Albert Lee asked:


If you want to lower and maintain your cholesterol level, the best thing for you to do is to turn to a natural diet. It’s simple, convenient and best of all, available in large quantities.

By simply reducing the amount of processed foods in your diet, you can significantly lower your blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart diseases. Here are some of the sources of natural foods to add to your diet and help lower your cholesterol:

1. Fiber

Some of the best sources of fiber are found in whole grains, cereals and oatmeal. For a natural diet, choose unprocessed grains and wheat bran for more roughage and high fiber content. Fiber is effective in lowering cholesterol levels and keeping your intestines from absorbing too much fat and sugar.

How much to get: a cup of natural fiber is enough to help lower your cholesterol level by about 5%. Go for cereals that contain oats, psyllium, flaxseed or whole grains.

2. Soy

Soy is another food product that can be easily integrated into your daily diet to lower your cholesterol. While some soy products undergo processing, they retain the healthful qualities that make soy a favorite among heart-watchers.

The reason is probably because of naturally-occurring compounds known as isoflavones, which have been shown to regulate the levels of cholesterol in the body. A study conducted in 1998 showed that isoflavones helped lower cholesterol levels from 5% to 10%.

How much to get: a natural diet to lower cholesterol should contain at least 25g of soy protein daily. Soy protein can be found in soy milk, tofu, tempeh and soy meat substitutes.

3. Fish

Fish contain a type of good fat known as Omega-3 fatty acids. These keep the blood from clotting, making sure that blood flow is smooth and healthy. Omega-3s are also known for keeping blood fat levels low.

How much to get: serve broiled, baked or grilled fish at least 3 times a week. It’s also a good idea to substitute fish for other animal protein meals when dining out to keep your natural diet low in cholesterol. Choose fatty fish such as albacore, sardines, herring and salmon and serve baked, grilled or steamed.

Darrell Miller asked:


Guggul is a natural herb supplement that may help lower cholesterol, yet few in the Western hemisphere know much about it. Guggul is otherwise known as the Mukul myrrh tree, and is a plant of the Burseracae family with small red or pink flowers.

It is found across central Asia over to North Africa, although is very common in the northern areas of India where the climate is more semi-arid than equatorial. Guggul does not like a lot of water and can thrive in ground where the soil has few nutrients. Its Latin name is Commiphora wightii, and it grows about 12 feet high.

It has been predominantly used in the Ayurvedic medicine of ancient India, and like many such ancient remedies and treatments, is now used in modern medicine to treat specific conditions: conditions such as some forms of heart condition, where it has been found to be able to lower your blood cholesterol levels, weight loss and some forms of arthritis and other inflammatory conditions.

However, it has been used so successfully over the years, particularly in India, which it is now in danger of extinction and is contained in the Red Data List of the World Conservation Union that lists endangered species. So what is so special about this plant that makes it so popular? To get the answer to that we have to go back a bit in its history, although not quite as far as the two or three thousand years that it is known to have been used in traditional Hindu medicine.

The active ingredient is found in the sap of the tree, and is used to fight against obesity and other diseases that can be caused by excess weight or cholesterol, such as arthritis, obesity and atherosclerosis. Until recently it has had very little support for its claims from conventional medicine. It was in the 1960s that an ancient Sanskrit text was found that recommended guggul as a treatment for high cholesterol levels. Since that discovery, research has focused on the plant’s anti-cholesterol properties, and a great deal of evidence has been gathered supporting the claims of that ancient text.

So much so that the Indian government has approved the use of guggul for the treatment of high cholesterol levels, largely because it has been found very effective in reducing the levels of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol in the blood while increasing the levels of the beneficial HDL cholesterol. Several trials have supported this, including one study involving 228 patients that showed the extract to be equally as effective as the anti-cholesterol drug clofibrate.

That is not all, and other studies included one in which a decrease in LDL cholesterol of almost 13% was measured in a double blind study involving 61 subjects, of which around half received a placebo. An average 12.7% reduction in LDL cholesterol, 12% in triglycerides and 11.7% in total cholesterol was experienced by the group given the guggul extract. Every 1% drop in total cholesterol is associated with a 2% decrease in the risk of heart disease.

Guggul reduces the levels of harmful cholesterol in your blood by converting it into bile. The plant extract contains substances given the name guggulsterones that block the activity of a protein that regulates the metabolism of cholesterol in your body known as FXR (the Farsenoid X Receptor). This protein can increase the risk of you contracting heart disease by preventing the liver from converting cholesterol into bile acids, so that the concentration of cholesterol in your blood continues to build up.

The problem with bile acids is that once they reach a certain concentration in your body, the FXR comes into play and stops more being produced. Guggulsterones prevent the FXR from doing this, and so helps the liver to destroy more cholesterol. There is a reason for the body not allowing too much bile acid to be generated, but for those with excess cholesterol, it is more beneficial for this regulation to be prevented, and more cholesterol to be destroyed by the liver.

It is the resin of the plant that is prized, being extracted from the bark in much the same way as rubber is tapped. It is also used in fragrances and perfumes in addition to its medicinal uses, and the dosage generally recommended is 1500 mg (1.5 grams) twice daily. However, it is not recommended for those suffering liver disease, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease or any form of diarrhea, and should not be taken by those on beta blockers.

It is not only for its cholesterol-lowering properties that guggul is prized, however. Another property it possesses is its ability to render blood platelets less sticky, and so reduce the risk of coronary disease, and prevent the formation of blood clots and thrombosis.

Another use it has found is in the field of weight loss, where it has been found effective in reducing the weight of obese adults. It does so by the activation of lipolytic enzymes and increased levels of triiodothyronine (T3), believed to be due to the formation of T3 from T4 (thyroxine) in the liver.

T3 increases the metabolic rate, and the rate of the breakdown of glycogen and gluconeogenesis: the biosynthesis of glucose. It also causes cholesterol to be broken down and increases the rate of lipolysis – the breakdown of fats stored in fat cells in the body. Studies have shown that those taking guggul lost up to 6 times the weight of a control group within 15 days, and the practice is going along with the theory.

Not only that, but when you are on a diet, your body is likely to respond by decreasing levels of triiodothyronine, and so reducing the rate at which fat burns. Hence, your diet does not help you top reduce weight as quickly as it could. Guggul, however, stimulates the production of T3, and so you are not only taking less fat into your body, but are also burning it up at an accelerated rate.

Other uses to which the resin has been put are based upon its anti-inflammatory properties. It has been found to be an effective treatment for some forms of arthritis and also in the treatment of acne. The active inflammatory ingredient is believed to be myrrhanol A, a polypodane-type triterpene, which would also explain the antioxidant effect of guggulipid on lipid peroxidation.

Guggul is a versatile plant, and a good supplement to take for anybody suffering increased lipid or cholesterol levels, and who wants to increase the weigh-loss effect of their diet. However, make sure that you purchase a supplement standardized on its guggulipid content.

Andrew Bicknell asked:


High cholesterol is a condition that can be treated one of two ways; through lifestyle changes based on diet and exercise and in more extreme cases with prescription drugs used in conjunction with the first two. No matter the ways used to lower cholesterol not taking care of the problem creates dangers that can be life threatening. Raised cholesterol levels can lead to atherosclerosis (a hardening of the arteries), which puts you at risk for heart disease and stroke.

If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol here are 5 ways you can lower your levels without the use of prescription drugs.

1. Eat a healthy diet – Your diet has a large impact on your cholesterol levels. A diet low in Trans fats and saturated fats is key because these two substances are the biggest contributor to high blood cholesterol levels. This change alone can have a large impact on what you levels do.

2. Start exercising – Exercise builds up your cardiovascular system which is essential to reversing the dangerous effects caused by high cholesterol.

3. Quit smoking – Smoking accelerates the rate at which dangerous plaques build up in your arteries. These plaques block the flow of blood causing your heart to work harder and raising your blood pressure. This can cause a heart attack or if a plaque breaks loose it can cause a clot and a stroke.

4. Reduce stress – Learning to relax can have a positive effect on cholesterol levels. Stress can contribute to high levels of cholesterol even when you are eating a low fat low cholesterol diet.

5. Visit with your doctor – As more is learned about cholesterol and its effects on your health doctors are becoming more in tune with the proper way to treat this dangerous problem. Most doctors will recommend changes in diet and exercise before they prescribe cholesterol lowering medications. In more extreme cases drugs will be prescribed along with lifestyle changes. In many cases once your cholesterol is under control there is a good chance that medications can be discontinued.

If you adhere to these 5 ways to lower cholesterol you will soon see an improvement in your levels along with your overall health.