Lower Your Cholesterol
Author: Dan Ho

Lower Your Cholesterol
By Dan Ho , Alternative Health Correspondent


Heart disease is the number one killer in the Western world
today. More than 40% of men will die from it. What is
particularly disturbing is that strokes and heart attacks
are becoming much more common in younger men.

Witness the recent death of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher
Darryl Kile, who was felled in his prime, only 33 years
old. Although it seems counterintuitive, athletes, in fact,
can be even more vulnerable than the average person. When
men engage in vigorous exercise, they create an excess of
free radicals. These free radicals cause tremendous amounts
of damage to the body with devastating effects, one of which
is elevating their cholesterol.

But taking a powerful antioxidant such as Total Balance ,
available at http://HealthyBody.Xtend-Life.com, will help
neutralize these free radicals before damage occurs.
Nowadays, due to lifestyles, diet, and the deeper understanding
in the role that genetics plays, younger men should be acutely
aware of the importance of keeping their cholesterol at
optimum levels.

As an indication of this importance, one of the major
pharmaceutical companies is even in the process of seeking
FDA approval to provide a statin drug to children to lower
their cholesterol. Elevated cholesterol is considered the
best "marker" for potential heart disease and it is a
condition that 1 in 4 people have.

In order to prevent future problems, it is widely recommended
that you check your cholesterol levels and if they're "out of
line," take action to normalize them -- regardless of your age.

Are you at risk?

A common misconception is that people with high cholesterol
must be overweight or subsist on a diet of greasy burgers and
fries. The truth is that the amount of cholesterol you have in
your bloodstream is not directly related to your diet. I will
explain why momentarily.

Another prevailing and incorrect view is that only older people
need worry about their cholesterol levels. The reality is that
having a predisposition to high cholesterol and heart disease
are genetically influenced factors.

Elevated cholesterol levels can stalk even young men and women
who are in seemingly good shape and otherwise take care of
themselves. Indeed, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute advocates that the young, middle-aged, and old lower
their cholesterol, whether it be to prevent heart disease, or
because they already have it.

Therefore it's important to know your family history and,
accordingly, take prevention to ensure the health of your heart
for many years to come. But first, what exactly is this
"silent killer" known as cholesterol?

What is cholesterol?

It is important to understand that cholesterol itself is
essential to good health. Cholesterol is a non-soluble waxy
substance that your body needs for making hormones, cell walls
and nerve sheaths. However, there are two forms of cholesterol.

One form is called LDL -- or the "bad" cholesterol -- and the
other is HDL -- or the "good" cholesterol.

LDL transports the cholesterol to your cells, whereas HDL
travels around in your bloodstream picking up excess cholesterol
and taking it back to your liver for reprocessing, functioning
as a "garbage collector" of sorts. Too much LDL creates the
risk of clogging up your arteries, which can lead to heart
failure or stroke; not enough HDL will result in the same
problem due to inadequate "housekeeping."

Therefore, the most important figure to examine is not your
total cholesterol per se, but the ratio between the LDL and
HDL readings, and the levels of each type. You want the LDL
as low as possible and the HDL as high as possible.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends that
everyone over 20 have their cholesterol checked every 5 years.
For optimal health, total cholesterol should be less than 200,
whereas the LDL cholesterol remains at less than 100, and the
HDL greater than 60.

How's your diet?

Diet does not impact on your cholesterol levels as much as you
think it does. It is not that extra egg you have for breakfast
that raises your cholesterol appreciably. This is because
around 80% of your blood cholesterol is manufactured by your liver.

To improve your cholesterol levels, you must both slow down the
manufacture of cholesterol, and reduce the oxidation of LDL
while raising your HDL.

Apart from normal, sensible lifestyle improvements such as
better nutrition and more exercise, there are a couple of
proven strategies to return your cholesterol to its optimal level.

Option 1: Prescription Drugs

A range of drugs known as "statins" are widely used in the US
and other Western countries. In fact, they are currently the
most prescribed medicine in the world.

These drugs work by blocking an enzyme that the liver needs for
the manufacture of cholesterol. They have been proven effective
in reducing levels of LDL, but unfortunately they will not raise
levels of HDL (the good cholesterol). The downside is that there
are a large number of negative side effects such as liver damage,
fatigue, upset stomach, abdominal pains and cramps, gas and
constipation, and in the case of one statin drug -- "Baycol" --
large numbers of deaths.

An investigation into the side effect of statin drugs is being
conducted by the National Institute of Health. Discuss the pros
and cons of this medication very carefully with your physician
in the event of a statin drug being prescribed for you.

There is another treatment that has nothing but beneficial side
effects...

Option 2: Natural Treatments

Even though the general public hears very little about them,
there are effective natural alternatives to lowering one's
cholesterol, and such therapies exhibit no side effects. One
such brand is Xtend-Life Natural Cholesterol Formula , available
at http://HealthyBody.Xtend-Life.com.

The fascinating aspect of some of these natural options is that
some of the natural ingredients being used have been proven to
consistently and significantly outperform the statin drugs in
dozens of double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials and
studies. And with no negative side effects. (The only side
effects reported were weight loss.)

What to look for

Two key ingredients to look for in any natural cholesterol
product are Policosanol and Guggulipid Extract. Policosanol
is an extract from sugar cane wax and has been the subject
of multiple clinical trials, all of which have outperformed
the statins.

Guggulipid, on the other hand, is an ancient herb from India
extracted from the guggul tree. "The gum resin of the guggul
tree has been used in Indian Ayurvedic medicine since
approximately 600 BC to treat a wide variety of ailments,
including obesity and [cholesterol] disorders," writes author
David D. Moore, Ph.D., and professor of molecular and cell
biology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Moore goes on to state, "It really does lower cholesterol in
a number of clinical studies..." What Moore didn't mention
was that studies show an interesting added benefit from
Guggulipid: it has been more effective than prescription
tetracycline when used orally for treating nodulocystic
acne. It also assists in the lowering of Triglycerides and
weight loss.

Know what you're buying

With all of these benefits, it would seem that finding any
natural formula containing these two ingredients is a sure
bet. But take caution; there are many products currently on
the market claiming to use policosanol to lower cholesterol,
but are in fact using octacosanol, which is an incomplete
form of policosanol. Octacosanol does not exhibit the same
results as true policosanol in clinical trials.

The Xtend-Life Natural Cholesterol Formula uses only the
genuine policosanol extracted from sugar cane wax. When it
comes to your heart's health and longevity, don't settle for
sub-par supplements.

Courtesy of Xtend-Life Nutraceuticals ...
http://HealthyBody.Xtend-Life.com







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is compliments of Xtend-Life Nutraceuticals, Inc., manufacturer of the world's most scientifically advanced supplements.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------