Lower Cholesterol and Triglycerides!
Cholesterol and Triglycerides have a LOT to do with our Heart Health! We’re going to talk today about how to lower Cholesterol and Triglycerides without taking a prescription drug with all the side effects!
Before we can take steps to turn any health issue around and be successful, we have to first know everything we can about it.
What IS cholesterol?
What are TRIGLYCERIDES?
IS THERE A WAY to get these numbers where they should BE by using diet and lifestyle?
Well, let’s check that out together and then YOU decide.
CHOLESTEROL IS: A waxy substance that gets into our artery walls.
The higher our cholesterol gets (and the longer it stays above where it’s supposed to be) the thicker that wax build up gets.
The opening in the artery walls gets smaller and smaller and smaller … until BAM! It’s blocked AND THAT IS DEADLY!
So WE MUST get our cholesterol down!
We CAN DO THAT … and do it without those deadly statin drugs! It was the statin drug Crestor that put Billy on crutches for a week just about one month ago AND the very same thing happened to a close friend within no time of being put on Crestor.
When I researched to be be sure I had my facts straight about the dangers of Crestor, I found it also shuts down the kidneys, so I stopped mine too. Because guess who’s kidney function was down to 33% and my doctor was talking alarm bells and extensive tests? ME!!! My kidney function returned within just a very few days of stopping Crestor SO – 2 coincidences in one house with the same drug? I doubt it! And that close friend who was also unable to walk … was also ok soon after dropping that drug.
There are 2 types of lipoproteins that carry cholesterol in the blood… LDL, which is bad and HDL, which is good.
It is crucial that your total cholesterol be under 200! Your LDL less than 100 and your HDL above 60…
For every 1% drop in your cholesterol you have a 2% decrease in the chances you’ll have a heart attack.
Now that’s what they SAY … but we also read that it isn’t so much the cholesterol number but the consistency of the blood and condition of the arteries. More about that in another blog.
JUST WALKING has a major impact on lowering your cholesterol, but you MUST be consistent!
Walk 20 to 30 minutes at least 5 times a week – just the act of walking that much will reduce your heart disease risk by 30% within weeks!
TRIGLYCERIDES ARE: A sugary related blood fat that travels with cholesterol – aiding in the blockage of your arteries.
Your heart attack risk is TWICE AS HIGH if your triglycerides level is above 250. AND reducing your sugar and high carb intake is the quickest and best way to lower your triglycerides! Weight loss will naturally lower cholesterol and triglycerides.
Normal triglycerides are about 150 … borderline high is 150-199. Very high triglycerides are 500 or above – YIKES!!!
Now doctors can tell you all of the above – but they’re going to tell you the only way to get these numbers down is with that little pill that want to give you. But that’s not SO! Those pills – way too often – cause way more harm than they do good.
THE BEST WAY to get our numbers where they should be, is to get off our lazy rear ends and just work on our diet and walking and bring these things down naturally.
Your whole body will be TONS TONS TONS better on a healthy diet and walking program than taking those cholesterol/triglyceride lowering drugs. THIS IS TRUE!
OK – It’s winter and too cold to walk outside. You work long hours! You don’t want to go to a gym! You can’t afford or don’t have room for a treadmill. So you think you can’t walk until spring. BUT YES YOU CAN!!!
When you watch tv in the evening – just during a ONE HOUR PROGRAM – every time a commercial comes on – just get up out of your recliner and walk or jog in front of the tv during that commercial.
If you’re gonna walk just step high and fast. Do you know – that during a one hour program you have about 20-30 minutes of advertising? Well now isn’t that convenient? That’s just about how much time we need. We won’t even miss that 20-30 minutes out of our day – because it has blended right in with our normal day AND we’re still – watching TV.
FOODS TO RAISE HDL:
Nuts and Seeds, including – pistachios, peanuts, flax and sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews, almonds and WALNUTS which are said to be the best of all.
DID YOU KNOW – that just 12-15 walnuts a day if eaten consistently over a period of 3 months – will reduce the risk of stroke and clogging arteries by a whopping 70%?
They will also – lower overall cholesterol – raise HDL – improve your memory and brain fog – keep your sugar level and where it should be.
It will decrease your appetite – give you an energy boost – improve depression and dementia – improve circulation.
I buy the Fischers Walnuts at Walmart and we just keep a bowl on the stove and grab 4 of 5 about 3 or 4 times a day – it’s that easy.
Healthy oils – and VIRGIN Olive Oil is the best – has more vitamins and nutrients in it but NEVER buy the lite Olive oil. Peanut oil, Sunflower, and canola are also good. Just 2 TBSP a day on salads or used in any way in your food.
Whole Grains: oats, oat bran, whole wheat, brown rice (my favorite) quinoa, barley…
Fruits And Veggies are good and best raw or steamed. You get TONS more nutrients that way. But remember the probiotics from last week…you have to be sure you’re digesting those foods or they won’t do you any good.
Foods with fiber: nuts, seeds, whole grains, fruits and veggies. They will all help block the cholesterol and fat from being absorbed into the intestinal walls and bloodstream. Bananas, peaches, apples, berries, and beans are all good, but watch any fruits with too much sugar. It’s always something … isn’t it?
Lean Protein: Beans, VERY lean beef, chicken and fish.
FOODS TO LOWER LDL CHOLESTEROL: First of all – foods that will raise your HDL will also lower your LDL – now isn’t that handy? But you need high fiber foods – the nuts, seeds, grains, fruits and veggies.
And did you know that Oats and beans are both so high in fiber they will work as a cleanser in the bloodstream and help to dislodge and sweep away those cholesterol deposits. We’re just coming up with all kinds of handy things aren’t we?
We need to be eating about 2 servings of fish a week too, because it’s high in Omega-3 and will help lower cholesterol and help your BP and reduce your risk of blood clots. And that good fish includes – mackerel, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon.
Use only SOFT margarine. Hard butters and margarines will go right into the system and harden again. And goodness, we don’t want THAT do we? We use Smart Balance – recommended for cholesterol problems by my cardiologist. But guess what? Amish healer, Solomon Wickey always said never ever use anything but real butter. So what do we do … what DO we do?
HEALTHY LIVER:
OK – now to have good cholesterol and triglycerides and to lose weight or have a normal weight – keep our sugar level in balance and keep our whole body functioning properly, we have to have a healthy LIVER. GOOD LIVER FUNCTION is absolutely CRUCIAL to good health!!!
Every single thing that you eat or drink is eventually filtered through the liver. And we hear of so many having fatty livers or liver damage and that comes about when we’ve had too much garbage. And not just alcohol like we’ve heard connected to bad livers, but sugar, dairy or anything else that isn’t healthy – in excess – will cause problems with liver function.We’ll be out and about and I’ll see someone with a huge protruding tummy and I’ll say “I wish I could go tell him/her they have severe liver problems.
If it’s a high tummy and not just a drooping fat tummy, but a high and really protruding tummy – it is a sign of severe liver problems Lots of blemishes is usually a sign that a person has a blinky liver.
Fish Oil can help to prevent the buildup of fat in the liver, improve sugar levels and is a good anti-inflammatory.
We see all of this in the news about wine and heart health. BUT DO YOU REALIZE those findings were the birth child of the wine MAKERS? Wine is made from grapes – right? And GRAPES are the health giving ingredient in these wines!!! Grapes are loaded with flavonoids and resversatrol. WELCH’S 100%GRAPE JUICE will reduce the risk of blood clots, help maintain a healthy BP, reduces bad cholesterol and relaxes the blood vessels.
A group of 15 patients who already showed signs of heart disease – including plaque constricted arteries – were asked to drink a tall glass of grape juice daily for 14 days. After just 14 days – blood tests revealed that LDL was significantly reduced and an ultrasound on each one showed changes in their artery walls indicating their blood was flowing more freely and all you need is 12 oz of 100% Welch’s Grape Juice a day. And you could use that for a quick snack by drinking 4 ounces 3 times a day.
Green Tea is good for the liver – but not the bottled green tea. That bottled green tea is foo foo green tea. To get benefits from green tea you need the tea bags and brewed green tea OR pure green tea extract…
Curcumin – which is just turmeric – the kitchen spice, really – is so good for the liver. But goodness it’s yucky unless you take the supplements or put it in another food.
I hope you all have an absolutely grand and groovy day! Think healthy – eat healthy, walk and BE healthy.
Talk to ya tomorrow, Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise! Peace and love!