Cholesterol Lowering Wisdom

Good & bad cholesterol, HDL, LDL’s – we love to make it complicated don’t we? It doesn’t have to be. Some important facts to begin.

1. Cholesterol is GOOD for you! Your body needs cholesterol to build cell membranes, vitamin D, hormones (e.g steroids), & bile acids.

2. Cholesterol levels that are ‘too low’ (i.e from medications) can be just as harmful as high cholesterol.
* Also, pharmaceutical drugs to treat cholesterol can compromise/harm the liver, which is the organ that is naturally (and ‘intelligently’) designed to purify the blood of toxins/excess cholesterol etc…so medication is not ideal long-term.

3. Plenty of people with ‘perfect cholesterol’ still have heart attacks.

The point is, our modern medical approach of simply medicating to reduce cholesterol is not perfect . According to the time-tested Eastern health system of Ayurveda, which understands that our body’s are ‘infinitely intelligent’, regulating healthy cholesterol is actually easy for our body if we observe a few key things.

Firstly, while most people focus on diet, exercise etc to reduce cholesterol (which is good), one of the the main problems in Western societies is ‘stress’. According to Ayurveda, cholesterol is generally only a problem when

i) undigested or improperly processed food (known as ‘ama’) is present. Ama blocks the body’s channels, preventing it from eliminating any excess cholesterol. OR

ii) the cholesterol gets oxidised – i.e subjected to free radical damage – this is what converts it into the harmful plaque-like structure that can lead to heart disease. Stress interferes with proper digestion (creating ama), and is one of the main causes of free radical damage.

TIPS:

The other things re; lowering cholesterol are:

1. Eating less animal products (cholesterol only exists in animal products – all plant foods basically reduce cholesterol). All of the world’s longest-living, healthy cultures (and those where high cholesterol simply doesn’t exist), consume a predominantly plant-based whole food diet. Eat mainly plant foods & you will almost guarantee yourself a healthy cholesterol.

2. Adding more cholesterol lowering/no cholesterol foods into your diet – e.g. linseed (get it ground & sprinkle on meals etc), oats, avocados, extra virgin olive oil, and spices (turmeric, ginger, chilli, if desired etc)

3. And most importantly of all …. Reduce stress. Stress is the real killer in most Western diseases. Don’t worry about changing your diet if you have a high stress lifestyle or job. Address the core issue first. I’d suggest a good meditation practice (I most recommend Transcendental Meditation) is the single best remedy for high cholesterol. When we are less stressed, we eat better, more natural foods & process those foods more ‘intelligently’.

SUMMARY:

So the No.1 TIP for maintaining a healthy cholesterol is to not worry (i.e don’t stress) too much about having perfect cholesterol / LDL’s & HDL’s etc. As always, focus on being ‘happy’ first.
* If you have been to one of my seminars or have read my first book – you will remember the research study about the ‘happy rabbits’ (who were stroked and petted before being fed a high cholesterol diet) that had 60-70 % lower cholesterol than other rabbits fed ‘exactly’ the same diet (who were stressed in their cages)!!! Food for thought.

Happy Cholesterol and heart health to you. ENJOY. Mark Bunn.