We’ll get right into it here. If you are worried about high cholesterol levels and would like to take a natural approach to lowering them before getting put on pharmaceutical statins by your doctor, read on!
In addition to these ways to try to lower your cholesterol levels naturally, keep in mind that there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that cholesterol levels may not be such a significant risk factor for heart disease or mortality as once thought. As typical with much of our medical dogma, it became popular to demonize cholesterol based on one particular study conducted in 1977 (over 40 years ago) which found an association between high LDL levels in the blood and heart disease mortality. Years and decades later however, further analysis of the data in that study and additional studies on the subject, including a meta-analysis of the last four decades of research, found much more conflicting results, often times showing better survival rates with higher LDL levels! You can read more about this here and here.
Additionally, it should be noted that enough subsequent studies on the subject have found no association between dietary cholesterol, that is the cholesterol you consume when eating animal products such as eggs and beef, and blood levels of cholesterol. Even the slow to move US Government has withdrawn recommendations (warnings) about consuming dietary cholesterol, saying that it is no longer a concern. So if you’re still thinking about that old dogma when thinking about your cholesterol levels, time to re-examine!
Anyways, if you’d like to lower your LDL to keep your doctor happy, and want a holistic, natural approach that benefits your entire cardiovascular system, let’s go!
#1 – EAT MORE FIBER (salads). Of course the body is extremely good at regulating cholesterol levels, but it does require fiber to do so. This is because cholesterol is cleared by the body through bile secreted by the gallbladder, but the cholesterol present in the bile needs to bind to fiber within the digestive tract in order to clear out of the body and not be re-absorbed into the body in the large intestine. This is a big one, and the RDA for fiber (30g per day) should be considered a bare minimum.
#2 – AVOID REFINED SEED OILS (like the plague). They’re all very high in omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids create excess cellular inflammation, and the body responds to excess inflammation by raising cholesterol. Excess inflammation on the cellular level prevents cells from functioning efficiently, which is another way of saying that it harms cellular metabolism. Damaged cellular metabolism impedes the ability of cells to process carbohydrates (glucose) properly. Under these conditions, glucose won’t be brought into and processed by cells very effectively and is left floating around the blood stream. Excess sugar in the blood stream creates more inflammation via several biochemical pathways, which leads specifically to very high levels of inflammation in the vascular system – imagine small cuts and rashes on the insides of your arteries. The body deals with this by raising cholesterol to ‘patch’ up the vascular system so we don’t hemorrhage to death.
These fats to be avoided, include any nut, seed, grain or bean oil. For example, margarine, soybean oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, wheat germ oil, peanut oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, canola oil, ‘vegetable’ oil and others. Margarine and Soybean oils are especially bad. These are not fats we would eat in any significant quantities in nature!
If it weren’t for the industrialization of these crops, these omega-6 fats could not be consumed in any appreciable quantities. Especially be mindful of food that is fried or cooked in these oils. This is why fried food and things like potato chips are so bad for you. It’s the type of oil used, much more than it is the processes of frying that kills you. Cook, fry or stir-fry with coconut oil or butter. Consume Olive Oil and Avocado Oily freely. And especially stay away from restaurant food that is deep fried.
Fats that are acceptable include grass-fed butter & cream, organic lard or tallow, and oils from fatty fruits such as coconut oil, avocado oil, and olive oil.
Other than nut, seed, grain or bean oils, the next major source of these omega-6 fats in our diet is consuming animal foods from animals that were raised on a diet of grains. Many studies have now shown that animals raised on their natural diets (grass for instance) contain much less omega-6 fats than animals raised on grains. This is why consuming high-quality, organic or grass-fed animal products is so important, and applies to meat, dairy and eggs.
The third major source of these omega-6 fats is grains themselves. For example whole wheat bread has 20 times more inflammatory omega-6 fats than it does anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats.
#3 – EAT MORE OMEGA-3 RICH FOODS. That’s primarily fish, and fish oil. These help to counter-balance omega-6 foods. Omega-3 fats have a powerful anti-inflammatory effect in the body. It’s an uphill battle if you‘ve been eating a diet rich in omega-6 fats your whole life, that’s why it’s important to both avoid the inflammatory omega-6 fats, and consume copious anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats. You can’t just do one or the other. For instance, eating deep fried fish isn’t going to do you any good.
#4 – CUT DOWN ON CARBS. When your metabolism is damaged from excessive cellular inflammation then carbohydrate consumption will increase inflammation further, and especially in the vascular system. Eat more saturated fat (fat from well-raised animals & coconut fats) and mono-unsaturated fat (avocado fats, olive oil), and much fewer carbohydrates, especially grains, as they’re a double-whammy of blood-glucose spiking carbohydrate paired with inflammatory omega-6 fats. If you want to dive into how and why the consensus on saturated fat being unhealthy has done a 180-degree reversal over the last decade, check out The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz or Death By Food Pyramid by Denise Minger.
#5 – EAT MORE RAW FRUITS AND VEG. You need the fiber, and the polyphenols in these foods really help quell inflammation. Especially helpful for the vascular system are pomegranates. So helpful they deserve their own section; there’s tons of research on how pomegranate is effective in preventing and reversing heart disease (consistently eating about half a pomegranate per day). Other specifics worth mentioning are RAW cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, brussel sprouts, cabbage, but especially broccoli sprouts), blueberries, strawberries, blackberries.
#6 SUPPLEMENT YOUR DIET these will really help, but don’t be fooled, you can’t out-supplement a bad diet! I’d highly recommend all of these, but they’re presented from most to least critical.
- You may have heard of CoQ10, but did you know that if you’re over 40, you’re much much better off taking the Ubiquinol form of CoQ10? After around the age of 40, your body’s ability to convert Ubqiunone (CoQ10) into it’s active form, Ubiquinol, goes down. Ubqiunol is my top recommendation for heart health, the evidence for it is very robust, in my opinion. I like QH Active form of Ubiquinol, you can get it from Amazon here.
- Arginine is an amino acid required by the body to dilate the vascular system. The ability to do this declines strongly as we age, and it’s important to give an older body extra Arginine in order to ensure a healthy and flexible vascular system. Take 2 on an empty stomach before bed and upon rising. You can purchase on Amazon here.
- About 40% of the junk lining the arteries of older individuals is actually calcium. Clearing out this calcium in our soft tissues is key to having a flexible, healthy vascular system. Vitamin K2 is a unique activator of enzymes in our body that clears calcium out of soft tissues and puts it into bones, and deficiencies of K2 are rampant. That’s because K2 is mostly manufactured by bacteria in our guts, there are very few food sources available (another reason grass-fed butter is a must), and due to antibiotic use and over-sanitation, most of us are not making much K2 anymore. You can find it here.
- Making sure you have proper B-Vitamins available is critical to keeping homocysteine levels low. Homocysteine is another major cause of inflammation in your vascular system. This formula of B-Vitamins in their proper forms along with a hefty dose of choline which as been associated with reduced risk of heart disease. Take two per day with food, here.
- Hawthorn has long been the herbalist’s go-to for dealing with cardiovascular disease. It has a history of use in traditional medicine that’s now been demonstrated quite thoroughly with modern science. It seems similar in effect to pomegranate. Take two per day with food. On Amazon here.
That’s it folks. As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.
