Here is a great article that hits home on the cholesterol, good fats and the use of coconut oil for healthier eating and lifestyle.
I have part of the article that I Want to share with you folks….
You can read the whole article here
By Dr. Mercola
The idea that high cholesterol causes heart disease is based on the premise that cholesterol is found in the plaque of people with coronary artery disease. But does that automatically mean that cholesterol itself is the root cause, and must be kept at a minimum to prevent plaque formation?
The answer is “no.”
Tips for Optimizing Your Cholesterol Without Drugs
Your body NEEDS cholesterol—it’s important in the production of cell membranes, hormones, vitamin D and bile acids that help you to digest fat. Cholesterol also helps your brain form memories and is vital to your neurological function.
“Please don’t live in fear of your raw cholesterol number,” Dr. Rowen says. “Unless it’s around 300 or higher, I don’t believe that it’s going to be indicative [of heart disease risk].”
The goal of the guidelines below is not to loweryour cholesterol as low as it can go, but rather to optimize your levels so they’re working in the proper balance with your body. Seventy-five percent of your cholesterol is produced by your liver, which is influenced by your insulin levels. Therefore, if you optimize your insulin level, you will automatically optimize your cholesterol. This is why my primary recommendations for safely regulating your cholesterol have to do with modifying your diet and lifestyle as follows:
Reduce, with the plan of eliminating, grains and sugars in your diet. It is especially important to eliminate dangerous sugars such as fructose.
Consume a good portion of your food raw.
Make sure you are getting plenty of high quality, animal-based omega 3 fats, such as krill oil. New research suggests that as little as 500 mg of krill per day may lower your total cholesterol and triglycerides and will likely increase your HDL cholesterol.
Replace harmful vegetable oils and trans fats with healthful fats, such as olive oil and coconut oil (remember olive oil should be used cold only. Use coconut oil for cooking and baking)
Include fermented foods in your daily diet. This will not only optimize your intestinal microflora, which will boost your overall immunity, it will also introduce beneficial bacteria into your mouth. Poor oral health is another indicator of increased heart disease risk.
Optimize your vitamin D levels, ideally through appropriate sun exposure as this will allow your body to also create vitamin D sulfate—another factor that may play a crucial role in preventing the formation of arterial plaque.
Exercise regularly. Make sure you incorporate high intensity interval exercises, which also optimize your human growth hormone (HGH) production.
Avoid smoking or drinking alcohol excessively.
Be sure to get plenty of high-quality, restorative sleep.
Final Thoughts
“The simplest thing you can do, and the most powerful, is to clean up your diet first,” Dr. Rowen says. “Eat more raw, uncooked, living foods organic, grown around you, ripe when in season – ancient Chinese wisdom…
Get exercise. Exercise can overcome – I’m not going to say anything – but a lot. We know that people have eaten toxic diets for years, including a lot of cooked foods. When they get exercise, it can overcome a lot of that. These are things that cost absolutely nothing for you to do. I like your concept of eating fermented foods, keeping your mouth clean. The so-called antioxidants, particularly vitamin E or the natural vitamin E’s, are good. Especially if you can get it in your food, these don’t cost anything.
I assure you that in most cases, if you start doing these things, you’ll see that your cholesterol drops. Mine is 175. My triglycerides are 100 or less. I use triglycerides as a marker, because the higher that is, it tells me the more refined carbohydrates you’re eating. The more refined carbohydrates you’re eating, the more insulin you’re going to have. The more insulin you have, the bigger your belly… [I]nsulin drives all those carbohydrates into fat, which generates inflammation (which is the same inflammation that might come out of your mouth).
These are the things that you can do that don’t cost a penny, and can alter your health dramatically.”
About Dr. Robert Rowen
Dr. Robert Rowen is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the prestigious Johns Hopkins University. He also attended the University of California in San Francisco. He was originally board certified in both family practice and emergency medicine, as well as the American Board of Clinical Metal Toxicology. (After being recertified, he later allowed those certifications to lapse, as he doesn’t believe they’re pertinent to his current work.) Dr. Rowen has been involved in complementary or integrative medicine since 1983, and was instrumental in creating the first statutory protection for natural medicine in the United States in the state of Alaska, in 1990. He’s presently the editor-in-chief of Second Opinion, which is a printed national newsletter, and he’s also still seeing patients in Santa Rosa, California.
