Lower Your Cholesterol Levels Without Drugs

Are you sitting on the fence? Use food as your medicine, otherwise medicine will become your food

As a seasoned Pharmacologist AND Food Scientist I have a unique perspective on the utility of both medicine and food. My doctoral thesis, written in 1992, focused on the development of new drugs to lower cholesterol levels.  It was a time when Statins were initially developed but had numerous undesirable side effects. They were designed for people with extremely high cholesterol levels, possibly caused by mutations that affect clearance of the "bad" cholesterol, LDL. They were so effective at lowering cholesterol levels that doctors started prescribing them to anyone with even modestly high cholesterol levels.  We are now seeing a backlash from patients who refuse to tolerate the side effects: myalgia (muscle pain), memory loss (neurons in the brain need cholesterol to provide fluidity that enables them to communicate with one another) and loss of blood sugar control. When we train the liver to inhibit cholesterol synthesis it may respond by kicking out glucose from its glycogen stores into the blood.

In early Nov. 2018 I had a major reality check. Over the past three decades I've watched my total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels slowly inch higher and higher.  This year they finally made it in to the red zone (see chart below).  Since I am fitness enthusiast and at a healthy weight my blood pressure is still in a healthy range but higher than usual.  I also have healthy levels of HDL cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol) and triglycerides but the non-HDL cholesterol (all forms of cholesterol that are NOT good) is officially in the statin prescribing zone.

I know that a high fiber diet that is low in saturated fat will help but what else can I do to make sure that my Primary Care Doctor (the awesome Dr. Vincent Codella) doesn't whip out the prescription pad? Right after Thanksgiving I pulled out all the stops to do a ten-day cleanse (no cheating) using the Clear Change® 10 Day Detox Program. The process is fairly straight forward and is based on clean eating, NOT fasting. For ten days you may eat fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish (no shellfish), healthy fats, water and tea in unlimited quantities. You may also eat nuts (but no peanuts) and seeds, gluten-free grains and free-range poultry but only on certain days. You must completely eliminate sugar, dairy, gluten, coffee, alcohol and any genetically modified (GMO) crops such as corn and soy. My results were amazing!

Missing out on Happy Hour after an intense week at the office was tough but so worth it. My total cholesterol decreased from 213 to 160 mg/dL, my LDL cholesterol decreased from 132 to 89 mg/dL and the non-HDL cholesterol decreased from 148 to well under 100 mg/dL.  My HDL cholesterol, which was already pretty good, increased a bit and my triglycerides dropped from 78 to 42 mg/dL. The Clear Change Program was already a tool that I rely on to improve the health of just about all of my patients but my own data convinced me that this is probably one of the most practical holistic strategies to correct biomarkers of human health. It is designed to eliminate toxins from the body by improving liver and kidney function, the two organs we rely on specifically for this purpose. Although it is not designed for weight loss it is the perfect tool to launch a weight loss journey or to promote a change in body composition when your metabolism has plateaued. 

A new year means a new you. It is a perfect time to commit to our 10-Day Clear Change program. Get your organs firing on all cylinders, remove toxins such as heavy metals, lower your blood sugar and of course, improve your cholesterol levels. If you'd like to learn more about this detoxification program then book an appointment today at EGGLRock Nutrition. Most insurance plans accepted.