THE MOST IMPORTANT PART YOU MUST READ BEFORE DOING ... · The later sections will guide you on how to easily and effortlessly adapt your life to lower your cholesterol. ... yet at

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THE MOST IMPORTANT PART YOU MUST READ BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE 3

DISCLAIMER ........................................................................................................ 5

SECTION 1: .......................................................................................................... 6

Having High Cholesterol – What It Means To You .................................................. 6

1.1. The Ironic Nature of Cholesterol ................................................................................................ 7 1.2. Good and Bad Cholesterol .......................................................................................................... 8

1.2.1. LDL Cholesterol .................................................................................................................... 8 1.2.2. HDL Cholesterol .................................................................................................................... 8 1.2.3 VLDL Cholesterol ................................................................................................................... 9

1.3. Triglycerides ................................................................................................................................. 9 1.4. Health Risks of High Cholesterol and Triglyceride Levels .................................................... 10 1.5. Symptoms ................................................................................................................................... 11 1.6. How Cholesterol is Measured and Where You Want Your Numbers Be .............................. 12 1.7. The Importance of the HDL to LDL Ratio ................................................................................. 13 1.8. Factors That Elevate Your Cholesterol Levels ....................................................................... 14

SECTION 2: ........................................................................................................ 17

The Mind-Body Connection .................................................................................... 17

2.1. Your Mindset Matters ................................................................................................................. 17 2.2. The Power of Believing .............................................................................................................. 17 2.3. Reprogramming Your Mind for Healthy Living ....................................................................... 18 2.4. Learn to Think Healthy and You Will Find the Motivation to Be Healthy ............................. 19

SECTION 3: ........................................................................................................ 23

Introduction To Treatment Options For Lowering Cholesterol ............................ 23

3.1. Cholesterol Lowering Drugs and Their Side Effects .............................................................. 23 3.2. A Guide to Cholesterol Lowering Medications ....................................................................... 25 3.3. Natural Remedies ....................................................................................................................... 26

SECTION 4: ........................................................................................................ 31

Step-by-Step Plan to Lower Cholesterol Naturally ............................................... 31

4.1. Healthy Food & Diet Choices .................................................................................................... 31 4.1.1. Foods That Increase Your Cholesterol Levels ................................................................. 31 4.1.2. Foods that Lower Your Cholesterol Levels ...................................................................... 36 4.1.3. Sample Diet to Lower Cholesterol ..................................................................................... 45

4.2. The Right Steps to Become More Physically Active .............................................................. 48 4.2.1. Beginners Plan for adding physical activity. ................................................................... 50 4.2.2. Overcoming time restraints that prevent exercise: ......................................................... 51

4.3. How to Bring Your Weight Down – A Practical Plan .............................................................. 52 4.4. Short and Long Term Stress Relief Plans ............................................................................... 55

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4.4.1. Long term remedy for stress ............................................................................................. 55 4.5. Steps To Better (and Healthier) Lifestyle Habits .................................................................... 57

4.5.1. Smoking ............................................................................................................................... 57 4.5.2. Alcohol ................................................................................................................................. 58

4.6. Finding Beneficial Natural Supplements ................................................................................. 59

SECTION 5: ........................................................................................................ 63

Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 63

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES ............................................................................ 66

REFERENCES: ..................................................................................................... 67

DISCLAIMER ...................................................................................................... 68

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The Most Important Part You Must Read Before Doing Anything Else

Dear Friend, Congratulations in obtaining this copy of Cholesterol Lowering Secrets Exposed Blueprint. You are on your way to lower your cholesterol. If you are asking why this is the most important part that you must read, let me get straight to the point. First I wanted to get your attention so that you read this. Secondly and most importantly I will briefly explain what is needed to lower your cholesterol. I know you may be thinking: ―I thought that’s what this Blueprint is all about‖. Well, it is and it isn’t. Let me explain. If you ever wanted to accomplish something in life, getting the information you need is one thing. Acting upon that information is something completely different. So the first thing I want to highlight is that you must be Committed to lowering your cholesterol. That commitment will lead you to Act upon the ideas that you find here. Let me share some statistics with you. 90% of people who buy any information product, be it book, Blueprint, report etc, never act upon what is taught in that product. Imagine that – 90% of people who spend their money to find out something, learn about it – never do anything with it. And this is the first thing why this is the most important part you must read. Secondly, before you lower your cholesterol in your body, you must lower it in your mind. You must conquer your struggle to lower cholesterol in your mind. If you believe you will lower cholesterol, it will tremendously help your actual actions as I highlighted above. There’s a separate chapter dedicated only to that, that’s how important it is. Thirdly (and finally at last ) you must be patient, and understand ….let’s call it ―Time Lag Principle‖. You know, many times we take the right actions, we have the right approach but then something happens. We start exercising, and after 1 week we quit. By the way I know that personally since my treadmill is sitting at the veranda for 1 year, used only 3 times. (well my wife bought it, since I prefer to walk in the park anyway ). So why do we actually stop?

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Because we expect results immediately! And how do you expect to get them – your high cholesterol levels did not come last week or last month? It would have taken years to get your cholesterol high. Fortunately it’s not going to take years to lower it, but then it’s not going to take 1 or 2 weeks only. Maybe you will lower it a bit, but then you would still need to keep at it, otherwise you’re back at square one and your old high cholesterol levels. So be patient and know that you are on your way to lower cholesterol – just realize the time lag principle. From the moment you take the right action to the moment you see positive results, there’s going to be a time lag. For lowering cholesterol you should give it 1 to 3 months. I strongly recommend you print out this Blueprint and read it on a paper rather than from your computer. You will comprehend it better and your eyes will thank you for it. All the Best Artin Vaqari Founder all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com

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Disclaimer Our lawyer says that we need to include this. So here’s the disclaimer. www.all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage to health or otherwise, which may arise from reliance on information contained in this ebook. The information provided in this ebook is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. The information and claims made in this ebook have not been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration and are not approved to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Any liability arising out of the purchase of this ebook is limited to the refund of the price paid for this ebook only.

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Section 1:

Having High Cholesterol – What It Means To You Finding out you have high cholesterol can raise more questions than it answers. You may be wondering… What is in store for me now? Will I have to make drastic changes to my diet? Will I have to exercise an hour each day? Will my quality of life diminish? Will I feel bad? This Blueprint will help you process what having high cholesterol means to your daily life and most importantly, how you can lower your cholesterol level so it is no longer an issue in your life. High cholesterol is a serious condition because of what it can mean to your future. As you will learn in this Blueprint not taking action and essentially ―sticking your head in the sand,‖ hoping this problem will go away is not a solution and in fact, can lead to serious complications. Uncontrolled cholesterol levels cause a sticky plaque to build up in your arteries. This plaque grows, narrowing the arteries and increasing your risk of heart attack or stroke. This is a very real threat to your health. Having a heart attack or stroke can diminish the quality of your life, prevent you from traveling in your retired years, keep you from being able to play with your grandchildren, and leave you with a permanent mental or physical disability that can turn every day, simple tasks into a chore. The reality is that not taking action to lower your cholesterol will be more painful than taking action. In the following pages you will learn, in easy everyday language, why your cholesterol level climbed too high, what having high cholesterol does to your body and six simple strategies you can start implementing immediately to lower your cholesterol naturally. Having high cholesterol is not the end of the road. There are some factors that lead to high cholesterol that are outside of your control, but there are many more factors that you have complete control over. We will show you how making small shifts in the factors you can control will produce big shifts in your cholesterol readings over time. This Blueprint is the complete nuts and bolts of lowering your cholesterol, but there is one thing we cannot give you in this Blueprint and that is the desire to change. This must come from you. Of course we lend you a hand in this area as well, which you will find when you read Section 2: The Mind-Body Connection.

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You are in good hands; take your time to go through sections of this Blueprint that interest you the most. The first section will share the information that is important to you about cholesterol. The later sections will guide you on how to easily and effortlessly adapt your life to lower your cholesterol. The goal of this Blueprint is to leave you with a complete understanding of the steps you can take to restore your healthy blood chemistry. You are encouraged to follow the steps within this Blueprint, and even discuss them with your doctor. Ready? Let’s get started…

1.1. The Ironic Nature of Cholesterol

It can seem ironic that the foods you love and consider ―comfort‖ foods, are often the same foods that can cause your body problems down the road. This can be said of foods that lead to higher cholesterol levels. Favorite foods such as ice cream, cakes, muffins, butter, steak, lamb chops, and macaroni and cheese give you a temporary feeling of comfort, and provide that wonderful ―mouth feel‖ you love to experience, yet at the same time boost your cholesterol level, clog your arteries and lead to cardiovascular disease. Another quirkiness of cholesterol is that your body actually produces it! Cholesterol is not all bad; in fact, it is an important part of each of your trillion body cells and it is needed for important jobs in the body such as making hormones, Vitamin D, and other substances that aid digestion. Your body makes all the cholesterol it needs. However, a diet that contains saturated fats and animal products also supplies cholesterol to the body. Your body then takes on the task of trying to balance its own production with the cholesterol coming in from foods. If it is unsuccessful in any way your cholesterol level climbs. Your liver processes cholesterol in response to the foods you eat. When you eat certain foods that contain fat, small fat molecules are transferred to your bloodstream as lipid (fat molecules). You can think of these as fat globules in your blood, and the more of them you have, the easier for cholesterol to be transported and cause damage. If your blood test reveals there are too many lipids in your blood, then you are told you have high cholesterol putting you at risk for strokes, heart attacks, and narrowing of the arteries. You are likely getting the idea that fats and cholesterol are closely linked. You are right, and this leads to yet another of the ironies of cholesterol.

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Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance. Because cholesterol is a wax and your blood is a liquid the two do not mix. It would be like dripping candle wax into a glass of water, the wax would simply clump and float on top of the water. In order for cholesterol to travel around your body, it must be carried on the back of special lipid-protein carriers called lipoproteins. You may be familiar with these lipoproteins, but you may know them by different names such as LDL (low density lipoproteins) and HDL (high density lipoproteins). Without these lipoproteins, cholesterol would not be supplied to your cells for good uses and excess cholesterol would not be flushed out of your body. In part, this is why a diet with absolutely no fat can be quite harmful to your body. It would allow cholesterol and other toxins to remain stuck inside you. As bad as fat’s reputation is, it is needed to help you dispose of cholesterol. Making good food choices (including choosing good fats) and controlling your weight are two things that make sense to watch when you are working toward normal cholesterol levels. This Blueprint will discuss low and high cholesterol foods and diets to remove any questions you may have about how to eat for lower cholesterol.

1.2. Good and Bad Cholesterol

There are different kinds of lipoproteins that help transport cholesterol through your body. The two you typically hear used in association with cholesterol are LDL and HDL. As stated earlier, without the lipoproteins, cholesterol (a wax) would not mix with your blood (a liquid) and could not be transported to be used by your body or excreted.

1.2.1. LDL Cholesterol

LDL stands for low density lipoprotein. Its job is to carry cholesterol from your liver to the cells of your body where it can be used. However, because your body makes cholesterol, and you also consume it, your body can go into ―overload‖ mode in an effort to deal with it. When you have too many LDL’s in your blood, a sticky waxy mass of cholesterol and fat stick to your artery walls and grow in size. This can lead to narrowing of the arteries, angina, stroke, or heart attack and is why LDL’s have gained the nickname ―bad‖ cholesterol.

1.2.2. HDL Cholesterol

Before you condemn all cholesterol as bad, it is important to remember that not all cholesterol has the potential to do harm. HDL stands for high density lipoprotein and is

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considered the ―good‖ cholesterol. HDL’s carry cholesterol from your body cells to your liver where it is either broken down or passed from your body as a waste product. A simple way to remember that HDL is the good cholesterol is to think of ―H‖ as standing for ―Healthy‖.

The amount of cholesterol in your blood (including both LDL and HDL) can be measured with a blood test. The test measures the ratio of LDL to HDL. The bigger the difference is in the ratio between these two components the better, as long as the LDL levels are quite low.

1.2.3 VLDL Cholesterol

It is helpful to note that if your doctor performs a blood test called a lipid panel, he or she will also share the results of the VLDL level in your blood. Very Low Density Lipoproteins, or VLDL, are lipoproteins that perform a similar job to that of LDL in that they carry cholesterol from the liver to body cells. VLDLs are formed by a combination of cholesterol and triglycerides and they are heavier than low density lipoproteins. Like LDL’s, these lipoproteins are associated with hardening or narrowing of the arteries and heart disease. The lower your VLDL count the better.

1.3. Triglycerides

As you know, fats and cholesterol are closely linked. This is why the level of triglycerides will often be tested along with your LDL, HDL and VLDL levels. Triglycerides are the form of fat that exists in your foods and that is stored in your body. These fats are also present in your blood and this is where they are measured. To state it plainly, triglycerides are fats. Triglycerides = Fat. When you grab a handful of belly, love handles or some other fat storage, you are grabbing triglycerides. They are a major source of energy in your body.

Keep this in mind when considering your cholesterol levels. The higher your HDL cholesterol levels are and the lower your LDL Cholesterol levels are the better!

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Triglycerides are derived from fats you eat and are mostly found in oils and animal fats. They can also be made through a chemical process that takes place in your body when you eat non-fatty foods such as carbohydrates. For instance, if you eat a fatty meat such as bacon or sausage or consume a full-fat dairy product, fat absorption takes places in your gut and is delivered to the liver via the blood for further processing. If you eat more than your body requires, the excess calories are converted into triglycerides and stored in cells for later use. In another example, if you eat a food that is not high in fat but you eat too much you will still store the extra calories as triglycerides. Your body has the ability to process extra calories and convert them to triglycerides no matter what the source say carbohydrates, fats, or proteins. In a nutshell, overeating results in the deposit of fat (triglycerides) within your cells. These stored triglycerides are like an extra fuel tank you carry with you. When your body needs energy between meals, stored triglycerides are taken out of storage, transported through your blood and given to the cells in need of energy. It is extremely important to understand triglycerides, especially when it comes to high triglycerides as a risk factor for heart disease. They are consistently associated with high LDL cholesterol (bad) and low HDL (good). The mechanism of this association is not fully understood, but high triglycerides are considered a heart attack risk factor. Like cholesterol, elevations in triglyceride levels can be detected through a blood test. These measurements are typically taken after an overnight fast where no food or alcohol is consumed.

1.4. Health Risks of High Cholesterol and Triglyceride Levels

Medical evidence strongly indicates that high cholesterol levels and high triglyceride levels can lead to serious cardiovascular consequences. Some cholesterol is needed for the body to function properly however, when the levels get too high, risk of cardiovascular disease escalates. It is estimated that nearly 36 percent of adults in the United States aged 18 and over have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, and many more have never been tested yet likely have the condition. Excess cholesterol in your blood builds up on your artery walls, and as it sticks it forms what is referred to as plaque. As plaque grows, the opening for blood flow becomes smaller and smaller. This narrowing of the arteries is referred to as atherosclerosis.

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Problems result when the arteries that carry blood to your heart become narrower. This diminishes the amount of oxygen being transported to your heart. This can lead to chest pains called angina. Another concern is the release of fat and cholesterol from the plaque build up. At times, fat or cholesterol can break free from the walls of the arteries and result in a blood clot that can block blood flow and lead to a heart attack or stroke. Many studies have shown that high triglycerides present additional major risk factor for heart disease. Metabolic syndrome is a group of problems that includes elevated blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, low HDL (good cholesterol), and too much fat around your waist. If you have consistently high levels of triglycerides, then you are at risk of developing metabolic syndrome, which in turn increases your risk of stroke, diabetes, and heart attack. Having a high level of triglycerides also increases your risk of developing ―insulin resistance.‖ This is a condition in which your body cannot use insulin properly. Insulin is essential for glucose (sugar) to enter into your cells where it can be used for energy. When you have insulin resistance your cells resistant the uptake of sugar, and the sugar then stays in your blood leading to high blood sugar levels. People with persistent high sugar levels are at higher risk of developing diabetes. Yet another concern with elevated triglyceride levels is that it can result in a decline of your levels of the good HDL cholesterol. High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) actually remove cholesterol from the walls of your blood vessels and brings it back to the liver to be safely excreted. HDL helps protect, or to say it better, clean your arteries from cholesterol build up. If HDL levels are too low you have less clean up taking place, which leads to more plaque build up and potentially a heart attack. That’s why having high HDL levels helps reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. This is the one to increase as opposed to LDL cholesterol, which should be decreased. High triglyceride levels are also a risk factor for heart attack, stroke, atherosclerosis (narrowing of blood vessels), and pancreatitis (inflammation of pancreas).

1.5. Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of high cholesterol and triglyceride levels are usually not visible. Most people do not learn that they have a problem with their cholesterol level until they have a blood test from their doctor.

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If you do not receive regular medical check-ups, then symptoms may not reveal themselves until significant damage has already been done. For many people their first symptom is actually experiencing a heart attack or stroke. By reading this Blueprint and taking a natural approach to lowering your cholesterol, you are being proactive and setting yourself up for better health for years to come.

1.6. How Cholesterol is Measured and Where You Want Your

Numbers Be

Your doctor will order a blood test to determine the level of cholesterol in your body. The most common test performed is called a lipoprotein profile. This test measures your total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, and triglycerides. If the results of your blood test show that you have higher than normal levels of cholesterol you will be given the diagnosis of high blood cholesterol. The medical term is hypercholesterolemia.

A lipoprotein profile lets you know the following information:

Total Cholesterol Level

Desirable less than 200 mg/dL (less than 5.2 mmol/L)

Borderline 200-239 mg/dL (5.2-6.2 mmol/L)

High 240 mg/dL or above (6.2 mmol/L or above)

LDL (bad) Cholesterol Level

Optimal less than 100 mg/dL (less than 1.8 mmol/L)

Near Optimal 100-129 mg/dL (2.6-3.3 mmol/L)

Borderline 130-159 mg/dL (3.4-4.1 mmol/L)

High 160-189 mg/dL (4.1-4.9 mmol/L)

Very High 190 mg/dL or above (4.9mmol/L or above)

HDL (good) Cholesterol Level

High Risk less than 40 mg/dL (less than 1 mmol/L)

Lower Risk 40-59 mg/dL (1-1.5 mmol/L)

Protective 60 mg/dL or above (1.5 mmol/L or above)

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Triglyceride Levels (another form of blood fat)

Normal less than 150 mg/dL (less than 1.7 mmol/L)

Borderline High 150-199 mg/dL (1.7-2.2 mmol/L)

High 200-499 mg/dL (2.3-5.6 mmol/L)

Very High 500 mg/dL or above (5.6 mmol/L or above)

Total Cholesterol to HDL Ratio

Some medical doctors use the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol in place of the total blood cholesterol. The ratio is obtained by dividing the HDL cholesterol level into the total cholesterol. For instance, if a person has a total cholesterol of 200 mg/dL (2.3 mmol/L) and an HDL cholesterol level of 50 mg/dL (1.3 mmol/L), the ratio would be 4:1. The goal is to keep the ratio below 5:1; the optimum ratio is 3.5:1.

VLDL Levels

Your doctor may also share the level of VLDL (Very Low Density Lipoproteins) cholesterol in your blood. The typical range you want is from zero to 40 mg/dl (1 mmol/L). Not all doctors will look at this finding because the link between VLDL and heart disease risk is less well established.

1.7. The Importance of the HDL to LDL Ratio

One point that is important for you to understand is the HDL to LDL ratio. It is not enough to just have high levels of good HDL cholesterol; The ratio of good to bad cholesterol is important as well. This is because a heart attack can still result if you have high HDL level but also a high LDL level. So what is the ideal ratio? Experts say your LDL cholesterol level should be a little less than four times your HDL level. The ratio is determined by dividing the LDL cholesterol into the HDL cholesterol. For example, if a person has an HDL cholesterol of 50 mg/dL and an LDL cholesterol of 150 mg/dL, the HDL/LDL ratio would be 0.33. The goal is to keep the ratio above 0.3, with the ideal HDL/LDL ratio being above 0.4. This ratio is actually more important than your total cholesterol reading when it comes to

preventing heart attack, heart disease, stroke, arteriosclerosis, coronary heart

disease, coronary artery disease and other cardiovascular diseases.

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Of course this does not mean you have to eat all low cholesterol foods all the time. You still need good cholesterol. Your challenge is to lower the bad LDL cholesterol and not the good HDL one. By taking the steps outlined in the later sections of this Blueprint, you may be able to naturally lower your cholesterol level, which can slow or even stop the build up of plaque in your arteries. Let’s turn our attention to some factors that influence your

cholesterol levels.

1.8. Factors That Elevate Your Cholesterol Levels

There are a number of factors that combine to give you your overall cholesterol profile. Some factors are under your control and others are not The factors you cannot control include:

Genetics. High cholesterol may run in your family.

Age. As you age your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels go up.

Gender. Young women have lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels than young men; however, this trend reverses after menopause giving older women higher levels of LDL.

The factors you can control include:

Your diet

Your weight

Your physical activity level

Your stress level

Your natural supplement use

And lifestyle habits including smoking and alcohol consumption

The cholesterol ratio is actually more important than your total cholesterol reading when it comes to preventing heart attack, heart disease, stroke, arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease, coronary artery disease and other cardiovascular diseases.

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As you can see there are many factors under your control which can significantly lower your cholesterol level. It is these factors that will be discussed in detail in Sections 3 and 4 of this Blueprint. You will learn immediate action steps you can take to manage cholesterol. As for risk factors that cannot be changed, such as family history, this is why it is important for you to be extra diligent when it comes to watching your bad habits and diet. In this case it might be your only recourse to beat high cholesterol. Inheriting this condition can seem like fighting an uphill battle, but you can make needed changes and get the edge on your cholesterol count. One of those ways is by being more diligent about the foods you choose to eat. In Section 4 you will be provided with a complete list of foods that can elevate your cholesterol level and should be avoided. You will also learn foods that you can include in your daily diet to naturally lower your cholesterol. But before you prepare your body for healthier choices, you will want to prepare your mind. Why is this important? Simple, you are human which makes you a creature of habit. The lifestyle habits you have created over the years are as much mental as they are physical. If you try to only change your habits without first changing the thoughts that lead you to those habits you will never achieve the long-term health benefits you seek. Your mind and body are connected so let’s take a look at how you can make them work together for a true health makeover.

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Things to remember from Section 1:

LDL Cholesterol is ―bad‖ Cholesterol

HDL Cholesterol is ―good‖ or ―healthy‖ Cholesterol

The higher your HDL cholesterol levels are and the lower your

LDL Cholesterol levels are the better!

The cholesterol ratio is actually more important than your total

cholesterol

Triglycerides = Fat. Triglycerides are mostly found in oils and

animal fats.

Desired Blood Test Results:

Total Cholesterol - less than 200 mg/dL (5.2 mmol/L)

LDL Cholesterol - less than 100 mg/dL (1.8 mmol/L)

HDL Cholesterol - 60 mg/dL or above (1.5 mmol/L)

Triglycerides- less than 150 mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L)

Total Cholesterol to HDL Ratio - below 5:1; optimum ratio is

3.5:1

HDL to LDL Ratio - above 0.3; ideal HDL/LDL ratio is above 0.4

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Section 2:

The Mind-Body Connection

2.1. Your Mindset Matters

Do you believe you can lower your cholesterol? When you are first given the diagnosis that you have high cholesterol there are many real and serious concerns that race through your mind. Will I have a heart attack or stroke? What will this mean for my family? Will I become a burden to my children? Will I still be able to enjoy life? Most people want to jump feet first into action mode and change everything about how they eat, move, and act during the day. Wanting to change and taking action are important elements in reversing this condition, but research shows that when you react and try to change out of fear the changes you see will be short term. Was your diagnosis a wake-up call? Well, if it was then that is good but you should not take this to mean that everything about the way you have lived up to this point must change immediately. In fact, very small shifts in your daily habits will, over time, lower your cholesterol level and reduce your risk of heart attack. So take a deep breath and put your fear aside. You have much control over your condition and you can bring your cholesterol level down with simple lifestyle changes. Don’t make these changes because you are reacting to the fear you felt when first diagnosed; instead, make these changes because they are the right thing to do and make you feel good about yourself and feel better overall. The first step in getting your mind and body working together is building your belief that you can make a difference in your health.

2.2. The Power of Believing

There are many studies performed to test the effects of medications for different conditions. In these studies the researchers will often use something called a placebo.

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A placebo is essentially a sugar pill, meaning it has no health benefits to the patient. A placebo is giving to a group of research participants known as the control group. What the researchers expect to happen is for the control group to not Blueprint any improvement in their condition. After all, they are not getting the real medication; they are only getting a placebo. Yet time after time and study after study shows the control group symptoms improving. How can this be explained? They received no medication yet they feel better and their symptoms disappear! The answer. The control group believed the placebo was real medicine and this belief improved their condition. That is the power of believing and so it is good to ask this question again…Do you believe you can lower your cholesterol? The truth is what you believe about your ability to naturally lower your cholesterol level is as important, if not more than, knowing what foods to eat and how long to exercise.

2.3. Reprogramming Your Mind for Healthy Living

The truly great news is that you can program your mind to believe whatever you want to believe. You created your mindset about what to eat, how to exercise, how to control stress, etc. based on things like the influence you received from your family, friends, your environment, and your culture. You cannot change the things that influenced you in the past and molded the habits and behaviors you now have today, but you can change the conclusions you drew from those past experiences. You see, it is really your thoughts and beliefs that mold your habits and behaviors and then lead to the results that you see. So if you want to change your daily habits and behaviors, then first change your thoughts and beliefs. Please do not misread this and think that lowering your cholesterol is a simple matter of thinking pleasant thoughts all day long. It is not that simple and your effort will be required, however, without your mind working with your body you will struggle to keep your healthy lifestyle habits going. Let’s drive this point home with an analogy; do you remember when you first learned how to ride a bicycle? You were likely standing there feeling pretty fearful as Dad or whoever was teaching you removed the training wheels.

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At first, riding a bike looked like a tremendous challenge; how in the world would you balance on only two wheels!? This fear can be paralyzing; it can prevent you from getting on the bike (or the healthy living routine) and it can also make you quit if you fall off (or get a follow-up blood test that is not as good as you had hoped). Let’s say however that you moved past this fear and you got on the bicycle. At first, it was hard; you didn’t understand what to do, and this made you cautious; but soon you moved a few feet on your own, and you began to believe it was possible to ride a bike. Before long you were racing around the neighborhood on your bicycle having risen above the challenge. Suddenly riding a bicycle seemed easy and while it remains a skill, it is manageable now because your thoughts about it have changed. Learning to add healthy living habits to your life and naturally lowering your cholesterol is much like learning to ride a bicycle. Right now you are at the beginning and you have not yet mastered all the skills you need, it may feel at this moment that making lifestyle shifts will be too hard; but by following the recommendations in this Blueprint and starting to notice how much better you feel your thoughts will shift and not only will living healthy be possible, it will be easy! To speed up this process of creating new and supportive beliefs, you must learn to think and act in a way that promotes your ability to follow healthy habits.

2.4. Learn to Think Healthy and You Will Find the Motivation

to Be Healthy

To start thinking like a healthier person, you must first define why this shift in your habits is important to you. In other words, what are the ―real‖ reasons you want to eat well, exercise and stop destructive health habits? You see, there are many benefits that come from following a diet low in cholesterol and saturated fats, getting regular exercise, losing weight, stopping smoking, reducing alcohol consumption and getting a handle on stress. When you follow the step-by-step plan to healthy living outlined in this Blueprint you will be blessed with wonderful side effects such as more energy, better sleep, a sense of peace and calm and better overall health.

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What will these positive side effects mean to the quality of your life? Will you be able to go on more vacations? Keep up with your grandchildren? Form new relationships? Get a promotion at work? Be a better role model for your kids? Take a moment right now and write down a few things that will change for the better when you adopt these healthy habits into your life. When you tap into the things that improve the quality of your life you will burst with motivation and find the recommendations easy to follow. Something to keep in mind is that you do not need to change everything about your life at once. Small changes in your daily routine can mean big differences in your cholesterol level when followed over time. One other thing to keep in mind before moving into your many treatment options is that good results do not always show immediately. There is something called a Time Lag Principle, which basically means that there is a lag time you must work through before positive results show. Be patient with your body, at first you may feel tired and unsure of your choices but the results will come. Your only task is to make consistent small changes. After reading the recommendations for lowering your cholesterol naturally below choose one thing to change and when you have made that change successfully add another change. Before long you will find yourself living better effortlessly.

EXERCISE:

Don’t read the next section without doing the exercises below. It is going to take you 5 minutes only, but this is going to tremendously improve your efforts in lowering cholesterol. It will give you the motivation to carry on. Don’t skip this – Do it Now. Write down the answers to the following questions:

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Why do I want to lower my cholesterol levels?

(Write all that comes to mind, being healthy, having a long life to be around with my children and grandchildren, any other goals that you want to accomplish in life etc)

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What would happen if I do not lower my cholesterol levels?

(Be honest with yourself, and write down all that can happen - it can be heart attack, stroke etc. Be candid and write down all that can and probably will happen if you do not lower cholesterol, even though it’s painful)

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Things to remember from Section 2:

Your Mindset Matters!

Build your belief that you can lower your cholesterol

Remind yourself each day why following healthy lifestyle habits are

important to you.

Aim to make one simple positive lifestyle change each day/week

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Section 3:

Introduction To Treatment Options For Lowering Cholesterol

You are ready to consider what treatment options are right for you. There are basically two approaches to lowering cholesterol and they are medications and lifestyle changes. You should first understand the medications used for lowering cholesterol. It is important to learn about these drugs, however keep in mind that medications focus on curing the symptoms not the cause. A good analogy to help you understand why medications alone should not be your only consideration when lowering your cholesterol follows. Consider a big pile of trash that has been building and not cleaned up for a month. This trash pile will certainly attract many rats, which become an additional problem. An exterminator can come in and poison the rats to get rid of them, but if no steps are taken to remove the pile of trash more rats will return. This is what drugs do for your cholesterol level. Drugs can reduce your cholesterol but if you ever stop taking them, your cholesterol will climb up again. Essentially drugs treat the symptom but do not address the cause, which is eating the wrong foods, leading a sedentary life, smoking, excessive alcohol intake and not controlling weight and stress. This is why you want to focus on cleaning your trash pile (a.k.a. leading a clean, healthy life). Yes, you may need to use cholesterol lowering drugs along with your healthy lifestyle changes at first, but by making progress on your healthy living habits you can one day reduce or eliminate the need for drugs. Just like cleaning up the pile of trash will cure the rat problem for good, healthy living will control your cholesterol for good.

3.1. Cholesterol Lowering Drugs and Their Side Effects

Cholesterol lowering drugs can be effective for lowering bad LDL levels and raising good HDL

levels. However, these “lifesaving medication” can come with a host of negative side effects

making the solution, at times, worse than the cure.

It is not news that prescription drugs often have serious side effects and medications injure millions of people every year. Even when taken as prescribed, these drugs can cause serious injury yet they continue to be the frontline for treating many diseases.

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From your doctor’s perspective when you present with high cholesterol levels he or she has little choice but to follow the American Health Association (AHA) recommendations on how to treat the problem. This means prescribing cholesterol lowering drugs. Many doctors realize that lifestyle and diet changes will help and often recommend them along with the prescribed drugs; however, they have a professional obligation to do everything they can to lower your cholesterol and therefore readily prescribe drugs. You are a candidate for these drugs if:

You have coronary heart disease with fewer than two risk factors and a cholesterol level of 190 LDL or higher

You don’t have coronary heart disease yet have two risk factors and a LDL level of 160 or higher.

You have an LDL level of between 160 and 189. In this case, drug therapy may be optional; your doctor may discuss ways to lower it through lifestyle changes.

You have a severe elevations of 220 LDL plus.

Almost all physicians will think that prescribing cholesterol lowering drugs is the right course of action in all of the above scenarios. Sometimes the doctor thinks twice because some of the side effects can be so severe, particularly in the case of an elderly person. However many physicians are looking for the quickest fix possible to help you lower your high cholesterol and from their point of view, nothing is going to work faster than a prescription drug. The most common side effects of cholesterol lowering drugs tend to be gastrointestinal. Signs of distress when taking these drugs include constipation, abdominal pain, and cramps. These symptoms are usually mild to severe and generally subside as therapy continues. Side effects can be more serious and can include liver damage, brain or central nervous system damage, or rhabdomyolysis (a serious breakdown of muscle tissue), You should alert your doctor immediately if you experience any unusual feeling or notice yellowing of the skin, abdominal pain, fever; muscular pain, tenderness or weakness; a rash, difficulty breathing, wheezing; swelling of the mouth, tongue or throat, or any ache, pain or symptom that cannot be explained. When these negative reactions happen it is referred to quite simply as an ―adverse drug event.‖ Every year more than 100,000 people die from these ―adverse drug events.‖ However, the response has been to prescribe more of these drugs than ever.

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That is a shame, especially concerning curing conditions that could be so readily handled by making doable changes to daily living habits. It is true that when it comes to lowering your cholesterol, simple changes to your diet, lifestyle, and natural supplements sometimes work just as well, if not better then the drugs.

3.2. A Guide to Cholesterol Lowering Medications

Prescribing cholesterol lowering drugs is the ―quick and easy‖ solution for the treatment of high cholesterol. Some medications may be necessary if lifestyle changes do not work to help you raise your HDL and lower LDL or until your healthy lifestyle changes show results, so never remove yourself from a drug without consulting your doctor. Below you will find brief explanations of four categories of cholesterol lowering drugs.

Statins

Statins are usually the first drugs prescribed by your doctor to lower cholesterol. Statins inhibit HMG CoA and reductase. These are enzymes that help your liver make cholesterol. By inhibiting these enzymes, statins can lower LDL cholesterol levels in a shorter amount of time than other drugs. Also they can help reduce rising triglycerides levels and increase HDL cholesterol levels. The statins mostly prescribed are Lescol, Lipitor, Mevacor, Zocor, Pravachol, Crestor.

Bile Acid Sequestrants

These drugs have elements that bind themselves to the bile acid in the small intestines that carry cholesterol. Thus the body releases the cholesterol in the bowels and it is carried out of the body without being absorbed. Some clinical trials have shown that these drugs can diminish the risk for heart disease. The bile acid sequestrants go by drug names such as colestyramine (Questran, Questran Light, Cholybar), Colesevelam (WelChol, Cholestagel), Colestipol (Colestid)

Niacin, a B Vitamin

Niacin is usually administered in the form of nicotinic acid. In very high doses, nicotinic acid can increase HDL cholesterol levels, and decrease LDL cholesterol and triglycerides levels.

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Niacin can be prescribed together with bile acid sequestrants drugs to have an overall cholesterol lowering effect in the body. Niacin is also known as vitamin B3, nicotinic acid and vitamin PP.

Fibrates

Fibrates aid the body by reducing blood triglycerides levels. They have also been shown to modestly increase HDL-cholesterol levels, but they are not the frontline drugs used for this purpose. Fibrates are prescribed commonly as Bezafibrate (Bezalip), Ciprofibrate (Modalim), Clofibrate (largely obsolete due to side-effect profile, e.g. gallstones), Gemfibrozil (e.g. Lopid), Fenofibrate (e.g. TriCor) Remember all these cholesterol lowering drugs are very good at alleviating your situation. But simply lowering your cholesterol is only treating the symptom not the cause; much like killing the rats but leaving the pile of trash. You must be willing to change your lifestyle habits. It is crucial that you learn how to be physically active and follow a proper diet plan. Winning your battle against high cholesterol is a multi-faceted task and you should take several approaches to lower it and not just rely on drugs to do it for you. In fact, it is exactly because these drugs have such negative side effects that you really do need to watch your diet and exercise and take as many measures as possible to be as healthy as possible. This is vitally important if you are vulnerable to the adverse affects of these ―miracle drugs.‖

3.3. Natural Remedies

By now you are likely wondering how you can lower your dependence on cholesterol medications. The answer is to start today to make positive lifestyle changes. There are some components that make up your cholesterol profile that are out of your control such as your age, gender, and genetics, yet there are a number of components that you can control and change. When you make the proper changes to your diet and physical activity level; maintain a normal weight, control your stress level, stop smoking, moderate your alcohol consumption; and begin a regimen of natural supplements, you find that you have much influence over your cholesterol profile.

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Below are steps that provide you with an overview of what you can do to lower your cholesterol, then in Section 4 you will learn how to put all of these elements together and have them work for you to lower your cholesterol level. It is important to understand that these steps will not lower your cholesterol overnight but if you commit to making these healthy lifestyle changes you can make a significant change in your cholesterol level over time. Also, keep in mind the Time Lag Principle. There will be a period when you work but do not see results. Stick with your healthy plan and the results will be right around the corner. Before beginning these steps discuss the plan with your doctor. He or she will be able to help you custom fit these steps to your individual health needs.

3.3.1. Healthy Food & Diet Choices

Foods from animal sources such as meats, whole milk and whole milk products (i.e. cheese, ice cream, etc.) contain cholesterol and may also contain saturated fats. These foods should be limited in your diet along with trans-fats which are the man-made fats found in fried foods, baked goods, and stick margarine. You will want to boost your consumption of plant-based foods such as beans, almonds, nuts, fruits and vegetables. Your diet will also benefit from fish with beneficial fats such as tuna and salmon.

3.3.2. Regular Exercise

Exercising on a regular basis will naturally lower your triglycerides and raise your HDL level. But, you only get the benefits of exercise if you make the effort to be more active. If you are a beginner, or have not exercised regularly within the past year you will want to start slow and build your exercise time and intensity.

Begin with 10 minutes of physical activity (brisk walking, bike riding, any enjoyable activity) 3 times a day and work up to the point when you can regularly get 30 minutes of physical activity 6 days a week. It is at this level that you will begin to see the many health benefits. Plans for building physical activity into your daily life are provided in Section 4.

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3.3.3. Weight Control

If you are overweight, losing just 10 pounds can lower your LDL level by 5-8%. That is a significant drop and the benefits increase as you lose more and approach a healthy body weight. The benefits of weight loss do not only involve lower cholesterol, you will likely also experience more energy and a drop in blood pressure. Follow a reduced calorie diet designed to also lower cholesterol so you can get the full benefit of weight control. You will also benefit by keeping a record of your food and calorie intake. This is a simple way to manage your food intake and stay on track. For sample diet plans and natural ways to control your weight see Section 4 of this Blueprint.

3.3.4. Stress Reduction

Chronic stress has long been linked to heart disease and it has more recently been linked to higher LDL cholesterol levels. The first step in managing your stress is to recognize and identify common stressors. To do this you will want to start a Stress Journal. A Stress Journal is a powerful yet simple tool that helps you uncover patterns of your stress so you can understand what is causing you to feel bad. When you feel stress write in your journal what you think is causing it, how you feel both physically and emotionally, how you respond to the stressor and what you did to feel better. In a short time this Stress Journal will prove to be a valuable tool that allows you to gain control of your stress level.

3.3.5. Smoking

There are a number of lifestyle habits that can raise your cholesterol level. At the top of the list is smoking. Tobacco smoking has been shown to lower your HDL levels. Make a decision today to quit smoking. By making a strong decision to quit, you activate your willpower and motivation and could very well add years to your life.

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3.3.6. Alcohol

Alcohol must also be considered when looking at lifestyle habits that can affect your cholesterol level. Though alcohol has been shown to allow for a moderate increase in HDL levels, the negative effects outweigh the positive. Therefore, drinking alcohol is not recommended as a remedy for lowering cholesterol. If you do not currently drink, do not start. If you do drink, do so in moderation which means consuming no more than one to two drinks for a man per day and one drink per day for a woman.

3.3.7. Natural Supplements

Taking high quality natural supplements on a regular basis can make a significant drop in your cholesterol level. It should be noted that you should not replace medications that your doctor has prescribed with a natural supplement until you talk with your doctor. Natural supplements contain powerful nutrients that can provide you with better health and more energy, and also support healthy cholesterol function in your body. High quality natural supplements have been shown to help raise HDL cholesterol levels and decrease LDL cholesterol levels, total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels – all important components of your healthy cholesterol profile.

For more information on a recommended natural supplement visit http://www.all-

about-lowering-cholesterol.com/Cholestasys-supplement.html The natural remedies outlined above are all factors that you can control. You do not need to make every change at one time in order to reap the benefits of these remedies. Simply get started and you will lower your cholesterol. The fact is that you can control many of the factors that lower cholesterol and you can reduce your cholesterol naturally. But remember, just knowing what to do is not enough. You must believe you can make the change and add the most important ingredient- Action. In Section 4 you will find a detailed plan that you can begin following today to lower your cholesterol naturally. This plan shows you how to eat right, work exercise into you routine, lose weight, reduce stress, stop unhealthy lifestyle habits and find the right natural supplements. You are ready to take hold of the reigns and bring your cholesterol and triglyceride levels down to your target range. Here we go!

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THINGS TO REMEMBER FROM SECTION 3:

MEDICATIONS TREAT THE SYMPTOMS NOT THE CAUSE You can lower cholesterol with medication but if you do not change your lifestyle habits, your problem will return much like rats returning to a trash pile.

REMEMBER THE TIME LAG PRINCIPLE There will be a period when you work but do not see results. Stick with your healthy plan and the results will come.

FOODS TO LIMIT Foods from animal sources such as meats, whole milk and whole milk products (i.e. cheese, ice cream, etc.) contain saturated fats.

FOODS TO INCREASE Boost your consumption of plant-based foods such as beans, almonds, nuts, fruits and vegetables.

BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE 3 HOURS A WEEK Aim for: 3 exercise sessions for 1 hour each 6 exercise sessions for 30 minutes each or create your own schedule!

MANAGE YOUR WEIGHT

If you are overweight, losing just 10 pounds can lower your LDL level by 5-8%. Keeping

a daily record of your food and calorie intake is a simple way to stay on track.

MANAGE YOUR STRESS Chronic stress has been linked to heart disease and higher LDL cholesterol levels. Start a daily stress journal and record: What you think is causing your stress. How you feel both physically and emotionally How you respond to the stressor What you did to feel better

LIFESTYLE HABITS If you smoke, set a date to quit If you drink, limit alcohol to no more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.

NATURAL SUPPLEMENTS Taking a daily natural supplement to help raise HDL cholesterol levels and decrease LDL cholesterol levels, total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels

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Section 4:

Step-by-Step Plan to Lower Cholesterol Naturally The most important thing to keep in mind as you are putting together your healthy living plan is that making healthy lifestyle choices today, can significantly reduce your risk of developing serious health complications later. It is true that some of the cholesterol you have in your body is due to factors outside of your control, yet even if you have a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol; lifestyle choices can delay the development of complications and increase your number of healthy years ahead.

4.1. Healthy Food & Diet Choices

Your body produces its own cholesterol by manufacturing it in your liver, but cholesterol can also come from the foods you eat. It is recommended that you limit your average daily cholesterol intake to less than 300 milligrams and lower this to less than 200 milligrams if you have heart disease. The foods you choose to eat have a strong impact on how well you control your cholesterol. Below is a discussion of foods that may elevate your cholesterol as well as foods that you can enjoy to lower your cholesterol level.

4.1.1. Foods That Increase Your Cholesterol Levels

When it comes to foods, high cholesterol levels are caused mainly by the fats that you get from the food. However, not all types of fat are bad for you. As mentioned earlier, some fats help to carry cholesterol out of your body. There are different types of fat – the ―good‖ polyunsaturated and unsaturated fats, that help flush your body of cholesterol and the ―bad‖ saturated fat and trans fats, that keeps the cholesterol stuck to your arteries. Let’s start by talking about the fats to avoid.

Trans fats

The worst fats for you are the trans fats. These are man-made fats, which you can find listed as an ingredient on most food labels. When you see any amount of trans fat on the label you should try to avoid the food. In 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration adopted regulations that require manufacturers to include trans fat contents on the package label.

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Trans fats came into existence in the 1950’s as a way of satisfying the publics craving for fatty foods without having to spend the higher amounts of money required to include natural kinds of fats. The problem however, was that these man-made fats showed a relationship to increased cholesterol, weakening of the heart, and diabetes. It is estimated that ―bad‖ fats may be responsible for 30,000 premature deaths each year. According to Walter Willet, head of the research and Fredrick Stare Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health ten to 19 percent of the coronary heart disease in the United States (120,000 to 228,000 heart attacks) could be averted by reducing the intake of trans fats. In an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, "on a per-calorie basis, trans fats appear to increase the risk of coronary heart disease more than any other [nutrient].‖ This risk begins at low levels of consumption, as low as 1 to 3 percent of total calorie intake. Three percent of your daily calorie intake is the equivalent of seven grams of trans fats. That is roughly the same amount that is in an order of French fries. On average Americans eat between three and ten grams of trans fats every day, putting them at great risk for health complications. Trans fats have made some strong holds in the typical American diet because they add a desirable flavor to foods. They are also popular with food manufacturers because these fats are waxy and stiff, which helps foods seem less greasy. Trans fats also allow foods to have a longer shelf life. To create foods with trans fats such as chips, waffles, nachos, pies, muffins, and cakes manufacturers heat oil to extremely high temperatures and bond it with hydrogen. This creates oil that stays solid at room temperature. This also makes food that might have been healthy in the original form much fattier. Since these toxic trans fats do not exist in nature, your body has a hard time digesting them. When you consume foods that contain trans fats, your body releases free radicals, which are very detrimental to your health.

In fact, trans fats do the opposite of what you would like to have happen in your body. They raise the number of bad LDL cholesterol particles in your blood and lower the

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good HDL cholesterol. And, eating too many trans fats has also been linked to an increase in cancer and diabetes. Trans fats are added to a shocking number of foods we find on the grocery shelves, and labels can be deceptive. Manufacturers try to hide the presence of trans fats by using other names such as ―partially hydrogenated oil.‖ Don’t be fooled, these are simply trans fats in disguise.

You should also be aware of palm oil or vegetable oil on the food label, as these oils are likely harmful trans fats. Even though palm oil by itself is a good source of monounsaturated fat, it is usually ruined and made toxic to the body after it is bonded with hydrogen. Foods that you may think of as ―health foods‖ or ―diet foods‖ such as crackers, bran muffins, non dairy creamers and many cereals can also contain sneaky trans fats. So how do you cut down on your consumption of trans fats? The first step is to begin reading labels. Avoid foods that list trans fats, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils on the label. Food companies are starting to realize that the public does not want these foods and they are coming out with new improved snacks that are not as bad for you. Another way to avoid trans fats is to avoid ordering fried foods. Yes, foods such as fish and chips, fried chicken, tortillas, French fries and other fast food delicacies have lots of flavor, but they are also partly to blame for your high cholesterol level. Yet another idea to cut back on trans fat consumption is to avoid junk foods. These foods are usually packaged and have long shelf lives. These are two clues that the food may contain trans fats as these fats increase the length of time a food can stay ―fresh‖ and stay on your grocer’s shelf. Trans fats are not the only fat to be concerned about when it comes to raising cholesterol, you should also limit or avoid foods with saturated fats. Saturated fats are found in animal products such as meats and full fat dairy products. You should reduce your consumption of read meats, especially fried, changing instead to broiled or roasted poultry (i.e. chicken or turkey), preferably free-range.

Transfats are Man Made Fats. It’s the same as Partially Hydrogenated Oil. Your body does not need any transfats. They are Bad for Health, and you must Avoid them.

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Other foods to limit for better cholesterol levels

Fats are not the only foods that will help shape your cholesterol profile. In fact, it is a common misconception that all foods that contain cholesterol are bad for you. This simply is not true. There are many foods that contain cholesterol but are not harmful to you and do not raise your cholesterol level. For instance, consider shrimp. Shrimp contains a significant amount of cholesterol but it is good for you. Of course, if you batter-dip and deep fry the shrimp you will raise your cholesterol level. If you delve deeper into this issue, you will find foods that contain little or no cholesterol such as many packaged ―junk food‖ snacks. Yet, even though these foods may contain zero grams of cholesterol, they may be high in saturated fat making them bad for your cholesterol level. So do not judge a book by its cover. There are some foods that contain cholesterol that are very good for you to eat and others that will do you harm. To help you decipher between the two you can review the list below of 11 high cholesterol foods which you need to limit or avoid. Ideally you should not consume more than 300 mg of cholesterol in a day from foods.

In one Harvard study researchers found that just getting three percent of your daily calories from trans fats increased your risk of heart disease by fifty percent. Three percent of your daily calorie intake is the equivalent of seven grams of transfats. That is roughly the same amount that is in an order of fries. On average Americans eat between three and ten grams of transfats every day so you can see the great risk that is involved.

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Limit or avoid the high cholesterol foods below:

Food Serving Size Cholesterol Level

Boiled egg 1 225 mg

Cream cheese 1 oz. 27 mg

Cheddar cheese 1 oz. 19 mg

Butter 3.5 oz. 250 mg

Lamb 3.5 oz. 70 mg

Beefsteak 3.5 oz. 70 mg

Kidney, beef 3.5 oz. 60 mg

Kidney, beef 3.5 oz. 375 mg

Liver, beef 3.5 oz. 300 mg

Ice cream 3.5 oz. 45 mg

Sponge cake 3.5 oz. 260 mg

So to summarize, work on limiting or avoiding foods high in saturated fats and some foods high in cholesterol such as the foods listed above as well as margarine, fried foods, fast foods and any foods with trans fat or partially hydrogenated oil on its list of ingredients, and you will significantly reduce your cholesterol intake from foods.

Triglyceride Facts to Consider

Triglycerides are also a consideration when working toward bringing your blood work back to normal. The following is what the American Association for Clinical Chemistry has to say about a high triglycerides diet: "Diets high in carbohydrates, especially sugar, lead to increases in triglycerides." So the recommendation to follow to lower triglycerides is to omit alcohol and sugar - as they stimulate triglyceride production. Aim to eliminate or limit all sugars such as

Sweets, sugar, honey, molasses, jams/jellies, pies,

cakes,

cookies/candy, doughnuts,

ice cream,

frozen/flavored yogurts,

sweetened cereals, sports or energy bars and sweetened gelatin

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Also eliminate or limit, as much as you can, alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, and hard liquor. Cutting down on red meat, especially fried, and choosing instead to have broiled or roasted turkey, chicken, or fish is also recommended to help reduce triglyceride levels.

4.1.2. Foods that Lower Your Cholesterol Levels

Good Fats

We discussed some of the fats and other foods to limit or avoid in order to control your cholesterol; now let’s switch to considering the many wonderful foods you can enjoy, including good fats, which will enhance the flavor or your foods and the satisfaction of your belly. Polyunsaturated fats include some really big winners in the war against high cholesterol and they are Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats. You may be familiar with Omega-3 fatty acids, as they get much attention from the media about how they help protect the heart from disease by lowering cholesterol levels. In fact, you can now find Omega-3 fatty acids added to foods with everything from eggs to orange juice to canned spaghetti being fortified with this gem. Omega-3 fatty acids are commonly found in fish. Canned fish can be an inexpensive way to get Omega-3 into your diet; however, growing concerns that there is too much mercury in canned fish has many people turning to taking Omega-3 fish oil supplements. To find out about a fish oil supplement that comes from the pristine waters of New Zealand click the link below:

http://www.all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com/Fish-Oil-Supplement Omega-3 fish oil is not just for lowering cholesterol, it has many other health benefits as well. It has been shown that taking this supplement may help you lose weight. Researchers have proven that a diet high in Omega-3 oils can positively affect the body’s metabolism so that it burns fat almost six times more efficiently. Seafoods with high Omega-3 content

Seafoods tend to be good sources of Omega-3. Below is a list of seafoods and their Omega-3 content. All the data is for a three ounce serving. You should try to get 2.5 grams of Omega-3 per day.

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TYPE OF FISH OMEGA-3 CONTENT PREPARED

Shad 3.7 g Baked

Sardines 2.4 g Water-packed can

Mackerel 1.9 g Broiled

Sablefish 1.9 g Broiled

Salmon 1.6 g Poached

Tuna 1.5 g Grilled

Oysters 1.4 g Boiled

Trout 1.2 g Broiled

Shark 1.1 g Grilled

Swordfish 1.1 g Grilled

Yet another great source of Omega-3 fat is flaxseed. This small brown seed is high in fiber and eating more fiber is one of the easiest and most efficient ways to lower your cholesterol level. The high fiber content in flax seed also helps flush cholesterol and other wastes out of your body. Flaxseed is easy to add to your diet, you can buy it as oil or seed in most health food stores. You can sprinkle ground flaxseed into smoothies and on top of ice cream or yogurt and you can add it to chilis, muffins, breads, salads, and sauces. Omega-6 fatty acids, which are easier to find in food sources than the Omega 3 fatty acids, also help lower bad LDL cholesterol and raise good HDL cholesterol. Unlike Omega-3 fats, it is easy to get enough Omega-6 fatty acids through your diet. Because they are widely available in a variety of foods, you do not have to be concerned about getting enough Omega-6 oils in your diet.

The Good Monounsaturated Fats

Monounsaturated fats are found in such foods as nuts, olives, avocadoes, and canola oils. These beneficial fats are filling and help you reduce your cholesterol level, which protects you from heart disease. These oils may also help you burn fat and lose weight and much research has been done into their connection with burning off belly Here is a short list of the best sources of monounsaturated fats in a diet starting with sunflower oil at the top of the list. This valuable oil contains over 70% healthy monounsaturated fat.

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Foods high in monounsaturated fat

Sunflower oil

Hazelnut oil

Olive oil

Canola oil

Avocado oil

Apricot kernel oil

Palm oil

Dry roasted macadamia nuts

Seal oil

Goose fat

Herring fish oil

Hazelnuts

Corn oil

Peanut oil Vegetable oil

Dry roasted pecans

Rice bran oil

Sesame oil

Almond oil

Sardines

Cocoa butter

Roasted almonds

This is just a partial list of the top sources of monounsaturated fat. These foods contain 30 or more grams of monounsaturated fat per 100 grams in the food. The idea is that you should refer to this list when you go to the grocery store and also try to make these foods an essential part of your daily diet. A quick and easy reference to tell Good fats from Bad is below:

Other foods to enjoy for lowering cholesterol

While there are many foods that you will want to limit or avoid because of their high cholesterol or saturated fat content, there is the other side of the coin – low cholesterol foods. Low cholesterol foods do not contain high amounts of saturated fat and therefore do not influence you body’s manufacturing of natural cholesterol.

Polyunsaturated and unsaturated fats = Good

Feel free to eat foods that contain polyunsaturated and unsaturated fats.

Saturated fats = Bad

Limit as much as possible foods with saturated fats

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Fiber

It is strongly recommended that your diet be high in foods that are rich in fiber such as green leafy vegetables and green salads. These easy meals or side dishes should be looked at as an essential part of your daily diet. A quick and easy way to get more fiber into your diet is to include a small side salad with every lunch and dinner. At the same time try to eat more whole wheat bread and have it take the place of more refined flour breads. Sprouted or raw grains should be eaten frequently to also help lower your cholesterol levels. A nice trick to instantly know if a food has a beneficial fiber content is to flip over the package and read the food label. If the food contains three or more grams of fiber per serving it is a good food to choose.

Plant Sterols and Stanols

Something you may not be familiar with is plant sterols and stanols. These foods are an easy way for you to lower your LDL cholesterol. Plant sterols and stanols are substances that occur naturally in foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds. These substances have proven so useful in the fight against cholesterol that many food manufacturers are adding them to foods. Look at the labels for margarine, orange juice, cereals and granola bars and you might just see these ingredients listed. The reason these are effective at lowering cholesterol is because to your body they look a lot like cholesterol. So when you eat them they travel through your system and ―get in the way.‖ They can prevent real cholesterol from being absorbed into your blood. So, instead of the real cholesterol getting into your bloodstream, it is simply passed out of your body.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

One of the easiest cholesterol lowering foods to incorporate into your diet is extra virgin olive oil. It increases HDL cholesterol, which as you learned is the type that cleans your arteries and reduces plaque build up. A diet rich in extra virgin olive oil and vegetables gives you a solid advantage in your fight against high cholesterol. This of course means eating more raw foods with oil on them which simply put is an instruction to eat more salad!

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There are foods that contain little or no cholesterol and there are also foods that have the ability to actually lower it. Below is a list of foods that lower cholesterol. If you are serious about reducing your risk of heart attack and stroke then you will want to have these foods in your home and eat them regularly.

Stock up on the following foods:

Oat cereal

Cereals containing flaxseed or psyllium

Whole grain cereals

All types of fruits, especially currants, grapes, apples, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, citrus fruits

Pecan nuts, walnuts, olives, soy nuts

Dried or canned beans, peas and lentils

Corn, fresh, frozen or canned

Soybean products

Whole wheat bread

All vegetables, especially onions, watercress, leeks, spinach, carrots, artichokes, avocado, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower

All variety of flavorings, herbs and spices, especially fresh garlic

Lean meats and chicken

Salmon, swordfish, tuna and trout

Canola and olive oils and margarines made from these oils

Still not sure how to incorporate these foods into your daily diet? It is easier than you think! Below we will give you diet plans that eliminate all guess work involved in creating your health eating program. But first let’s mention a bit more about foods that help you get a clean bill of health and specifically those foods that will help you lower your triglyceride level. You will notice that many of these foods are the same foods that help you control your cholesterol level and this should make your food choices even easier. Below you will find some recommendation as to what foods you can eat to lower or control your triglyceride level.

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Beverages

Fresh fruit juice (limit to 4 oz. Per day)

black coffee

plain or herbal teas

soft drinks with sugar substitutes

club soda, preferably salt free

cocoa made with skim milk or non fat dried milk and water (sugar substitute added if desired)

Note that it is best that you drink mainly water as that cleanses your body and there is no limit to it.

Meat and Fish

Among meats, fish is best, especially "safe," or less contaminated, fish such as summer flounder, wild (not: farm-raised!) Pacific salmon, croaker, sardines, haddock, and tilapia.

Choose lean meats (chicken, turkey, veal and non fatty cuts of beef with excess fat trimmed ; one serving = 3 oz. of cooked meat)

Fresh or frozen fish, canned shrimp, oysters. No more than one serving of one of these per week. Shellfish are high in cholesterol but low in saturated fat and should be used sparingly.

Meats and fish should be broiled (pan or oven) or baked on a rack.

Vegetables

Most vegetables are not limited. One dark-green (string beans, escarole) or one deep yellow (squash) vegetable is recommended daily.

Cauliflower, broccoli, and celery, as well as potato skins are recommended for their fiber content. (Fiber is associated with cholesterol reduction).

It is preferable to steam vegetable, but they may be boiled, strained, or braised with unsaturated vegetable oil.

Fruits

Eat at least three servings of fresh fruit every day (1 serving = 1/2 cup).

Be sure to have at least one citrus fruit daily.

Frozen of canned fruit with no sugar or syrup may be eaten

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Breads/Grains

One roll or one slice of whole grain or enriched bread may be eaten, or three soda crackers or four pieces of melba toast as a substitute.

Spaghetti, rice, or noodles (1/2 cup) or 1/2 large ear of corn may be taken as a bread substitute.

In preparing these foods do not use butter shortening, use soft margarine. Also use egg and sugar substitutes. Choose high-fiber grains, such as oats and whole wheat

Fats, Oils

Use soft magarine: vegetable oils that are high in unsaturated fats (such as sunflower, soybean, corn and cottonseed).

Always refrigerate meat drippings to harden the fat and remove it before preparing gravies.

Desserts, Snacks

Limit to two serving every day; substitute each serving for a bread/cereal serving;

ice milk, water sherbet (1/4 cup)

unflavored gelatin or gelatin flavored with sugar substitute (1/2 cup)

pudding prepared with skim milk (1/2 cup)

egg white soufflé

unbuttered popcorn (1.1/2 cups)

Others

For eggs limit egg yolks to two per week. However, use egg substitutes and egg white freely.

You can use dried peas or beans (1 serving = 1/2 cup) as a bread substitute.

Eat nuts such as almonds, walnuts, and peanuts sparingly (1 serving = 1 tablespoon).

Use 1/2 cup of hot cereal or 3/4 cup of cold cereal per day. Add a sugar substitute if desired with fat-free or skim milk.

Always use 99% fat-free or skim milk, dairy products such as low fat cheese (farmer's, uncreamed diet cottage), low fat yogurt, and powdered skim milk.

You may use the following freely; vinegar, spices, herbs, non fat bouillon, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, flavoring essences.

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Please remember that moderation is the order of the day. All foods should be taken in moderation.

Avoid sweets and control the amount of carbohydrates you eat (starchy foods such as flour, bread, potatoes).

Wow, we have covered a lot already and you are now ready to put together a plan that you can follow on a daily basis that will become your holistic solution to lowering cholesterol. Your holistic healthy living plan will remove the cause of your condition not simply remove the symptoms which is what you find with many of the cholesterol lowering medications. You will be making true lifestyle changes and find that a few small shifts in your daily life put you in the driver’s seat. This Blueprint will spell out every step for you so there is no confusion. We discussed foods that you should avoid because they contain cholesterol or saturated fats, as well as foods you should increase because they lower cholesterol. However, you might still be wondering how you can incorporate these foods into your diet.

Here are some ways you can easily add more of the right foods to

your daily diet:

Avoid the morning bacon and eggs (high in saturated fat and cholesterol) and instead enjoy an oat cereal or any cereal that contains soluble cholesterol lowering fibers such as flaxseed or psyllium fiber or seeds.

Sprinkle ground flaxseed (high in Omega-3) on cereal, yogurt and ice cream, or blend it into a smoothie.

Find ways to add fiber to your diet and aim to consume 5 to 10 mg per day of soluble fiber. This means adding foods such as psyllium seeds, oat bran, fruits, vegetables, and legumes to at least two of your daily meals. Even this small dietary shift may result in a 5 percent drop in LDL levels.

For snacks, choose fruits such as grapes, currant, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, citrus fruits, seeds and apples.

Replace animal fats with small quantities of nuts, especially pecans and walnuts, and olives (monounsaturated fats); seeds, and soy nuts. All these fatty foods contain Vitamin E, which is a nutrient that also helps lower your cholesterol

For lunch make legume dishes, dried beans, peas and lentils in tasty soups, stews and salads.

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For dinner enjoy one of the many variety of fish such as salmon, swordfish, tuna and trout to fortify your body with cholesterol lowering Omega-3 fatty acids.

Use canola and olive oils and soft margarines made from these oils when cooking. They provide unsaturated fats and lots of flavor.

Consume about 2 g per day of plant sterols and sterol derivatives. These components can be found in Benecol or Take Control margarine. Adding this amount of plant sterol to your daily diet has the potential to reduce LDL by up to 5 percent.

The tips above are great ideas for cooking and eating healthy but it is one thing to know which foods will help you lower your cholesterol, and quite another to put together a shopping list, prepare the meals and serve them in a way that is appetizing.

Here are some great tips to help you incorporate healthy foods into

your daily life:

Make a shopping list before leaving the house. This will help you stick to buying foods that are good for your heart health and help you avoid impulse buys like those baked goods they so prominently display in the supermarket.

A simple yet highly effective tip is to not bring foods high in cholesterol or saturated fat into your house. Instead, stock your pantry with healthy alternatives such as beans, fresh fruits, whole grains, vegetables and vegetable juice.

Throw out the butter and replace it with canola oil, olive oil or plant sterol spreads such as Benecol or Take Control margarine.

Look on your grocer’s shelves for foods specially designed for low cholesterol and heart healthy diets. These foods have often been fortified with plant stanols and sterols which help block the absorption of cholesterol.

Instead of eating eggs, try cooking a cholesterol free egg substitute, you will be surprised how tasty they are.

Choose fish and vegetables cooked in healthy oils instead of pasta dishes cooked in heavy cream sauces.

Experiment with spices. You can liven up many dishes with oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, cilantro, coriander, or cumin and avoid fatty creams and sauces.

As you can see it only takes a few minor changes in your attitude toward foods and in how you prepare your every day meal to make a big difference in your cholesterol level.

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4.1.3. Sample Diet to Lower Cholesterol

You are likely feeling more confident in your understanding of what a healthy diet looks like but nothing clears the air more than a full fledge example. This is why you will find sample diets to lower cholesterol below. Following a diet can be intimidating especially when your success or failure plays a role in your health. You may be worried that you will have to give up all your favorite foods or that you will end up feeling deprived at the end of the day. This does not have to be the case. The Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes Diet, commonly abbreviated as the TLC Diet is a recommended diet plan for people who want to control their cholesterol level. This diet outlines how you can balance fats, carbohydrates, and proteins in your diet and get needed fiber and plant sterols so you enjoy eating while lowering your cholesterol.

How to Change Your Diet

Below you will see a sample diet plan that is full of flavor. Follow this diet to lower your cholesterol. The first diet plan adds up to 2,500 calories and is intended for a man. The second diet plan adds up to 1,800 calories and is intended for a woman.

2,500 Calorie Cholesterol Lowering Diet Plan

The diet described below provides approximately 139 mg of cholesterol and 32 grams of fiber. An estimated 6% of the total fat calories are from saturated fat.

Breakfast

Oatmeal – 1 cup 160 calories

Skim milk – 1 cup 100 calories

Dried fruit – ¼ cup 60 calories

English muffin – 1 medium-sized 200 calories

Soft margarine – 2 tsp. 40 calories

Jelly – 1 Tbsp. 60 calories

Honeydew melon – 1 cup 80 calories

Orange juice – 1 cup 90 calories

Coffee with 2 Tbsp skim milk – 1 cup 20 calories

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Lunch

Roast beef and cheese sandwich

Lean roast beef – 3 ounces 150 calories

Whole-wheat bun – 1 medium-sized 150 calories

Low-fat Swiss cheese – 1 ounce slice 100 calories

Lettuce – 2 large leaves 5 calories

Tomato slices – 2 medium 20 calories

Mustard – 2 tsp. 10 calories

Pasta salad with mixed vegetables and olive oil–1 cup 150 calories

Apple – 1 medium-size 80 calories

Unsweetened iced tea – 1 cup

Dinner

Tuna steak cooked in 2 tsp. olive oil – 4 ounces 180 calories

Brown rice – 1 ½ cup 200 calories

Mixed vegetables – 1 cup 35 calories

Whole wheat roll – 1 medium 125 calories

Soft margarine – 1 tsp. 20 calories

Blueberries – 1 cup 80 calories

Low-fat frozen yogurt – ½ cup 120 calories

Skim milk – 1 cup 100 calories

Snacks

Popcorn cooked in 1 Tbsp. canola oil – 3 cups 150 calories

Pears, canned in water – 1 cup 80 calories

Drink 8 – 8ounce glasses of water throughout the day

Based on research, by decreasing your saturated fats to less than 7% of your total calorie intake you can reduce your LDL level by 8-10% and by adding 5-10 grams of soluble fiber to your daily diet you may be able to reduce your LDL level by 3-5%.

1,800 Calorie Cholesterol Lowering Diet Plan

The diet described below provides approximately 131 mg of cholesterol and 43 grams of fiber with 8 grams of soluble fiber. An estimated 5% of the total fat calories are from saturated fat.

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Breakfast

Bran cereal – ½ cup 100 calories

Skim milk – 1 cup 100 calories

Banana – 1 medium-sized 100 calories

English muffin – 1 medium-sized 200 calories

Soft margarine – 1 tsp. 40 calories

Jelly – 1 Tbsp. 60 calories

Cantaloupe melon – 1/2 cup 80 calories

Coffee with 2 Tbsp skim milk – 1 cup 20 calories

Lunch

Chicken breast sautéed in 2 tsp. canola oil – 2 ounces 100 calories

Collard greens – ½ cup 30 calories

Chicken broth, low sodium – 1 Tbsp. 10 calories

Corn on the cob – 1 small-sized 75 calories

Soft margarine – 1 tsp. 20 calories

Brown rice – ½ cup 50 calories

Mixed fruit, canned in water – ½ cup 60 calories

Unsweetened iced tea – 1 cup 0 calories

Dinner

Catfish coated with flour and baked with ½ Tbsp. canola oil – 3 ounces 130 calories

Sweet potato – ½ medium-sized 85 calories

Soft margarine – 2 tsp. 40 calories

Spinach cooked in 2 Tbsp. low-sodium vegetable broth – ½ cup 30 calories

Corn muffin – ½ medium-sized 85 calories

Soft margarine – 1 tsp. 20 calories

Watermelon – 1 cup 80 calories

Unsweetened iced tea – 1 cup 0 calories

Snacks

Graham crackers– 4 large 200 calories

Skim milk – ½ cup 50 calories

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Peanut butter, reduced fat and unsalted – 1 Tbsp.

Drink 8 – 8ounce glasses of water throughout the day

Based on research, by decreasing your saturated fats to less than 7% of your total calorie intake you can reduce your LDL level by 8-10% and by adding 5-10 grams of soluble fiber to your daily diet you may be able to reduce your LDL level by 3-5%. In the section below on weight management, you will find a daily diet plan that you can follow that will not only allow you to lower your cholesterol but also reduce your calorie intake so you can lose weight. But first, let’s take a look at another important lifestyle change that you can make to bring your cholesterol down and that is your physical activity level.

4.2. The Right Steps to Become More Physically Active

Becoming more physically active is an important part of your healthy plan for controlling cholesterol. Exercise can lower your triglycerides and raise your HDL cholesterol. It will also help you lose weight, lower your blood pressure, and reduce your risk of related heart conditions. Burning extra calories through exercise is also an excellent way to lower your triglyceride levels. It is hard to tell whether the effects are due to weight loss or improved metabolism - it could be both. Research shows that only 1 hour of vigorous exercise three times a week (or 6 half-hour sessions a week) can lower your triglyceride levels even if there is no change in your body weight. Exercise is an excellent alternative for using expensive medications to normalize your triglyceride levels. You have more energy, you lower your risk of heart disease and many other diseases, and your triglyceride levels start coming back to normal. One study showed that early morning exercise has shown excellent results in lowering overall triglyceride levels. And another study showed that a regular exercise program can increase HDL levels and produce a substance called lipoprotein lipase, which helps get rid of unneeded triglycerides. Coupled with a healthy low fat, low cholesterol diet like the one described above; exercise is another powerful weapon to reduce your cholesterol level. You want to be smart when you plan to add exercise to your daily routine. Consistency and motivation are both important factors to keep you exercising. So you will benefit in

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the long run if you start slow and then build both your time and intensity as you become more comfortable. If you have not been participating in a regular exercise routine within the past year you will want to spend the first few weeks building up your strength and endurance. Start with small routines like walking within your home and work up gradually to build up to a solid exercise routine. For a start, you can take a family member or a friend with you to give you company and keep you motivated until it becomes your daily routine. Be sure to check with your doctor before beginning any physical activity program, but when you are cleared for exercise start with something you enjoy. Your goal for physical activity is to get at least 3 hours of exercise during the week. This can be split up in many different ways. For instance, you could be active for one hour on 3 different days a week, you could get 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity on 6 days a week, or you could break up this time anyway that fits your schedule.

Activity for you to choose from could include:

Brisk walking Golf (walking the course) Dancing Bicycling Gardening House cleaning Jogging

Swimming Aerobics class Basketball Racquetball Tennis Other activities you enjoy

Take your time to research and try out different exercise options. Visit a local gym and see if you feel comfortable. Most gyms will give you a free day pass to try them out so this may very well cost you nothing. During your research take the time to map out a walking route and maybe even come up with an indoor walking alternative such as the local mall for those times when the weather prevents outdoor exercise. By trying out different exercise options and taking a few days to experience how you feel while performing them, you will be more likely to stick with them long term. And don’t forget a key element discussed earlier and that is having the right mindset to allow exercise to work in your life. Remind yourself of all the wonderful things regular exercise can bring into your life and how your life will improve from being in better

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shape. This will allow you to find the motivation you need to become a regular fitness enthusiast. One other thing to remember is to not ―over think‖ exercise. If you plan for too long you will never actually do. Come up with an idea for getting more activity into your day and act. The only reliable way to become comfortable with exercise is to do it. If you are currently active, then you can begin focusing on getting 30 minutes of physical activity on 6 days a week for a total of 3 hours of exercise per week. Keeping a simple exercise log in which you write down your daily activity is a great way to motivate yourself to stay on track and reveal your progress. If you are not currently active then follow this plan for working up to 30 minutes of daily activity.

4.2.1. Beginners Plan for adding physical activity.

Week 1 – Perform any physical activities listed above for 10 minutes 3 times this week.

Week 2 – Perform a physical activity for 20 minutes 3 times this week.

Week 3 – Perform a physical activity for 30 minutes 3 times this week.

Week 4 – Perform a physical activity for 30 minutes 4 times this week.

Week 5 – Perform a physical activity for 30 minutes 5 times this week.

Week 6 and beyond – Perform a physical activity for 30 minutes 6 times a week.

The key is to get moving. You will be surprised by how quickly your body responds to your increase in activity if you stay consistent by following this plan. Still feeling uneasy about beginning an exercise routine? Let’s delve a little deeper into a favorite form of exercise that almost anyone can do – walking. Walking 3 times a week for 60 minutes can greatly improve your cholesterol profile. And the good news is that you can work up to this amount of walking and still get many of the great benefits. There are many options for walking, you can walk outside alone or with a friend or you can walk inside at an indoor track, the mall, or on a treadmill. Walking is free and all that is required is a good pair of walking shoes. You simply tie your shoe laces and you are on your way to lower cholesterol. Let’s talk pace. You should not feel intimidated by walking as this will prevent you from being active. You do not have to power walk or speed walk to the point of exhaustion to get the cholesterol lowering benefits of this form of exercise.

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A quick and easy measure of a proper pace is the ―talk test.‖ This is simply a way of measuring how much effort you are putting into your exercise program. To perform the talk test simply try to hold a conversation during your walk. If you are only able to spurt out a few words at a time before gasping for air, then you are walking too hard and need to slow down. If you can easily carry on a conversation and do not notice an increase in your breathing, then you can safely speed up. Don’t worry about speed or distance and don’t fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others. Experts agree that the most important factor in physical activity is simply doing it on a consistent basis. When you do this you will notice improvements in your ability to exercise more come quick. Do yourself a favor right now and make an appointment with yourself to go for a walk. Mark on your calendar when you will walk tomorrow or later today and consider this appointment as important, if not more than, a visit to your doctor’s office.

4.2.2. Overcoming time restraints that prevent exercise:

One of the most common reasons people give for not exercising is time. They feel their days are filled already and adding exercise to the mix will just overfill their schedule. The truth is there are many ways to get more active that do not involve a large time commitment.

Here are a few valuable tips to try:

Think walk before hopping in the car. Are you just going down the street to pick of the kids, going out to eat or picking up a few items at the store? Why not consider using foot power to get you there? It may take a few extra minutes but you will accomplish your task and strengthen your heart.

Use the parking lot as your impromptu track. If you must drive to the store, why not park farther away from the entrance and briskly walk in. These little burst of exercise can add up quick.

Up the intensity on your house cleaning. Housework such as vacuuming, mopping and even dusting can raise your heart rate and breathing rate and turn into a good way to accomplish two tasks at once.

Think of TV commercial times as times to get up and move. During a single one hour show you might have 6 opportunities to move and a few minutes of squats, sit ups, push ups or lunges can add up to mean a lower cholesterol reading at your next doctor visit.

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4.3. How to Bring Your Weight Down – A Practical Plan

Obesity is the major risk factor for many diseases including heart problems. If you want to reduce your cholesterol and triglyceride levels, you will need to address your obesity. Obesity is defined as having a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 30% or above. You can find a BMI chart by doing a web search or ask your doctor to calculate your BMI. How much weight you need to lose depends on your ideal body weight. Your doctor can inform you about your current BMI as well as your ideal weight and help you determine how much weight you need to lose. The good news is that you don’t need to lose all of your extra weight to see your cholesterol and triglyceride levels go down. Even after losing few pounds, your numbers start to improve. Weight will not be an issue for everyone but if you are overweight, then losing just 10 pounds can reduce your LDL level by 5-8%. There are many aspects to consider with weight loss. You are human, which means you are a creature of habit and you may find it difficult to break poor eating habits. Because of this you will find it helpful to start a food journal and record your calorie intake as well as the foods you eat. This will help you become more aware of your overall food intake and avoid mindlessly eating out of habit. You may also find it helpful to focus on how hungry you are before a meal or snack. If you find that you are turning to food at times when you are not physically hungry, then ask yourself if you are using food to avoid boredom or an uncomfortable feeling. This added awareness may be all you need to avoid unnecessary calories. To tune into your hunger level you can use a simple tool called a hunger scale. Simply draw a base line across a piece of paper and make 10 equally spaced lines perpendicular to the base line (see the example below). These perpendicular lines should be numbered from left to right with the farthest line on the left being labeled with a 1 and the farthest line to the right being labeled with a 10. You now have a simple hunger scale with 1 meaning you are extremely hungry (Starving), 10 meaning you are extremely full (Stuffed), and the mid range of 4 through 6 meaning you are satisfied.

| | | | | | | | | |

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Starving S-a-t-i-s-f-i-e-d Stuffed

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Mark down your hunger level right before eating during the day and do this for one week. It will help to ask yourself ―how hungry does my stomach feel?‖ By doing this a few times a day for one week you will reconnect with true hunger and this simple trick will help you avoid mindless eating and ―unconscious‖ snacking. It is important to note that when it comes to losing weight – fat matters but so do calories. Cutting down on the amount of saturated fats you consume is needed to lower your LDL cholesterol level, and because foods with saturated fats are often high in calories you can lose weight by limiting these foods. Below is a reduced calorie sample diet packed with flavor that you are sure to enjoy. You can follow this diet plan to help lower your cholesterol level and lose weight. Discuss this diet with your doctor before following to determine which plan is right for you.

1,200 Calorie Cholesterol Lowering Diet Plan

Breakfast

Whole wheat toast – 1 medium slice 100 calories

Jelly – 2 tsp. 20 calories

Whole grain cereal – ¾ cup 120 calories

Skim milk – 1 cup 100 calories

Orange juice – ¾ cup 70 calories

Coffee, black – 1 cup 0 calories

Lunch

Roast beef sandwich

Lean roast beef – 2 ounces 100 calories

Whole-wheat bun – 1 medium-sized 100 calories

Lettuce – 2 large leaves 5 calories

Tomato slices – 2 medium 10 calories

Mayonnaise, low-calorie – 1 tsp. 10 calories

Apple – 1 medium-size 80 calories

Unsweetened iced tea – 1 cup 0 calories

Dinner

Salmon cooked in 1 ½ tsp. olive oil – 3 ounces 135 calories

Baked potato – 1 small 85 calories

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Soft margarine – 1 tsp. 20 calories

Mixed vegetables – 1 cup 35 calories

Dinner roll – 1 small 75 calories

Water – 2 cups

Snacks

Popcorn cooked in 1 Tbsp. canola oil – 2 cups 100 calories

Drink 8 – 8ounce glasses of water throughout the day

1,600 Calorie Cholesterol Lowering Diet Plan

Breakfast

Whole grain cereal prepared with low fat milk – ¾ cup 120 calories

low fat milk – 1 cup 100 calories

English muffin – 1 medium-sized 200 calories

Cream cheese, light – 1 Tbsp. 25 calories

Apple juice – ¾ cup 70 calories

Coffee with 1 oz. low fat milk – 1 cup 20 calories

Lunch

Roast turkey, white meat without skin – 3 oz. 140 calories

Vegetable oil – 1 tsp. 20 calories

Salad:

Lettuce – 1 cup 20 calories

Tomato slices – ½ cup 20 calories

Bean sprouts – ½ cup 20 calories

Reduced fat dressing – 2 tsp. 30 calories

Pasta with ¼ cup spaghetti sauce – ½ cup 100 calories

Dinner roll prepared with vegetable oil – 1 small 90 calories

Soft margarine – 1 tsp. 20 calories

Unsweetened iced tea – 1 cup

Dinner

Salisbury steak – 3 ounces 150 calories

Onion – ¼ cup 20 calories

Beef gravy, water-based – 2 Tbsp. 50 calories

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Green beans – ½ cup 35 calories

Soft margarine – ½ tsp. 10 calories

baked potato – 1 small 85 calories

Reduced calories sour cream – 1 Tbsp. 20 calories

Bread prepared with margarine – ½ medium slice 75 calories

Honeydew melon – ¼ medium melon 60 calories

Water – 2 cups

Snacks

Baked crackers, unsalted – 4 crackers 50 calories

Mozzarella cheese, part skim, low sodium – 1 oz. 80 calories

Drink 8 – 8ounce glasses of water throughout the day

Losing weight will help your overall health profile as well as your cholesterol management. Couple one of the above diet plans with 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity outlined in the step on becoming more physical activity and you will be well on your way to lowering your cholesterol level.

4.4. Short and Long Term Stress Relief Plans

Stress has already been linked to high blood pressure and related cardiovascular stress conditions but recent research shows prolonged exposure to stress can also raise your blood cholesterol and lipid levels. If you want to lower your cholesterol level and you are under a high amount of stress, then bringing your stress level under control is important.

4.4.1. Long term remedy for stress

Managing stress begins with identifying what triggers your stress. This sounds simple, yet you may have become so used to your stress that the sources may no longer be obvious to you. You cannot fix your stress until you have a better understanding of what it is that causes you stress, so part of your responsibility for lowering your cholesterol will be to keep a Stress Journal. A Stress Journal is a simple pad or notebook that is easy to carry and have handy during your day. The purpose of the journal is to help you identify the regular stress producers in your day to day life.

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What you will notice quickly is that patterns and common themes develop that give you valuable clues to identifying stressors in your life. This knowledge will help you as you move into creating strategies for dealing with your stress.

4.4.2. How to make your Stress Journal a helpful tool

1. Begin by noticing how you feel physically when under stress. Do you feel tightness in your chest, experience a heavy feeling in your stomach, or tension in your shoulders? Write this down.

2. Record in your Stress Journal, as best you can, what you think is causing your stress. Take a guess if you are not sure.

3. Record how you feel emotionally.

4. Record how you responded to the stressful situation.

5. Record what made you feel better.

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the most powerful. Do not ―over think‖ what you write down and please do not brush over this strategy thinking it is unimportant to your health. You may just find that your daily Stress Journal is the most valuable tool you create as you move through your healthy living plan.

4.4.3. Quick Short term remedy for stress

Take a deep breathe. Another technique you can do anywhere and anytime is slowing the pace of your breathing. Research shows that when you are under stress you tend to take short, shallow breathes. The opposite, long deep breathes have been shown to calm you down and even lower your blood pressure. What causes you stress? Note when you are working with your Stress Journal how your breathing is affected and then consciously slow your breathing and take deeper breathes. This can be done when you are driving in traffic, heading into an important meeting or need to meet a deadline. The added benefit of longer and deeper breathing is that it supplies the body and brain with additional oxygen and this can lead to clearer thinking. So keep in mind to take a breathe when you are feeling the affects of a stressful situation. Do you see how we are crafting a plan that you can follow in your daily life that can affectively reduce your cholesterol level? So far we have discussed the benefits of diet, exercise, weight control and stress reduction. Step back for a moment and notice how all these factors are like pieces of a puzzle that fit neatly together.

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For instance, following a proper diet and exercise program will help you reduce your weight; by weighing less you will naturally find that you are more physically active and when you are physically active you are able to control your stress. There is a clear connection between exercise and reduced stress which has been proven in university research studies conducted on patients with a variety of chronic medical conditions, including heart disease. The researchers found that, on average, patients who were physically active on a regularly basis had a significant reduction in anxiety symptoms compared to those who did not exercise. Incorporating the strategies talked about in this Blueprint puts you on an upward spiral. Do not feel you must change everything about your life at once. Each step discussed will build on the next and before long you will find it effortless to make healthy food choices, strap on your walking shoes and control your stress – simply because it feels so good to do so.

4.5. Steps To Better (and Healthier) Lifestyle Habits

Your goal is to create enough change so you see a significant decrease in your blood cholesterol level. This could mean that you need to make some tough decisions about some of your current lifestyle habits.

4.5.1. Smoking

Are you a smoker? Smoking is one of the major risk factors that lead to cardiovascular disease and it lowers your HDL cholesterol level. This is why it is important for you to make the decision to quit smoking if you are currently a smoker. There is an addictive side to smoking that makes the habit challenging to break, yet now is an optimal time for you to take back control of your health and set a date to quit. According to the American Cancer Association, there is no one right way to quit smoking, but they have identified some key elements that help people quit successfully.

1. Make the decision to quit; by making a strong decision to stop you active your willpower and motivation to succeed.

2. Set a quit date, and select a quit plan. There are a number of proven ways to quit the smoking habit. You may choose to use a nicotine patch, cut down the number of cigarettes you smoke each week until you are at zero, or try going ―cold turkey.‖

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3. Manage physical and the psychological withdrawal. Perhaps the biggest obstacle to quitting smoking is letting go of the habit. Have a plan to keep your hands and mind busy so you are less in need of returning to the habit for comfort.

4. Stay quit by maintaining your success. The first week or two will be the most challenging but understand that the cravings will subside and that many people have quit before you and so can you.

You may want to enlist the help of friends and family members who are willing to keep you accountable. By letting people know your intention to stop smoking you up the ante and find it harder to pick up that next cigarette. Only you can make the decision to quit smoking. Pull out a pen and mark a day on your calendar when you will quit smoking and take the steps needed to quit this life-threatening habit.

4.5.2. Alcohol

Excessive alcohol consumption is detrimental to your health. Alcohol may have some benefits as it has been shown in research studies to increase HDL cholesterol levels. However, it carries with it other potential health risks, and the benefits are not great enough to recommend drinking alcoholic beverages for cholesterol lowering. Another consideration is your weight. Both sugar and alcohol (fermented sugar) are a source of excess calories which are being turned into fat – in other words, triglycerides, so the fat levels in your blood go up. When alcohol (ethanol) is present in the blood, the liver prioritizes removing alcohol from the blood over other metabolic processes. The liver can detoxify about one ounce of alcohol per hour (equivalent to 12 ounces of beer or 4 ounces of wine). In the meantime, however, glucose (sugar) tends to be further processed into triglycerides which raise their blood levels. Please note that after your triglyceride and cholesterol level goes back to normal, you will have to follow a modified sugar and alcohol diet for the rest of your life. The bottom line is, if you do not currently drink alcohol do not start. If you do drink, do so in moderation. Moderation is defined as an average of one to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women.

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4.6. Finding Beneficial Natural Supplements

Because you are reading this Blueprint on how to lower your cholesterol naturally, you are probably curious about natural supplements that may be able to lower your cholesterol level. Any time you can turn to nature for a cure you can find the greatest health benefits and the fewest side effects, almost without exception. Natural supplements contain powerful nutrients to promote health and vitality, and can support healthy cholesterol metabolism in your body. As you move through your healthy living plan you will have days when you do not have the ability to follow your diet as well as you had planned. It is at these times when a nutritional supplement can bridge the gap and give you the reassurance that you are getting the nutrition you need without negative side effect. A good supplement for lowering cholesterol will contain some key ingredients including Niacin (Vitamin B3), Policosanol, Plant Sterol Complex, Garlic, Guggal, and Cayenne. These ingredients have been shown to help increase HDL cholesterol levels and decrease LDL cholesterol levels as well as decrease total cholesterol and triglyceride levels – all important elements of your healthy blood chemistry profile.

For more information on a recommended natural supplement visit http://www.all-

about-lowering-cholesterol.com/Cholestasys-supplement.htm A few quality natural products commonly used to lower triglyceride levels are provided for you below. Please do not use any of these or other such products without discussing them with your doctor. Also do not remove yourself from any prescription medication without your doctor’s knowledge. These are ―natural‖ supplements but do not read this to mean that they are completely without side-effects. Their use needs an expert opinion.

Lipoic acid

Lipoic acid is a natural compound that can be found in some foods including green leafy vegetables and red meat. It has powerful antioxidant properties and it is known for its anti-aging properties. Many studies have shown that supplementing your diet with lipoic acid can lower overall triglyceride levels.

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Supplementation of lipoic acid in lab animals has shown a decrease in triglyceride levels up to 60 percent. Find out about a supplement which contains Lipoic acid and does more than lower

triglycerides at http://www.all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com/lipoic-acid

Garlic

Garlic has a long history of health benefits; among its many benefits is its apparent ability to lower triglyceride levels. Studies show that combining garlic with fish oil can significantly reduce triglyceride levels. In a large study people taking powdered garlic experienced a significant drop in cholesterol and triglycerides. It is especially noteworthy that the garlic used is a measured dose of standardized garlic powder. Since the raw garlic used so often in past research has been shown to vary widely in concentration, study results were not always consistent. One raw clove of garlic can have as much as 13 times the active ingredient (allicin) as the next; the powder has a guaranteed standard allicin concentration that does not change from batch to batch. That is why you should take (if you choose to) a garlic tablet made by a cool-dried process. This process preserves the active garlic ingredients. The tablets each contain 500 milligrams of odor-controlled garlic.

Niacin

Niacin or Vitamin B3 has serum triglyceride lowering properties that have been researched thoroughly. Your doctors may include niacin in your treatment if you have a high triglyceride level. Be sure to mention this supplement if your doctor does not. According to one Blueprint from the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP), Niacin is an excellent choice to drop the blood lipids levels. Several studies have shown that niacin reduces triglyceride levels by as much as 50 percent, increases the good cholesterol (HDL) while reducing the total cholesterol by 10-25 percent. There’s one supplement product that contains both Garlic and Niacin, and will help lower triglycerides and cholesterol. Click this link

http://www.all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com/product-review to

find a Product Review of this Supplement.

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Fish Oil (Omega 3)

The benefits of a good quality Omega-3 fish oil supplement are so many and varied that it is hard to know where to begin. For our discussion it is good to note that Omega 3 fish oil has excellent triglyceride lowering properties. Many studies have shown positive results in lowering the triglyceride levels by simply adding fish oil in your diet. It is a common natural treatment for patients with high triglyceride levels. Scientists have found that a diet high in fish—especially cold-water fish such as salmon, sardines, and mackerel—reduces the incidence of heart disease. Since then, they've been investigating Omega-3 fatty acids in the form of fish oil supplements. Although eating fish has been found to reduce heart disease, no one yet knows if fish oil supplements do. However, we know that fish oil can decrease certain heart disease risk factors. Fish oil has been found to decrease triglycerides, raise good HDL cholesterol, and thin the blood a bit. These effects might be why eating fish prevents heart attacks. In May 2002, the American Heart Association announced that daily supplements of a fatty acid found in fish oil reduce the risk of sudden death in heart attack survivors by half. Learn more about a fish oil supplement that comes from the pristine waters of the Southern Ocean off New Zealand by going to

http://www.all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com/Fish-Oil

Supplement

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Things to remember from Section 4:

Limit your average daily cholesterol intake to less than 300 milligrams and lower this to less than 200 milligrams if you have heart disease.

Foods to Limit or Avoid:

Bad Fats = Trans Fats and Saturated Fats

Trans Fats = Partially Hydrogenated Oil = Fried Foods

Diets high in carbohydrates, especially sugar, lead to increases in triglycerides so limit alcohol and sugar.

Foods to Increase and Enjoy:

Good Fats = Polyunsaturated Fats, Monounsaturated Fats, and Omega 3 and Omega 6 Fatty Acids. Omega 3 is found in natural supplements, fish, and flaxseed

Monounsaturated fats are found in such foods as nuts, olives, avocadoes, and canola oils.

Add fiber and aim to consume 5 to 10 mg per day of soluble fiber. This means adding foods such as psyllium seeds, oat bran, fruits, vegetables, and legumes to at least two of your daily meals

Use extra virgin olive oil, it increases HDL (good) cholesterol

Tips for adding exercise

Start slow and build your endurance. By walking 3 times a week for 60 minutes you can greatly improve your cholesterol profile.

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Section 5:

Conclusion

Things to remember from Section 4 - Continued:

Tips for lowering your weight

Use a hunger scale to determine how hungry you are and to make better eating decisions.

Keep track of your calorie consumption in a daily food journal.

Follow a Reduced Calories Cholesterol Lowering Diet Plan.

Tips for managing stress

Keep a daily stress journal.

Remind yourself to breath deeply; when you are under stress you tend to take short, shallow breathes

Tips to stop smoking:

1. Make the decision to quit

2. Set a quit date, and select a quit plan.

3. Manage physical and the psychological withdrawal by keeping busy

4. Stay quit by maintaining your success

Tips on alcohol consumption

If you do not currently drink alcohol do not start.

If you do drink, do so in moderation (one to two drinks per day

for men and one drink per day for women).

Tips on natural supplements

Take a natural supplement to lower cholesterol daily – nature has the best cure!

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Understand one thing as you conclude this Blueprint – you do have the power to lower your cholesterol level naturally. The best news is that even small changes in your daily living habits can add up to make significant changes in your blood cholesterol level. Cholesterol is not the enemy – it is a waxy, fatty substance that is absolutely essential to many metabolic processes in your body. However, because your body naturally makes cholesterol, you do not need to consume it in the form of extra fats in your diet. High levels of LDL cholesterol and low levels of HDL cholesterol can lead to coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke. You want to take your healthy living seriously so you can add quality of your years.

Here is your healthy living plan in a nice neat nutshell:

Consume foods that contain polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Avoid foods high in saturated and trans fats. Embark on a regular exercise routine. You do not have to exercise every day to see results. Just three exercise sessions a week can put your body on the right path to reducing your cholesterol level. Keep your weight down. Obesity is a known risk factor for heart attacks. It is also well known that obesity and high cholesterol levels go hand in hand. Try following one of the recommended reduced calorie diet plans outlined in this Blueprint as part of a proactive plan for fighting high cholesterol levels. Take conscious measures to reduce your stress. Stress makes your body run inefficiently and can increase your blood pressure while at the same time have a negative effect on your cholesterol profile. Start a Stress Journal and take deep, long breathes during times of stress. Smoking is yet another way to artificially elevate your cholesterol level. You can exercise and eat healthy but if you smoke you are sabotaging your best efforts to get healthy. Inhaling cigarette smoke actually encourages cholesterol to stick like glue to your artery walls. As for drinking alcohol, the golden rule is if you do not currently drink, don’t start. If you do drink, do so in moderation meaning an average of one to two drinks/day for men and one drink/day for women. Start a daily habit of taking a natural supplement specially designed to lower bad cholesterol and triglyceride levels and raise good cholesterol. Any time you can use

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nature to help your health you reduce the risk of side effects seen when using prescription drugs. Making a significant change in your cholesterol level can be done but you must take action. You now understand the 6 steps to drug-free management of your high blood cholesterol. Discuss your plan with your doctor and when you are cleared to begin - take action! There is good news about your cholesterol level and that is you can prevent this health issue from getting worse and even reverse it through small changes in your day. This health problem is largely created by your habits and this is good news because it means you hold the solution in your hands.

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Recommended Resources

For more information on products and information found in this Blueprint please refer to the following:

To learn more about cholesterol go to www.all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com. There you will find the latest and most updated information about cholesterol, foods, triglycerides, cholesterol medications and more. To find out about specific supplements that you can take regarding cholesterol and how

to lower it, go to http://www.all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com/product-

review To find out about a fish oil supplement that comes from the pristine waters of New

Zealand click this link http://www.all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com/Fish-Oil-

Supplement

Weight Loss

http://www.all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com/weight-loss

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References:

All About Lowering Cholesterol.com (2010). What is the diet for lowering cholesterol. Retrieved from http://www.all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com/diet-for-lowering-

cholesterol.html

American Cancer Association (2010). Plan your quit day. Retrieved from http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_7_Committing_To_Quit.asp

The American Heart Association (2010). What your cholesterol levels mean. Retrieved

from http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=183#Triglyceride

The American Heart Association (2010). Cholesterol. Retrieved from http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4488

American Heart Association (2010). Triglycerides. Retrieved from

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4778

Donatelle, R.J. (2009). Health-The Basics (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Harvard University Gazette (2007). Fatty foods feed heart attacks, researchers say. Retrieved from http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/04.20/01-transfat.html

Help Guide (2010). Stress management. Retrieved from

http://helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm

Love to Know (2007). Foods to avoid. Retrieved from http://diet.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Diet_to_Lower_Triglycerides

NHLBI (2010). How you can lower your cholesterol level. Retrieved from

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/chd/Tipsheets/daily.htm

NHLBI (2010). Lowering your cholesterol with TLC. Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/chol/chol_tlc.pdf

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Disclaimer www.all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage to health or otherwise, which may arise from reliance on information contained in this e-Blueprint. The information provided in this e-Blueprint is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. The information and claims made in this e-Blueprint have not been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration and are not approved to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.