Protocols for Avoiding Heart Disease

On this page each of the four markers are reviewed and suggestions made which may guard you against becoming a victim of a heart'event'.                                                                     

Cholesterol

This is by far the most commonly known marker and one of the most important so therefore it warrants the highest amount of emphasis. It is also important to be aware that some people are genetically predisposed to higher than normal cholesterol levels. This does not necessarily cause a serious problem PROVIDED there are no abnormalities with the other markers. Nonetheless, you should make every effort to normalize any high levels of LDL cholesterol, or, raise low levels of HDL Cholesterol.

If your cholesterol levels are out of line, the majority of physician's will recommend one or both of the following:

1. Modify your diet, OR
2. Modify your diet PLUS prescribe you one of the FDA approved statin drugs.

Be very careful with statin drugs. They have potentially dangerous side effects with long term negative health implications. You may be able to get similar or superior results without compromising your health, and indeed enhancing your health.

Diet and natural treatments

When recommendations are given to modify your diet the 'official line' is to emphasize the importance of reducing saturated fats and foods high in cholesterol. This has been the approach for the last couple of decades and as recent research clearly shows... it is totally the wrong approach.

In fact, for as long as this has been the official stance heart disease has steadily increased. It is possible to reduce your cholesterol levels by diet, but just eliminating fats and cholesterol will not do it!

For most people cutting out eggs and butter will have minimal impact on cholesterol levels. What is more important is that you stop eating margarine (which is full of transfats... yes, even the so called 'healthy' margarines with the 'heart' tick... amazing what a good donation will get you). Also reduce your intake of refined and processed foods which are full of hydrogenated fats and oils as well as transfats. These are MUCH more dangerous than the saturated fats in butter and eggs which your body can handle and indeed needs.

In fact, studies have clearly established that the low fat, low cholesterol approach is a very dangerous one because it can lower HDL, the good cholesterol but only have minimal impact on LDL, the 'bad' cholesterol. As a result low fat diets do not help to correct cholesterol imbalances and in fact can make the situation worse.

If you are not already doing so start adding Omega 3 essential fatty acids to your diet. NOT via margarine! The lack of these essential oils is a major factor in heart problems. The best form of Omega 3 for your heart is without doubt pure fish oil. However, it must be PURE and totally free from contaminants. (Check out the Omega 3/DHA fish oil esters from New Zealand.)

For cooking use only 'Extra Virgin Olive Oil'. Studies have shown that this version can help lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL... but, it MUST be the 'Extra Virgin' olive oil. Ordinary virgin olive oil will not lower LDL. Also, use as much garlic as you can in your cooking. This has been shown to help lower cholesterol. The value of odourless garlic supplements is very much in doubt. It is thought that the substance in garlic (called allicin) which gives out the pungent odour is where the health benefits lie, and this has been removed from most supplements. So, eat garlic in its raw form.

In addition, take a quality natural cholesterol lowering supplement that contains genuine high potency Policosanol which is an extract from sugar cane, (it does not increase blood sugar levels) plus, guggulipid which is a natural herb from India. These substances alone have proven to be highly effective in numerous double blind, placebo clinical trials in lowering LDL and raising HDL.

Recent research has found that there are new substances which will also help lower cholesterol. These are all incorporated in the second generation Cholesterol Formula.Triglycerides

If you have high Cholesterol AND high triglycerides your risk of a heart event goes up exponentially. You MUST deal with both substances.

The accepted protocols for lowering cholesterol also apply to triglycerides, so use the same suggestions as set out above if your triglycerides are out of whack... in addition to the dietary suggestions.

HOWEVER, you must also be aware that levels of triglycerides are heavily influenced by your diet. What you should eat to reduce your TG levels has been well known since the publication of a paper on the subject by P.K. Reissell's group at Harvard in 1966. Their study established clearly that TG levels can be dramatically reduced simply by the supplementation of omega 3 fatty acids from fish oil, COMBINED with a low carbohydrate diet.

For some reason this and other studies which clearly establish that high TG levels are caused through the over consumption of refined, processed carbohydrates seem to be largely ignored. Fat is still viewed as being the 'bogey man' but it is simply not true, certainly in the case of 'natural animal' fats. Trans fats and hydrogenated oils should be avoided at all costs. However, even mainstream medicine is now acknowledging that fish oil can be more effective in lowering triglycerides than drugs.

Sugars are a big factor in raising triglycerides as excess sugar converts to glucose which in turn converts to glycogen which is stored in the muscles and organs. Excess glycogen gets converted to triglycerides which goes to the storage areas in the body without any limitations... stomach, thighs, buttocks etc. Avoid sugars, processed and refined foods... and of course sodas like the plague! For more information about this please refer to our weight loss report.

Homocysteine

This is another 'baddie'. High homocysteine results not from what you eat but rather from what you don't eat. Vegans are particularly vulnerable as high homocysteine is brought about by a deficiency in B vitamins. If you don't have enough of the B vitamins, especially B6, B12 and folic acid in your body you cannot manufacture the enzymes needed to remove Homocysteine.

You may like to know that foods that are rich in vitamin B6 are: brewer's yeast, cereal, oatmeal, chicken, kidney, liver, egg yolks, mackerel, salmon, tuna, walnuts, and legumes. Foods rich in vitamin B12 are: clams, egg yolk, herring, kidney, liver, meat, milk, oysters, salmon, and sardines. Foods rich in folic acid (or folate) are: beans, green leafy vegetables, lentils, organ meats and yeast.

Excessive levels of Homocysteine will damage your arteries. Fortunately it is one of the easiest abnormalities to correct. Like Triglycerides, the dangers of high homocysteine have been 'swept under the carpet' for decades. Back in the late 1960's Dr Kilmer McCully determined as a result of well conducted research that Homocysteine could be normalized by taking adequate amounts of folic acid, plus the vitamins B6 and B12.

However, powerful forces worked against Dr McCully and he was 'let go' from his position as a pathologist, denied tenure and his work was branded as 'insignificant'. It took a further 15 years and approx 1.5 million deaths related to elevated homocysteine before it was acknowledged that he was right. Now, supplementation of the B vitamins is an accepted protocol even by mainstream medicine.

The good news is that homocysteine is quite easy to get under control. If you are a regular user of Xtend-Life Total Balance then it is unlikely that you will have a problem. If not, an inexpensive B vitamin complex from your local health food store may well normalize excessive levels.

C-Reactive Protein

This is a marker which indicates inflammation of tissue in the blood which can lead to long term damage to your heart. Most physicians will prescribe a daily dose regimen of aspirin or one of the non steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. Try to avoid this treatment.

Fish oil will help naturally reduce inflammation as will ginger, turmeric and MSM (methyl sulfonyl methane) a naturally occurring sulfur compound found in some vegetables. It is also common in many arthritis formulas. We include it in our 'Total Balance' as well as ginger and turmeric extract.

The new generation Xtend-Life Cholesterol formula will also help normalize high levels of C-Reactive Protein.

Cholesterol lowering drugs - the 'Statins'

These drugs are now the treatment of choice in mainstream medicine for lowering cholesterol levels... the statin drugs... a multibillion dollar industry.

These drugs work by blocking an enzyme (HMG-CoA reductase) which the liver needs for the manufacture of cholesterol. They are produced by quite a number of pharmaceutical companies under a wide range of trade names all of which include 'statin' in their description.

Here is a list of the statin drugs names with their 'commercial' names. atorvastatin (Lipitor), lovastatin (Mevacor), pravastatin (Pravachol), rosuvastatin (Crestor) and simvastatin (Zocor). One other product which was on the list has been removed as that product was withdrawn due to 'unacceptable' levels of deaths of patients using it.

These drugs do without doubt help reduce your LDL cholesterol levels but have minimal effect on HDL... but with the price of considerable side effects.Blood Pressure / Hypertension

An amazingly high percentage of people have high blood pressure which is another indicator of heart disease/stroke risk. Prescription drugs are often prescribed for this condition. They should be a last resort because of the long term damage they can do to your health.

Popping a 'pill' is not the solution for high blood pressure! Blood pressure is not a disease in itself but rather a symptom of an underlying cardiovascular problem.

Prescription drugs for blood pressure are often the start of a long slippery slide into permanent poor health. If you want to avoid dependency on drugs for the rest of your life you must address the underlying cause of the condition. Quite simply put you must clean out your arteries so that your heart doesn't have to work so hard to generate the pressure necessary to circulate your blood around your body.

Our Total Balance combined with our Omega 3 DHA and the new Cholesterol Formula will help clean out your arteries which will ultimately help reduce your blood pressure! But…remember it takes time. It took a long time to build up the blockages in your arteries and it takes some time to clean them out.

You need to take a three pronged approach to high blood pressure…and you must do it naturally. This requires a combination of... exercise, sensible diet without overeating and supplementation with nutrients that will support your cardiovascular system.Recommended supplement protocols for improving heart health, reducing cholesterol levels and triglycerides:

Protocol 1: If you have mildly elevated cholesterol levels and triglycerides, and/or C-Reactive Protein and Homocysteine and are seeking good general overall heart and organ health.

Protocol 2: If you have significantly elevated cholesterol levels, triglycerides and C-Reactive Protein.

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