sugar. These foods cause too much insulin to be released from the pancreas. This contributes to high triglyceride, fat storage (obesity) and with time will cause diabetes. Read Michel Montingnac’s excellent book Eat Yourself Slim if you are overweight. High triglycerides are also reduced by exercise.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

BASIC & ESSENTIAL STEPS FOR ALL CASES – LONG-TERM

Reduce saturated animal fats especially from red meats (beef pork, lamb, ham, sausages, cheese and other dairy products) and also palm oil to very low levels. Poultry should have the skin removed during the lowering phase.

• Exercise 3 hours weekly, every week. Walking is sufficient e.g. half hour 5 days a week. Or three one hour work-outs per week, regularly each week.
• Be sure to take oily fish or fish oils. Salmon, mackerel, herring, anchovies, bass or halibut three times weekly is recommended. Otherwise take two Nordic Pro EPA. The vegetable oils from flax seed oil which contain omega 3 are greatly beneficial, reducing heart disease risk in the same way that fish oils do. These polyunsaturated oils reduce heart disease by some 45% in studies.
• Avoid trans fatty acids – no margarine, and fast fried foods, like French fries.
• Increase fiber intake, 2 fruits and 3-4 vegetables daily, oats or an unsweetened healthy muesli or dark rye/pumpernickle bread for breakfast is beneficial.

ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT STEPS – needed for cholesterol levels over 230 mg/l

• If your triglycerides are high as well as high LDL cholesterol (LDL over, you are probably obese and heading towards diabetes unless you cut down on sweets, bread, potatoes and other starchy food. Avoid bread, pastries, sugar, desserts. Fish, chicken, game, turkey served with plenty of vegetables are better meal options. Avoid starches like bread, limit rice and potatoes too. Fill yourself on more vegetables. Extra Chromium is an important supplement in high triglyceride/cholesterol cases. Add an extra 200 -400 mcg daily to the plan to restore your Chromium levels, to help regulate sugar levels and get a 15% lowering of LDL cholesterol also.
• Nordic Pro EPA. EPA and DHA from fish oil thin the blood, reducing platelet stickiness, thus reducing plaque formulation in the arteries. It also reduces the livers overproduction of triglyceride and slightly lowers high blood pressure. This minimises risk of stroke and heart attack – in fact studies of regular oily fish eaters shows approximately half the level of cardiovascular deaths. This is the highest potency fish oil & needs only 2 capsules daily. These are important if you do not eat 2-3 serves of the oily fish weekly. See the list of the oily fish containing Omega 3 oils following.
• Use antioxidant supplements especially Vitamin C, grape seed extract, (eg Complete C Plus), natural Vitamin E, and Garlic. You can take the recommended 5-6 serves of fruit and vegetables daily (this itself reduces cardiovascular disease by 6% every serve, up to six serves.

Start the Complete Multi Plus for antioxidant protection, putting all the vitamin and mineral antioxidants together in one great formula. Antioxidants can lower the LDL cholesterol and also keep the cholesterol safer through the antioxidant effect (especially vitamin C). Since it’s the oxidised cholesterol in LDL that damages blood vessels most while the antioxidants in the fruits, vegetables and Vitamin C and E reduce this. Recently cardiologists are learning that the B vitamins protect against another heart risk-factor called homocysteine – these B complex are also in the Complete Multi Plus. Low vitamin B6 causes arteriosclerosis or hardening of the blood vessels, because it increases homocysteine.

• Get into garlic. If you want an odourless product, Garlic 6000, is probably the worlds best one a day odourless Garlic formula. Garlic is another antioxidant and cholesterol lowering natural herb product. Alternatively take plenty or raw garlic and onions in salads. Around 1 clove of raw garlic lowers cholesterol significantly.
• Reduce work stress, which usually means keeping to 48 hrs or less. Do relaxing things in your time off including sports like tennis. You may need to learn how to meditate to relax.

The above steps are sufficient for most cases and are recommended to be continued long term as the anti oxidant nutrients are always required for ideal cardio-vascular health.

In serious or very high cholesterol cases over 270mg/l, and in post heart attack or stroke cases:

• It is important to be aware that most cholesterol lowering medical drugs lower immunity and increase cancer (in lab animals). Because of their side effects they do not cause an overall lowering of mortality, although they do reduce death from cardiovascular diseases. The Journal of the American Medical Association has recommended caution in their use. The safer treatments below are reliable at lowering very high cholesterol, with very little, if any, risk – and one (Niacin) is proven to lower risk of death from all causes by 11%.

• Niacin (Vitamin B3) is recommended as the best nutrient for very elevated or medically high cholesterol levels. It also reduces other cardiovascular risk factors (lipoproteins, fibrinogen and triglycerides), and is proven to reduce overall mortality rate of cholesterol patients (by 11%). NB the cholesterol lowering drugs do not reduce mortality at all (in fact Mevacor and Lopid are carcinogenic in animal studies). We only suggest No Flush Niacin 1,500 mg as it is a safe form of the nutrient for long term use. No Flush Niacin will not cause a reddening or flush effect of niacin as it is a safe slow release formula that improves circulation overall, without damaging the liver. IT MAY NOT SUIT DIABETICS. Two capsules twice daily, for 6 months until the cholesterol levels are corrected, then maintain one daily and the above recommendations; Complete Multi Plus, Garlic 6000, and Nordic Pro EPA for long-term prevention of recurrence.

• Pantethene (used only if the high cholesterol is caused by high stress load, rather than diet) Pantethene reduces cholesterol (by 19%) lowers LDL by (15%) increases HDL (23%). It greatly lowers Triglycerides (by 32%). Another feature is it helps the body cope with stress – one of the less common causes of high cholesterol. Dosage for achieving the above reductions in cholesterol and triglycerides is three tablets daily.

• Optigaggul An Indian Herb that reduces not only cholesterol (by 20%) but also triglycerides (by 30%). It slightly improves thyroid T3 hormone levels hence metabolic activity. At the same time the gaggulipid ingredient is anti-oxidant (reducing need for vitamin C and vitamin E), blood thinning (no need for aspirin) and raises beneficial HDL’s. The remedy has been shown to be able to partly unblock plaque blockages of the arteries, which is very significant if you have had a stroke or have blocked coronary arteries. This remedy works to correct low thyroid T3 levels. Slow thyroid hormone levels increase LDL cholesterol, causes depression and weight gain. Using this herb if you need to stimulate the metabolic rate through T3 is effective. People with fast metabolism, who normally feel warm rather than cold easily, will find this herb is uncomfortable to take, causing irritability. In low T3 cases though it can be used long-term where arteriosclerosis is developed, to assist un-blocking the arteries and lowering LDL cholesterol. This herb is reputed to reduce weight.