High Cholesterol - The Dangers Of Along With A Few Interesting Facts About Possible Solutions

Cholesterol has many advantages. For example it helps with digestion, is an essential component of hormone production, helps synthesize certain essential vitamins (vitamin D), plays a role in maintaining brain power, and in many ways is the glue that holds us together on a cellular level. But when it comes to our heart and arteries cholesterol can quite literally kill us.

The molecule we refer to as a lipoprotein cholesterol molecule originates in our intestines loops around the cardiovascular system on its way to the liver where it is loaded up with fatty cholesterol and then proceeds to work its way once again through our arteries.

The artery walls are designed to be smooth making it unlikely that dangerous artery clogging cholesterol will accumulate. But the truth is over time our arteries accumulate a number of tears, cracks, crevices, and chinks. As cholesterol travels through our arteries it gets trapped on the infinite number of chinks in the artery wall. Once cholesterol is firmly in place it attract others particles floating by and then forms a hard protective coating on top. This formation is known as a plaque deposit and if for some reason it breaks apart and produces a blood clot large enough to stop blood flow, or the deposit simply grows big enough to stop blood flow the result is a heart attack.

The generally accepted medical conclusion is that the more bad cholesterol (LDL) traveling through the bloodstream the greater the risk for plaque deposits and the higher the probability of heart attack.
Some would say that is interesting stuff but I have my secret weapon, and that is one of the cholesterol busting statin medications. So there is no reason to worry.

Doctors are crazy about these drugs and prescribe them every chance they get. In fact, more prescriptions for statin medications are written yearly than for any other prescription medication. But despite their popularity they do have a few flaws. Why don’t we explore some of these.

From a natural health perspective the fact that they reduce cholesterol by changing the amount of cholesterol the liver produces is a big bone of contention.

Naturopaths practicing either Chinese Herbal Medicine or those practicing Ayurvedic Medicine believe the liver to be the center of health due to its detoxifying properties. Thus either damaging, or interfering with liver function, increases toxins in the bloodstream and reduces overall health.

Another problem was laid out in a December 2007 clinical trial involving the new drug ezetimibe (Zetia) that showed taking the medicine, either alone or in combination with the statin drug simvastatin (Zocor), definitely reduced cholesterol levels, but also accelerated the buildup of arterial plaque for some people in the trial.

There are other problems as well, as were seen during the time the cholesterol busting statin Baycol was introduced into the market in 1998 and pulled from the market in August 2001. The result was at least 31 deaths caused by cholesterol levels which dropped to nearly zero (rhabdomyolysis). There were also thousands of lawsuits filed as well.

Perhaps this is the first you have heard about these risks. If so I’m sorry to rain on your parade but these are the facts.

Certainly, there are those who will benefit from statin medications and discussing any concerns you may have with your doctor is always a good idea.

There are also a number of all natural cholesterol lowering treatments which when combined with proper diet and doctor approved exercise can deliver excellent results without the risks. There is red yeast rice which works similar to some of the older statin medications and then there are herbal supplement blends which contain ingredients like policosanol, phytosterols, and lecithin oil that bind with cholesterol in the intestines and help the body eliminate excess amounts naturally.

In conclusion, too much cholesterol poses a real danger to your heart and cardiovascular system and can result in a heart attack or stroke. For some the answer will be found in prescription drugs, for others a more natural approach will be more to their liking. But whatever route you choose to take the important thing is not to put off controlling high cholesterol until it is too late.

Rob Hawkins is an enthusiastic consumer advocate for natural health and natural living
with over 10 years experience in the field.
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and homeopathic cholesterol reduction remedies

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