CHOLESTEROL -- YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND
My cholesterol is 134, and, believe it or not, my doctor would like me to raise it. Sounds a little counterintuitive doesn't it, given that we all are inundated with messages to reduce our cholesterol? After all, isn't cholesterol just something that clogs the body's plumbing and creates life- threatening situations?
Not necessarily...
Despite its reputation, we all need some cholesterol. This much-maligned molecule is an essential component of cell structure and is used in the creation of estrogen, testosterone and other vital hormones. Without cholesterol, the liver could not produce bile, the fluid that helps break down fats.
High blood levels of cholesterol actually can help rather than hurt -- as long as it is the good type of cholesterol. If you find it difficult to remember which type of cholesterol is good and which is bad, try associating low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, with the word lousy. High-density lipoprotein, or HDL, is the happy cholesterol. To decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease, you need less LDL in your blood and more HDL.
The medical community is just beginning to understand the profound effects of HDL on health. HDL helps prevent cholesterol from accumulating in arteries, which in turn decreases the chance of physical blockage and reduction in blood flow.
In a recent Veterans Administration study, the prescription drug gemfibrozil was used to boost HDL in men with coronary heart disease and low HDL. Men who took gemfibrozil had a 6% increase in HDL, which reduced their risk of coronary heart disease by 22%, nonfatal heart attack by 23% and stroke by 29%.
If these results don't sound impressive, do the math. A 10% increase in HDL -- say, from 40 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) to 44 mg/dL -- translates into a happy 30% reduction in risk.
Improving Your Cholesterol
Lifestyle changes often are helpful in improving cholesterol levels. To find out how to increase HDL, I checked in with naturopathic physician Andrew Rubman. His suggestions...
Increase consumption of quality proteins that are low in saturated fats, such as chicken, fish and lean meat. Protein is vital for optimal liver function -- and the liver manufactures cholesterol. When the liver doesn't get enough protein to function efficiently, it produces more LDL and less HDL.
Eat foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids -- including salmon, mackerel and other cold-water fish, walnuts, wheat germ and flaxseed or soybean oil. Fascinating fact from an ongoing Harvard study: People who consumed more than five tablespoons a week of soy oil-based salad dressing had only half as many fatal heart attacks as those who rarely used oil-based dressing and mayonnaise. For a heart-healthy salad, toss arugula with a soy-based product. Arugula is another good source of omega-3s.
Lose weight and exercise. These steps increase HDL in some people.
If you smoke, stop. Cigarette smoking has been shown to decrease HDL and increase LDL.
Avoid antacids. When stomach acid is suppressed, food is not fully digested, depriving the liver of adequate fuel to manufacture HDL. Instead the liver increases production of LDL.
Lifestyle changes don't always boost HDL -- but they decrease L(ousy)DL in just about everyone. New guidelines recommend an LDL level of no more than 100 mg/dL if you have certain types of heart disease or diabetes... 130 mg/dL if you don't. Simply reducing your intake of saturated fats -- the ones that are solid at room temperature -- can cut LDL dramatically. Red meat and products that use coconut or palm oil -- including many baked goods -- are full of saturated fat.
If these steps don't work, your physician may suggest a fibrate drug, such as gemfibrozil, or the B vitamin niacin. Niaspan is a prescription form of vitamin B that has fewer side effects than over-the-counter niacin. Note: Niacin products may result in a harmless flush in your face and neck. Helpful: Take niacin after eating to slow uptake into the system.
Popular statin drugs, including atorvastatin (Lipitor) and simvastatin (Zocor), have only a modest effect on HDL -- but they can do wonders to reduce LDL and improve total cholesterol counts.
The story of cholesterol really drives home the importance of total body wellness. The challenge is to help your entire body -- and all its functions -- run at the right level.
NATURAL HEALING: MYTH OR MIRACLE?
Medical researchers discover that only one in 500 natural cures is clinically effective. "Most natural cures have little or no effect," says one researcher. "But those cures that DO work... can work genuine healing miracles and erase all signs of disease. These healing all-stars are the future of modern medicine."
It's the dark hidden side of the natural healing boom... and no one is talking about it: Most natural cures do NOT work.
The GOOD news is that once you wade through all the hype and fads, you're left with a core group of cures that have almost unlimited healing power.
"For those men and women who know all about these healing all-stars," says one top MD, "the benefits are enormous. There are natural herbal and food cures that are clinically proven to flush away cholesterol, reverse heart disease, cure arthritis pain, melt away excess fat and even help cancer-proof your body."
The problem, most experts agree, is getting access to these PROVEN cures.
Now, after more than 18 months of exhaustive research and interviews with doctors from every corner of the medical world, Bottom Line/HEALTH is ready to release the results in its "healing encyclopedia" called UNCOMMON CURES FOR EVERYDAY AILMENTS.
More than 2,011 medically proven, natural cures medical insiders use for themselves and their families.
Details...
BERRIES ARE BEAUTIFUL
I think berries are a perfect food.
There are lots of foods that taste great, but needless to say, they aren't very healthy. Then there are the foods that really are good for you (like broccoli) that we all say taste good, even though they really don't. They don't taste bad -- but you can't call them "yummy."
Then there are berries. These little gems really taste fabulous, especially fresh from the vine, and they are loaded with nutritional benefits.
Most people know that berries have lots of vitamins. Strawberries, for instance, have almost as much vitamin C as oranges do. And berries, like many fruits, are an excellent source of fiber. Just one cup can provide up to one-third of your recommended daily fiber requirement.
But, did you know that...
Berries have potassium -- which is vital for nerve impulses, muscle contractions and blood pressure?
Berries can protect against chronic illness? Their rich color means that they are packed with the antioxidant anthocyanin. Like all antioxidants, anthocyanin neutralizes the harmful effects of free radicals -- toxic substances believed to contribute to cancer and other diseases. In a Tufts University study, raisins ranked highest in antioxidant activity -- but blueberries, blackberries and strawberries were second, third and fifth, respectively. (Kale ranked fourth.)
In fact, studies documenting the disease-fighting power of berries are coming out almost faster than I can type...
In one experiment, mice fed a cranberry-laced diet showed significant delay in the development of cancer tumors compared with mice fed a normal diet.
In another, rats fed a diet containing 5% black raspberries developed up to 66% fewer esophageal tumors than those with a berry-less diet.
A diet with 14% blueberries cut stroke-like damage in rats by more than 50%.
Blueberries have been shown to help improve coordination and reduce short-term memory loss in rats.
Any way you slice it, berries pack a powerful punch.
Be sure to scrub and rinse them -- gently, but thoroughly -- to remove pesticide residues and germs. Strawberries, in particular, tend to have high levels of fungicide, and raspberries imported from Guatemala and Mexico have been associated with outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness.
Berry Close to Home
To get your pick of the best berries, consider growing them yourself in a sunny spot. Strawberries are the easiest to grow. Buy plants that have been certified as disease-free from reputable catalogs and local nurseries, and plant where the "runners" will have enough space to extend outward.
Water daily in the first two weeks -- then every few days after. Gardener's trick: Strawberries tend to thrive when one cup of dried seaweed, gathered at the family shore excursion and dried at home, is placed around each seedling.
If gardening is not for you, consider picking your own berries at a local pick-your-own farm that is certified organic. These farms are not allowed to use any pesticides.
Buy 'em... grow 'em... pick 'em. Just be sure you eat 'em.
Enjoy!
Be well,
Carole Jackson Bottom Line's Daily Health News
3 TIMES MORE DEADLY THAN SMALLPOX
No, it's not anthrax, botulism, or Ebola.
You probably haven't heard this pathogen mentioned, yet it has already killed more than 30 million people, making it the most deadly threat in the history of mankind.
The coming solution to this bioterrorism agent could be the single best investment you can make in 2003-and it may just save your life.
Read More...
Sources...
Hanna Bloomfield Rubins, MD, MPH, Director, Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research, Chief, General Internal Medicine, Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center, Minneapolis, and author of a gemfibrozil cost-effectiveness study published in Archives of Internal Medicine.
Cholesterol Counts for Everyone, National Cholesterol Education Program, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, www.nhlbi.nih.gov/chd.
Mary P. McGowan, MD, medical director of New England Heart Institute's Cholesterol Management Center, Manchester, New Hampshire, and author of Heart Fitness for Life (Oxford University Press)
Andrew L. Rubman, ND, associate professor of clinical medicine, College of Naturopathic Medicine, University of Bridgeport, and medical director, Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines, both in Connecticut.
Andrew L. Stoll, MD, director, psychopharmacology research laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, and author of The Omega-3 Connection (Simon & Schuster).
Jean Mayer, USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts, Boston
Allan A. Swenson, plant consultant, Kennebunk, Maine, and author of The Gardener's Book of Berries (Lyons & Burford)
USDA Agricultural Research Service, www.ars.usda.gov
USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl?berries
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