Posts Tagged Cholesterol medications

… concentrated in CoQ10 and are often the first organs to suffer when CoQ10 levels drop. Certain medications such as statin drugs, medications used to treat elevated cholesterol, are known to …

While reading various studies on how this fat gets into places that it shouldn’t, I came across a study that was investigating the impact of high fat versus high carbohydrate intake on the burning of fat. While reading the study I was fascinated and horrified by the method used to block the burning of fat in the healthy subjects who took part in the study. How did they do it? How did they block the healthy participants’ bodies from burning fat?

They gave them a popular blood pressure medication.

That’s right, they gave them a medication called a “beta blocker” that is very commonly prescribed to overweight, obese and diabetic patients with high blood pressure. This class of medication is, more accurately, called a beta adrenergic blocker. This means that the medication blocks certain receptors which bind to adrenaline, a hormone produced by the body which causes the heart to race, the blood vessels to constrict and thus blood pressure to increase. By blocking the beta adrenergic receptors of the body, the heart does not beat as strongly or as fast and the blood vessels relax thus lowering blood pressure. Unfortunately, the beta adrenergic receptors on fat cells get blocked as well and thus a decrease in fat loss occurs as well as an increased propensity to store fat.

Does anyone see a problem with this?

As I mentioned previously, the people who are most prone to high blood pressure are people who already have too much fat in their bodies. These include diabetics, people with pre-diabetes, as well as the overweight and obese. We give these people a medication which further inhibits fat use thus stoking the fire of their metabolic difficulties. Perhaps this is why many studies on these medications have resulted in an increased risk of disease and premature death. That’s right, not only have studies not proven these medications to prolong life, many have even shown them to shorten life.

It never ceases to amaze me how the medical establishment can turn a blind eye to the side effects of their treatments. The use of beta blockers to inhibit fat loss is apparently a standard practice in research studies and yet medicine just brushes it aside and convinces themselves that this class of medication is safe to use in overweight and obese people who are already afflicted with fat-clogged cells.

We need to open our eyes and accept the fact that medications are not nearly as effective as they are made out to be. We need to convince ourselves that the right approach is to take the reins of health into our own hands and although it is not as easy as popping a pill in the morning it is far better than the delusion that there is a medication for every disease…that, ladies and gentlemen, is nothing more than a mirage created by the drug industry.

For those of you who have high blood pressure and may have been prescribed a beta blocker such as propranolol, metoprolol or any other generic medication ending in “olol” I am not recommending that you stop your medication. In fact, to do so may cause a rebound elevation in blood pressure that could put you in the hospital or worse. I am simply saying, perhaps there is a better way to control blood pressure. In our experience, people can start living the right lifestyle can find that the need for the medication decreases or goes away as they get healthier. At this time you can work with your doctor to start weaning yourself from the medication. If you would like to learn more about natural methods for controlling blood pressure, check out our “Health Issues” section of this website. If you are looking for help developing a healthy lifestyle, learn about First Line Therapy that we offer at our wellness center.

According to conventional medicine, cholesterol is the cause of our heart disease epidemic. I have heard of some cardiologists telling patients that if it were possible they would lower their patient’s cholesterol levels to zero. This type of comment shows how the most advanced medical system in the world is based on antiquated ideas and philosophies. If we develop a drug tomorrow that would lower people’s cholesterol to zero and administered that drug to 100,000 people in a clinical study, we would have 100,000 dead people on our hands. Cholesterol is an important compound in the body, we need it to make important hormones and compounds such as vitamin D. When cholesterol is elevated, it is because the body is out of balance and is producing excessive levels of cholesterol. As with most things in life it is the dose that makes the poison and cholesterol is no different.

An important question to ask, however, is at what dose does something become a poison? We have discussed cholesterol in other articles…Today’s article is not about cholesterol, rather we are going to discuss cholesterol’s nasty little brother called triglyceride. Just as cholesterol plays an important role in the body, triglycerides also are important and necessary for survival. Triglycerides are your body’s way of transporting fat to the organs and tissues to be used for energy. Triglycerides are also stored in the body so that when energy is needed there is an abundant supply. Like cholesterol, the majority of triglycerides that are floating through the blood are produced by the liver. When your lifestyle is out of balance, the liver loses the ability to sense that the body no longer needs to produce triglycerides and these levels begin to rise in the blood stream. Once the triglycerides in the blood reach a level greater than 100 mg per deciliter then health begins to suffer.

A study that was published in the journal Circulation discovered that high triglycerides cause more damage to the blood vessels than having an elevated LDL (bad cholesterol). Another study that followed showed that patients with a high triglycerides level (over 200 mg per deciliter) had three times the risk of heart attack compared to patients with normal triglyceride levels. In that same study scientists found that people with the highest ratio of triglycerides to HDL cholesterol suffered a 16 time higher risk of heart attack compared to people with the lowest ratio of triglycerides to HDL. This ratio is calculated by dividing your triglyceride number by your HDL number, this ratio determines if you are suffering from a condition called metabolic syndrome. For more on this condition see the article on FirstLine therapy.

Metabolic syndrome occurs when the body produces too much insulin in response to a diet that is high in carbohydrates. This elevated insulin causes many problems for the body such as elevated cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure. Elevated triglycerides can also be a sign of an omega-3 fatty acid deficiency.

So what do you do if your triglyceride levels are elevated?

Occasionally, triglycerides are extremely high which can place the patient at risk of a painful and dangerous condition called pancreatitis. In these people, who can have triglycerides in excess of 1,000, medications are likely needed to prevent complications. With that said, medications are not the answer for 99% of the population. They simply cover up the real problem, which is poor diet and lack of exercise. The first step is to look at your diet. As with many other conditions and diseases, carbohydrates are the most common culprit. If your triglycerides are elevated it is likely that you are eating too many refined carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, cereal, sugars and sweets. Exercise is also very important because exercise burns excessive fat and sensitizes the body to insulin.

The next step is to optimize your omega-3 fatty acid intake. People who have elevated triglycerides can often drop their levels in half simply by adding omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil to their supplement program. It is important that you take enough fish oil to provide 1800 mg of EPA and 1200 mg of DHA per day. Recently, the FDA approved fish oil as a drug. This drug form of fish oil is ridiculously expensive and no better than the less expensive, non-prescription fish oils available. I will caution you to be very picky with your brand choice to assure that it is free of heavy metals and other contaminants. In our practice we use the Your Prescription for Health brand of fish oil for those who prefer capsules (3 capsules twice daily) or Carlson Labs Finest Fish Oil for those who prefer liquid (1 tablespoon daily).

It is my preference that you start with these two changes and give them a good 2-3 months before you retest. If after this period your triglycerides are still elevated above 100 then I would recommend that you try a special form of a B vitamin called pantethine. This is an effective tool for normalizing triglycerides and cholesterol. The recommended dosage is 450 mg two to three times daily. Niacin is also an effective tool against elevated triglycerides, however, given the possibility of severe side effects I would recommend that you reserve this as a last defense. To lower triglycerides, doses in excess of 2,000 mg may be necessary and regular blood tests to assess liver function will be needed on a fairly regular basis.

Although triglycerides appear to be an independent risk factor for premature heart disease, we must not lose sight that elevated triglycerides are an indicator of a more serious condition called insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome. IF you correct the insulin resistance, the triglycerides usually correct themselves. In addition, by correcting insulin resistance, you will also enjoy healthier cholesterol and blood pressure levels.

Why do we spend so much time talking about lowering “bad” cholesterol and almost ignore its fraternal twin brother (arguably a more important player in risk of cardiovascular disease)? The answer is quite simple, there are basically two ways that a pharmacologist can impact a biological system, they can either work to add something back to the body (such as thyroid hormone) or they work to decrease the amount of a compound in the blood (such as an antihistamine for allergies). It is extremely difficult for the scientists to produce a drug that gets the body to make more of a particular substance. On the flip side, it is easier to make a compound that inhibits the production of a particular substance. With cholesterol, pharmacologists have designed medications called statins that decrease the amount of cholesterol that the liver can produce. HDL, however, is different than LDL cholesterol in that more HDL is better. Thus, scientists would have to produce a substance that was capable of stimulating the liver to build and release more HDL particles. Not an easy task.

As mentioned earlier, there are two types of cholesterol. LDL, is called “lousy” cholesterol because it is the form that is found in the nasty plaques of the arteries. HDL is considered “happy” because it carries cholesterol from the tissues, such as the arteries, back to the liver where it can be disposed of. That is an oversimplified, albeit sufficient, description of the two main forms of cholesterol.

Once again, the goal with HDL is to achieve a higher level. When I was in pharmacy school, we were told that there were two main ways to impact HDL: exercise and moderate alcohol. I remember my professor jokingly saying “therefore, it would be in our patients’ best interest for them to run from bar to bar.” So for the remainder of this email I will discuss natural ways to increase your body’s own production of this important cholesterol particle. I will start with a discussion on specific lifestyle recommendations because these clearly have the most important and significant benefit to HDL levels and then I will conclude with a discussion of the supplements which act to top off our HDL levels.

Cut Carbohydrates! When we get a significant amount of carbohydrates in our diet, such as, bread, pasta, cake, candy and cereals, our body produces high levels of insulin. Elevated insulin triggers a condition called insulin resistance which has been shown to be a key factor in the development of cardiovascular disease. Part of the risk may be associated with the impact of insulin on the liver’s ability to produce HDL cholesterol particles. A low HDL is a classic presentation in people with insulin resistance and diabetes. By controlling carbohydrate intake you will have a positive impact on all lipids including HDL.
Exercise…LONGER. It is no secret that exercise has a positive impact on HDL cholesterol, however, until recently we didn’t have a clear idea as to how much of an increase could be expected. A Japanese study looked to answer this question. It was determined that the length of an aerobic exercise session was what determined the amount by which HDL would raise. In fact, for every 10 minutes above 20 minutes of aerobic exercise the subjects would enjoy a 1.4 mg/dl increase in HDL. Intensity and frequency were not nearly as important as the length of each exercise session. It is my recommendation that we each get 60 minutes of activity at least 5 days a week. I know it is a tall order, however, if people want extraordinary results in their lives they need to put in extraordinary effort.
It is Time to lose the weight. This one is cut and dried. Even small amounts of weight gain can have dramatic impacts on HDL cholesterol.
Good News for Smokers! The good news is…if you quit, you will enjoy a significant elevation in your HDL cholesterol.
Check Your Medications. Some medications can have a negative impact on HDL such as beta blockers and certain cholesterol lowering medications.
Oils can help. If you do use oils in cooking or salads use extra virgin olive oil as this has been linked to higher HDL cholesterol.
Your Chia Pet May Save Your Life. Chia seeds are a wonderful whole food and may help you achieve a higher HDL. Soluble fiber, found in chia seeds, has been shown to increase your HDL and help protect you from insulin resistance. In addition to the large amount of fiber found in chia seeds, they are also full of healthy HDL-raising fatty acids, nutrients and minerals. Try 1 tablespoon twice daily.
Fish Oil Increases HDL By Two Mechanisms – Omega-3 fats found in fish oil have many positive benefits to the body. One such benefit is increasing HDL cholesterol by increasing production while simultaneously decreasing the body’s dismantling of HDL cholesterol that has already been produced. We recommend 1 tablespoon daily of Carlson Labs or 6 capsules daily of Super Omega-3.
Niacin – No discussion of natural approaches to increasing HDL is complete without a discussion about B3, also known as niacin. Currently there are three main forms of niacin on the market: standard niacin, inositol hexanicotinate and niacinamide. Plain niacin is the form most commonly prescribed or recommended for cholesterol and it has very potent benefits to HDL and has also been shown to decrease heart attack risk and cardiovascular death. Unfortunately, niacin comes with side effects including uncomfortable rash/hot flash and potential liver damage (which occurs more often than I feel comfortable with). If you do use niacin, you should use a slow release and have your doctor test your liver on a regular basis. Inositol Hexanicotinate is a form of niacin that is bound to inositol. This form is believed to enter the blood where it is slowly releases the niacin to the body and may impact cholesterol. The cholesterol lowering benefits of inositol hexanicotinate (no-flush niacin) are inconsistent. It works well for some and is useless for many. There is no way to determine who no-flush niacin will work, for so it has fallen from favor with us. Those who use no-flush niacin with good result should continue, it appears to offer little risk to the liver. Niacinamide does nothing for cholesterol but can be a useful tool for those who suffer with inflammation.

Now I would like to shift directions a bit and move from a discussion of increasing the number of HDL particles that are floating through your blood to a discussion about how to improve the ability of your HDL to pull unwanted cholesterol from the plaques of the arteries. A very interesting study on genetically modified mice shed some light on how HDL works to inhibit plaque formation. HDL is not just a glob of cholesterol, it actually carries numerous enzymes which appear to offer much of the benefit. One such enzyme, called paraoxonase, appears to play a very important role in the blood vessels. When scientists genetically engineered mice to produce HDL cholesterol without this vital enzyme, the mice suffered significant inflammation within the blood vessels. This research suggests that HDL actually becomes harmful and inflammatory when it loses paraoxonase. In humans, acute stress such as surgery or trauma can cause the HDL to be depleted of this anti-inflammatory enzyme. Paraoxonase also appears to play an important role in detoxifying the LDL cholesterol, making it much less likely to deposit into the arteries. So what can we do to protect the paraoxonase and is there anything that can be done to increase the production of this powerful enzyme? The answer is yes! A Greek study evaluated vitamin E’s ability to protect the HDL cholesterol from losing its paraoxonase enzyme after intense exercise in 10 healthy basketball players. Initially the researchers tested the paraoxonase content of the basketball player’s HDL before and after intense exercise and found the enzyme levels plummeted after the exercise. They then began having the players supplement with vitamin E. After one month of supplementation with alpha tocopherol (vitamin E) the researchers tested the blood before and after intense exercise and found that the supplementation protected the HDL from losing the paraoxonase. This certainly does lend support to the protective effect of vitamin E for cardiovascular disease. If you do supplement with vitamin E, I recommend that you take a natural formula such as Unique E. 1 softgel (400 iu) daily should be plenty.

Recently, scientists have found that a class of compound found in many natural foods may actually activate your genes to produce more paraoxonase! This class of compound called polyphenols is found in many fruits, herbs and teas. Two specific polyphenols stand out in the research literature for their ability to increase the production of this enzyme: quercetin and resveratrol. These two products can be found in a formula called Resveratin by Xymogen. I recommend 1 capsule twice daily. This area of research is a very exciting one and may prove to me a much more important factor than the HDL number. We will continue to follow this issue and report on any new data that comes out.

One final note on cholesterol. As more and more research comes out we are seeing a change in the thought process of cholesterol and its impact on heart disease risk. The most recent literature suggests that the quantity of the cholesterol is far less important than the quality of the cholesterol produced. On your next doctor’s appointment, ask your doctor to order a blood test that assesses the quality of the cholesterol produced in addition to the quantity. This test is called the VAP test and it is available at most labs. If your doctor is not familiar with this test then it may be in your best interest to contact a holistic minded physician to follow this and other tests that may give you insight into your true risk of heart disease. To see a listing of these tests, please see the Heart Disease protocol in our Health Issues section.

Diabetes mellitus comes from the Greek words which translates to “siphon” and “sweet”. Many years ago, before the development of blood glucose tests, physicians would taste the urine of symptomatic patients to diagnose diabetes. If diabetic, the patient’s body would spill glucose into the urine giving it the signature sweet taste from which its name comes.

There are two types of diabetes: type I diabetes, also known as insulin dependant diabetes and type II diabetes which is also called non-insulin dependant diabetes. Because it is now common practice to place type II diabetics on insulin the “insulin dependant” and “non-insulin dependant” terminology has become outdated and should not be used. In this section we will discuss type II diabetes, the current medications for its treatment and the natural alternatives to these medications.

The most common symptoms that diabetics will first present with include increased hunger, increased thirst and increased urination. All of these symptoms occur because the glucose that floats through the blood is not being taken into the cells of the body where it can be properly used for metabolism. This excess glucose then causes various symptoms such as those described above.

Although type II diabetes can run in families, genetics only comes into play when someone has a poor lifestyle. If you have close family members who have been diagnosed with diabetes, this does not mean that you will absolutely develop diabetes. Research into a group of Mexican natives called the Pima Indians has shed some light on this issue. Pima people who live in a rustic manner, planting and gathering their own food while keeping active in everyday chores live almost entirely free of diabetes and obesity. The Pimas who move to Arizona and adopt the Standard American Diet have an extremely high incidence of obesity and almost 70% are diabetic. See our article on the Pimas in our Learning Center for more details. In the majority of the population, diabetes is related to lifesyle, while genetics only play a supportive role.

So, what makes diabetes such a dangerous condition? Diabetes is a condition that magnifies and potentiates every other condition from heart disease to aging. This means that when you develop diabetes, you age at an alarming rate which speeds the rate at which you develop heart disease, nerve damage, obesity, eye degeneration, etc. Pre-diabetes and diabetes are the leading cause of elevated cholesterol and blood pressure. If we could erradicated pre-diabetes and diabetes, we would likely put many drug companies out of business who sell blood pressure and cholesterol medications.

So what is the secret to curing diabetes? To understand this, not so magical secret, let’s take a step over to our common sense corner. Diabetes is diagnosed when blood sugar is elevated to a certain point for a period of time. Although diabetes is a complicated condition that is characterized by a severe imbalance in a number of hormones and enzymes, when all is said and done it comes down to too much sugar in the blood. Thus, it doesn’t take much thinking effort to realize that we need to decrease the amount of sugar that enters or stays in the blood. There are two ways to achieve this: first, decrease the amount of sugar that enters our system through carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, rice, cake, candy, etc. Cut the carbs! Second, by burning up the sugar that is stored in our system through activity and exercise. If we do this, eighty percent of the battle is won.

Notice that medications did not make the list for a diabetes cure. Not only do medications not cure diabetes, they may actually speed your path to the grave. Unfortunately, I can not explain why this is the case without first giving you a little scientific background about sugar metabolism. Insulin is a hormone produced by the body which carries sugar into the cells. Without insulin, sugar could not enter the cell and the cells would die from lack of fuel. Insulin is designed to be produced in small amounts within the body and is quickly cleared from the blood as sugar levels go back to normal. In an ideal world, we would eat a little bit of sugar and a little bit of insulin would be produced in response. This happens naturally when we eat “natural” foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Nobody ever developed diabetes by eating fruits and vegetables? Whole foods such as fruits, vegetables and ture whole grains are mostly fiber and water and naturally low in carbohydrates. When a grain is refined, the fiber is removed leaving the calorie dense material. This calorie dense material is then ground into a fine powder and baked with sugar and oil to produce baked goods, cereals and breads. This process leaves a tasty product that contains tons of calories and is nearly devoid of nutrients. diabetes occurs when sugar enters your blood at a rate that is higher than your body can handle. When sugar spikes in the blood, a hormone called insulin spikes as well and carries the sugar into the cell. After a certain point, the cell can not handle the sugar load and then causes

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Some health experts claim that nutrient deficiencies are a thing of the past and supplementation is unnecessary in today’s day and age…they are dangerously mistaken!

In fact nutrient deficiencies are quite common, and such deficiencies are the direct cause of many health problems that result in hospitalization and even death.

One such nutritional deficiency is potassium and in today’s article, we will talk about the benefits of potassium supplementation as well as the daily potassium requirements for optimal health. Published research shows that potassium deficiency can be a direct or indirect cause of many health problems, including:

• Cardiac arrhythmias (irregular heart beat)
• High blood pressure
• Fatigue and muscle weakness
• Constipation

Benefits of Potassium

Potassium can be an important part of any supplement program. Studies have shown that potassium supplementation can result in significant decreases in blood pressure, improvements in constipation, decreases in cardiac arrhythmias, and improvement in fatigue and muscle weakness.

Daily Potassium Requirements

The majority of your potassium should come from your diet; supplementation should be used as a means of optimizing your dietary potassium intake. I recommend reading the article on the Benefits of Potassium for a discussion of dietary potassium from the perspective of our evolutionary history. Although the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of potassium is 4.7 grams (4700 mg), our Paleolithic ancestors consumed between 10-15 grams per day from fruits and vegetables!

For most healthy people, taking up to 1,000-2,000 mg of potassium daily in supplement form should be very safe (depending on diet). If you are on medications, such as loop diuretics or ACE Inhibitors, or suffer with heart or kidney disease, check with a health care provider prior to supplementing with potassium.

The Potassium Supplement That I Recommend

K+2 Potassium is a high potency potassium formula that provides 300 mg of potassium per capsule. In addition to providing 300 mg of potassium per capsule, this formula provides two impressive forms of potassium…

Potassium glycinate is a chelated form of potassium that mimics food sourced potassium in absorption and utilization.

Potassium bicarbonate provides a source of bicarbonate, which helps to alkalinize the body. This advanced combination makes this one of the most potent and powerful potassium supplements on the market. This form would be especially good for people who have bone loss and/or those who eat a high meat diet.

As an alternative, Potassium Amino Acid Complex by Your Prescription for Health is an inexpensive and high-quality form of chelated potassium. Each tablet provides 99 mg of potassium in a form that mimics potassium found in food. Potassium chelate by Your Prescription for Health is considered the most cost-effective form of potassium. The only negative to this potassium supplement is it is limited to 99 mg per tablet.

Summary:

As I mentioned in the article, Benefits of Potassium, we are designed to consume far more than the ridiculously low amounts suggested by the RDA. So if you are a healthy person, with normal kidney function and currently not taking any medications for blood pressure or heart problems, eat as much potassium as you can from fruit and vegetable sources. If you have difficulty getting large quantities of fruits and vegetables, try 4-6 capsules of K+2 Potassium by Designs for Health.

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