You may have heard of people who have “inherited” or “genetic” hypercholesterolemia or very high cholesterol.
When you truly have the genetic kind, you have a defect on chromosome 19 – unfortunately too many people are walking around saying that high cholesterol runs in the family and that they are all predisposed to hypercholesterolemia. This really is not true at all, most times they are just eating a poor diet causing lipid readings to be out of kilter. As you can see – it is a genetic defect and this is generally picked up in children, not middle age.
So what we often refer to as ‘genetically inherited’ raised cholesterol is nothing of the kind. This particular genetic variant is in fact quite rare. So relax if you have raised cholesterol, there is MUCH more to this subject than meets the eye, but I can only touch on it here. In fact hyperlipidemia on its own (raised blood fats or LDL) is actually ‘relative’. What does ‘raised’ mean anyway – who decides what’s healthy and what’s dangerous or how high is too high? The drug companies? It could mean raised according to someone’s decision to call a particular reading ‘high’ in order to sell you a drug, when in fact for you personally, this reading could be completely normal and benign. Like having blue eyes or brown eyes.
The thing to be concerned about is not the LDL (so-called ‘bad’ cholesterol’) but rather your triglyceride levels – and especially triglycerides in relation to HDL levels.
When these blood fats are raised, and your so-called ‘good’ cholesterol – HDL – is low, that’s when one needs to be concerned. At the same time, there is no need for drug therapy here, this requires lifestyle and dietary modification! No drug can adequately deal with this – it’s what goes into your mouth that makes the difference. You DO want to address these levels as they are key players in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, obesity, Alzheimer’s, hypertension etc and this is done with your knife and fork, and how you live.
You may be unaware of this finding, but taking statin drugs to lower cholesterol actually raises your risk of diabetes, and bring a world of misery with them. I do not believe they are the answer for a second and I’d be the last person on this earth to ever take a statin drug. Diabetes is a serious disease, and with studies showing your chances of developing diabetes on statins rise by a whopping 50% – you’d have to be insane to swop one relatively benign condition (high LDL) for a serious life-threatening disease like diabetes (see study here).
Lifestyle tips to lower triglycerides and raise HDL:
- Don’t smoke
- Do some exercise
- Eat a low-carbohydrate diet
- Lose weight if you are overweight
- Stop all refined carbs, sugar and seed oils
- Eat whole, real food – avoid processed food
- Eat plenty of natural, healthy fats, never seed oils/vegetable oils or margarine
- Avoid alcohol or drink very moderately
- Eat high-fibre foods, and take a Psyllium Husks supplement daily
- Examine your medications, chat to your doctor, many have adverse effects
- Read award-winning The Low-Carb Creed (available on special here) with plenty of information on how to further deal with this problem, understand your readings etc
Dietary Tips
- Avoid dairy products (high in sugar and hormones) but continue to eat real butter
- Eat plenty of garlic and onions daily for their powerful protective properties
- Eat foods high in fibre (NOT from grains) from fibrous vegetables or use Psyllium Husks
- Include heart-healthy Extra Virgin Olive Oil daily
- Use Organic Apple Cider Vinegar in GLASS daily
- Eat plenty of omega-3-rich fatty fish several times a week
- Avoid things which raise cholesterol like: sugar, refined carbohydrates, grains, alcohol, hydrogenated fats, trans fats, all vegetable and seed oils, caffeine in excess,
Foods to Improve Hyperlipidemia
Foods to avoid, and those to include in your diet to improve the situation:
AVOID |
INCLUDE |
| Seed oils, hydrogenated fats, trans fats | Extra virgin olive oil, real butter, coconut oil |
| Sugar, grains (increase cholesterol output) | Fatty fish, fish oil supplements (pure) |
| If possible, dairy products (excl butter) | Garlic, onions – raise HDL, clean arteries |
| Feedlot animal products with hormones | Organic, free-range, pasture-fed animals |
| Soya – toxic and dangerous | Organic herbs, spices & apple cider vinegar |
| Alcohol – raises LDL and triglycerides | Water for good hydration; herbal teas |
| All processed food of any kind | Real, whole food high in natural fibre |
Supplements Which Help
- 2-3g Pure, very high quality omega 3 fish oil daily (not flaxseed oil) containing EPA/DHA
- Glucochrom (containing chromium) 200-1000mcg a day
- Pure Hydrolysed Collagen – 2 tablespoons a day
- Milk Thistle – 500-1,500mg a day
- Psyllium Husks – take a teaspoon to a tablespoon a few times a day with plenty of extra water
- Bear Paw Garlic (especially if you have hypertension as well) 1-6 caps a day
- Organic Basil, Organic Rosemary and Organic Turmeric are all very helpful here
- Increase niacin-rich foods (Vit B3): liver, mushrooms, grass-fed beef, avocado, fish
- Don’t forget the Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar
NB:
You will find all these very high-quality nutritional supplements in my ONLINE store here www.sallyanncreed.co.za/shop
As always in all serious disease, check with your qualified healthcare provider first.
You can simply click on the name of each product mentioned above (in bold) and a hyperlink will take you directly to the product for an easy purchase.
Originally published on https://www.facebook.com/SallyAnnCreedSA/ on 23 March 2018.
