Chris Daino asked:


It has been known for years that increased levels of niacin in the blood stream is a very effective way of reducing cholesterol levels without the need of additional drugs. Numerous medical and university studies have shown that niacin lowers overall cholesterol levels.

These studies show that niacin reduces the bad cholesterol (LDL) by 10-20%, reduces triglycerides (fat in the blood) by 20-50% and raises the good cholesterol (HDL) by 15 to 35%.

Niacin accomplishes these changes naturally in the following ways:

1) It reduces the breakdown of fat from fat cells which is the source of raw material used by the liver to create excess triglyceriedes.

2) It inhibits the liver from converting sugar to triglycerides.

3) It inhibits the liver from creating the building blocks of the bad cholesterol (VLDL) and thus as a result the bad cholesterol drops naturally.

4) Virtually every study done on niacin has shown it to increase good cholesterol and which then picks up the excess bad cholesterol in your blood and takes it back to your liver for disposal. The higher the good cholesterol, the less bad cholesterol you’ll have in your blood.

In a study called the “Coronary Drug Project” which ran for 6 years and included 3908 patients to study the effects of niacin besides lowering both triglycerides and cholesterol levels there were other astonishing results:

The study found that the use of niacin led to a 14% reduction in non fatal heart attack, a 26% reduction in damage to blood vessels in the brain (stroke or blockage) and a 47% reduction in the need for coronary artery bypass surgery.

Unfortunately, the use of niacin to bring down cholesterol levels never became popular due to the high amounts of niacin needed, which created side effects due to “niacin flush”. (Niacin cannot be confused with niacinaide or nictoinamide which does not cause flushing and does not lower cholesterol levels).

peterhutch asked:


Cholesterol is an important substance we all need for our body to function properly. But in this case to much of something is not a good thing and high levels of cholesterol can be dangerous to your long term health. If you have high cholesterol it is a good idea to lower it to more normal levels and the best way to do this is through diet.

The cholesterol in blood comes from two main sources: the foods we eat and what we manufacture. Cholesterol levels that are too high or too low in the blood can be a very dangerous factor, often leading to a heart attack or a stroke. There are many people who take statin drugs to reduce their cholesterol. However, there are many natural foods that you can eat to help lower cholesterol safely and naturally without the use of dangerous statin drugs.

Cholesterol is an important substance that the body uses to create and maintain cell wall membranes and manufacture many of the hormones we need to keep the body functioning. But high levels of cholesterol in the blood stream can lead to atherosclerosis which is a narrowing and hardening of the arteries. This in turn can lead to high blood pressure, clogged arteries, and blood clots.

Reducing saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet is the foundation of the TLC diet. The strongest nutritional influence on serum LDL cholesterol levels is saturated fats. There is also a dose response relationship between saturated fats and LDL cholesterol levels. For every 1% increase in calories from saturated fats as a percent of total energy, serum LDL cholesterol increases roughly 2%.

One of the reasons your body produces Cholesterol is a self preservation tactic. Your arteries develop cracks and stress factures as a natural occurrence. Your body must patch these cracks and factures or you will bleed to death. The substance of choice for your body to use is Collagen. However, if the raw ingredients needed aren’t present in sufficient quantities to produce this miraculous elixir, cholesterol can also be used instead.

Foods to avoid include fried, battered, crumbed, fatty takeaways, fast foods, sausages, luncheon and processed meats, pastries, pies etc. Others are cream, cakes, biscuits, puddings, ice cream, chocolates, hot chips.

There must always be a balance including fresh vegetables and/or salad whenever you decide to have meat or fish. Chicken is not good for you, if it is fried and if it is to be consumed it is important to remove the skin.

A good breakfast for your sample diet to lower cholesterol should include oatmeal or oat bran and fruits. You can alternate it with cereal and low-fat milk or whole grain products, such as wheat bread. If you use butter or margarine, you may want to replace it with sterol-fortified margarine, instead. For the drinks, you can take sterol-fortified juices, skim milk or water. Vitamin supplement may also be taken in the morning.

Andrew Bicknell asked:


If you are looking for ways lower cholesterol levels can be obtained then you are apparently concerned that your levels are too high. This is good as high cholesterol can lead to serious health risks including high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, and stroke.

Maintaining a healthy body and mind is not that hard if you are aware of the choices you make when it comes to your own lifestyle. What you eat and your general activity levels both play major roles in how high your cholesterol may be. The problem most people have is setting aside the fast food pre-processed meals lifestyle so predominate in our society today.

There are two types of cholesterol found in your blood stream. HDL (high density lipoproteins) and LDL (low density lipoproteins) cholesterols. What many people don’t understand is that there is a difference between the two, thus HDL is known as the “good” cholesterol and LDL is the “bad” cholesterol.

High levels of LDL in the blood stream are large risk factor for the health problems listed above. This type of cholesterol forms plaques, or partial blockages, in the arteries. This obstructs blood flow, making the heart work harder and raising blood pressure. In a worst case it can completely block your arteries causing a heart attack. These plaques can also break lose as a circulating blood clot until they lodge in a smaller artery causing a stroke.

This is where HDL cholesterol can help. Many times high LDL levels mean low HDL levels, which is the opposite of you want. High Density Lipoproteins help keep LDL levels low because they work to remove it from the blood stream. HDL works as a sort of sponge in that it gathers up excess LDL cholesterol and delivers it to the liver which then removes it from the body.

This ability to control these types of cholesterol is directly related to the foods you eat. By avoiding high fat and processed foods you can begin to change your health. Saturated fats, hydrogenated fats, and Trans fats are all cholesterol bombs, just waiting to do their dirty work in your arteries. This is also true of any fried foods, which need to be avoided.

Instead you want to eat lots of high fiber foods along with fruits, vegetables, and lean cuts of meat. In fact foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids are a great choice. Omega-3’s can be found in seafood, with salmon being a good source, and with flax seed. You can also buy it in supplement form.

There are many ways lower cholesterol affects your overall health. But the bottom line is if you do have high cholesterol you need to take action before your long term health is seriously affected.