Diet Better Than Drugs For Cholesterol
Almonds, soya beans and fish are all good sources of the essential fatty acids that our bodies need to keep cholesterol levels in our blood at acceptable levels. Even though cholesterol has been given a bad name in the press and the medical profession, you actually need a certain amount of cholesterol in you body as it is essential to many important bodily functions. Like free radicals, which are also needed in the body, it is the over production of cholesterol which can cause problems.
The new cholesterol lowering drugs, the statins, do prevent cardiovascular disease, but this is due to other mechanisms than cholesterol lowering. Unfortunately, they also stimulate cancer in rodents, disturb the functions of the muscles, the heart and the brain and pregnant women taking statins may give birth to children with malformations more severe than those seen after thalidomide.
Your body produces three to four times more cholesterol than you eat. The production of cholesterol increases when you eat little cholesterol and decreases when you eat much. This explains why the prudent diet cannot lower cholesterol more than on average a few per cent.
Cholesterol is a type of fat (lipid) that is found in your blood. It is important because high levels of cholesterol in your blood increase your risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD one of the most common causes of death and disability in Europe, North America and Australia.
In the UK, about a quarter of deaths in men and one in five deaths in women under the age of 75 years are now caused by CHD, with another 13 to 14 per cent resulting from other related conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels. High rates of CHD occur particularly in the developed world, where lifestyle and dietary factors play important contributory roles. Within Europe, the incidence of CHD is higher in northern than in Mediterranean countries, and this difference is thought to be the result of dietary factors. The incidence of CHD rose after the Second World War, but is now falling in the UK. However, rates are now rising in developing countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia and eastern Europe.
Excesses of cholesterol in some people is actually a genetic disposition and not due to diet. But whether the excess is due to a diet of high cholesterols and saturated fats or a genetic factor, essential fatty acids in the form of omega 3
Julian Hall
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/Diet-better-than-drugs-for-cholesterol-54814.html
March 7th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
How long is too long to be on Cholesterol medications?
When we lived up north the doctor made it clear that a better diet needs to be put in place and that cholesterol meds should not be taken for more than 2 years.
Then we moved to the south. The doctors here are lining the pockets of the pharmaceutical associations because they all get kickbacks,
It has become a GREEDY corrupt business to toss good health care to the ground in place of hustling drugs to patients.
Is two years the norm for a person to learn how to eat properly and get off cholesterol meds?
March 7th, 2010 at 11:04 pm
Ignore Lisa. This is a person without formal medical training who posts "knowledgeable" answers under multiple IDs.
#1) Doctors do NOT get kickbacks. It’s highly illegal and grounds for losing a medical license.
#2) Some people are fortunate enough to be able to lower their lipids by diet & exercise. Always the first choice.
#3) Not all of the benefits of these medications come from lowering cholesterol
#4) There are multiple, double blind, placebo controlled studies that show a mortality benefit from the meds.
#5) In most patients, they’re safe for extended periods of time.
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