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Eggs once thought to increase cholesteral are now said to lower it.
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Case:
Sayed came to me about his high cholesterol. He was very self aware about his
body and described his health problems, eating habits and lifestyle to me in
great detail. Sayed spent long hours driving, had a very high stress job, smoked
a pack of cigarettes a day, drank 6 cups of tea a day, ate at restaurants, had a
congenitally large liver and was slightly overweight.
The
first step I took with Sayed was to do an eye reading for him. I looked at his
irises and was immediately struck by the fact he did not have a high cholesterol
ring in his eyes. Since an eye reading registers anything abnormal in the eye I
considered that perhaps his high cholesterol levels were normal for his body and
thus the lack of abnormal markings in his eyes. Although he had come to me to
help him lower his cholesterol I felt immediately that this was not the main
problem he was suffering from. Of course, the program I gave him would aim to
lower his cholesterol levels using diet and herbs. However, I wanted to make
Sayed aware that he had other health risks in his lifestyle that were much more
dangerous than his high cholesterol.
Sayed
was worrying himself sick about his high cholesterol and in the process had
become obsessed with low-fat foods and the concept of cholesterol medications,
but had ignored his other health risks. In fact, cholesterol is not a deadly
poison, but is a substance vital to the human body. Cholesterol is important in
the formation and maintenance of cell membranes, the formation of sex hormones,
the production of bile salts, which help digest food and the conversion of
vitamin D in the skin when exposed to sunlight (Gordon).
Cholesterol
is mainly manufactured in the liver and thus, Sayed's abnormally large liver
would manufacture higher levels naturally. Experts have also just begun to
realize that it may not be cholesterol itself that causes health problems, but
other risk factors that actually raise cholesterol levels by coincidence (Ravenskov).
Some
of the ironies about cholesterol facts can be found in the studies done on
people with high cholesterol. The studies done on the risks of high cholesterol
included results from people who were also overweight, smoked, had high fat
diets or highly stressed lifestyles. There is actually no way to tell in the
studies, which factor was the deciding factor in the person's poor health
condition. In fact, high blood cholesterol is said to promote arteriosclerosis
and thus also coronary heart disease. But many studies have shown that people
whose blood cholesterol is low become just as atherosclerotic as people whose
cholesterol is high.
Another
irony is that the only effective way to lower cholesterol medically is with
drugs, but neither heart mortality, nor total mortality, has been improved with
drugs. Dr. Uffe Ravenskov states that, "A calculation of the risk of high
LDL-cholesterol that ignores other risk factors is called a univariate analysis
and is, of course, meaningless” (Ravenskov).
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Saturated fatty acid molecule is bad for Cholesteral levels. |
In
fact, about 85% of total body cholesterol is produced by the body due to factors
other than food. Only 15% of body cholesterol comes from food. So it is very
possible for some people to eat foods high in cholesterol and still have low
blood cholesterol levels and other people to eat foods low in cholesterol and
have a high blood cholesterol level.
This
is partially hereditary, but also because there are factors that negatively
affect cholesterol levels other than diet. These include high levels of stress,
which can raise total cholesterol levels, and cigarette smoking, which can lower
a person's HDL level as much as 15 percent.
A
common natural substance to lower cholesterol levels is nicotinic acid, which is
the vitamin, niacin. However, niacin is not recommended for people with liver
disease or abnormalities of the liver so Seyed was unable to take this vitamin
(Kowalski). Psyllium seed is also effective in lowering cholesterol levels, and
since Seyed had complained of digestive problems and his iris showed intestinal
toxins, I recommend that he take a tablespoon of psyllium seeds every day in
water or juice.
I
also gave Seyed an herbal mixture that would address his other health problems
as well as assist him in lowering his cholesterol levels. I put Wood Betony in
his tea to reduce his headaches and relax him in the evening. Wood betony also
has the side effect of reducing cholesterol levels. I added nettles to his tea
as a blood cleanser and cholesterol reducer and comfrey as an herb that
effectively heals lung tissue in smokers and assists one to stop smoking. I
added dandelion and blessed thistle to the mixture to nurture his liver and also
lower cholesterol levels. I added agrimony for his eyestrain and also taught him
some of the Bates eye exercises to relax his strained eyes. Topically I showed
him how to rinse his eyes with calendula tea once a day to reduce eyestrain and
heal the eyes.
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High cholesteral is big business now. |
Unlike
medications for high cholesterol, many herbs for high cholesterol actually
benefit the body in many other ways. Hawthorne berry, for instance will slowly
eat away cholesterol deposits and provide relief from hypertension. However, it
is also an important herb for the heart and circulatory system. Pectin, found in
apples and quince, increases the excretion of lipids, cholesterol and bile
acids, and reduces serum cholesterol levels. Plantain seed (psyllium) lowers
cholesterol but is also an effective weight loss herb as well as an intestinal
cleanser. Fenugreek seed contains saponins, which inhibit the intestinal
absorption of cholesterol. Fenugreek also normalizes blood sugar levels, is good
for the heart and stabilizes hormonal levels as well. Turmeric, another common
cooking herb, decreases cholesterol levels but also protects the liver by
detoxification, stimulating the gall bladder and scavenging free radicals. Milk
thistle (also known as blessed thistle), a folk remedy for liver complaints
contains silymarin that not only protects liver cells by preventing the actions
of toxic substances but that it also stimulate protein synthesis to accelerate
the regeneration and production of liver cells.
Sources:
