SECTION 5: Conclusion RECOMMENDED RESOURCES REFERENCES: DISCLAIMER... 68

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2 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 The Ironic Nature of Cholesterol Good and Bad Cholesterol LDL Cholesterol HDL Cholesterol VLDL Cholesterol Triglycerides Health Risks of High Cholesterol and Triglyceride Levels Symptoms How Cholesterol is Measured and Where You Want Your Numbers Be The Importance of the HDL to LDL Ratio Factors That Elevate Your Cholesterol Levels SECTION 2: The Mind-Body Connection Your Mindset Matters The Power of Believing Reprogramming Your Mind for Healthy Living Learn to Think Healthy and You Will Find the Motivation to Be Healthy SECTION 3: Introduction To Treatment Options For Lowering Cholesterol Cholesterol Lowering Drugs and Their Side Effects A Guide to Cholesterol Lowering Medications Natural Remedies SECTION 4: Step-by-Step Plan to Lower Cholesterol Naturally Healthy Food & Diet Choices Foods That Increase Your Cholesterol Levels Foods that Lower Your Cholesterol Levels Sample Diet to Lower Cholesterol The Right Steps to Become More Physically Active Beginners Plan for adding physical activity Overcoming time restraints that prevent exercise: How to Bring Your Weight Down A Practical Plan Short and Long Term Stress Relief Plans

3 Long term remedy for stress Steps To Better (and Healthier) Lifestyle Habits Smoking Alcohol Finding Beneficial Natural Supplements SECTION 5: Conclusion RECOMMENDED RESOURCES REFERENCES: DISCLAIMER

4 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? 3

5 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 4

6 Disclaimer Our lawyer says that we need to include this. So here s the disclaimer. 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. 5

7 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. 6

8 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. 7

9 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 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 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 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 8

10 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. 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! 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 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 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. 9

11 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 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. 10

12 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) 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. 11

13 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 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 mg/dl ( 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 mg/dl ( mmol/l) Borderline mg/dl ( mmol/l) High mg/dl ( 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 mg/dl (1-1.5 mmol/l) Protective 60 mg/dl or above (1.5 mmol/l or above) 12

14 Triglyceride Levels (another form of blood fat) Normal less than 150 mg/dl (less than 1.7 mmol/l) Borderline High mg/dl ( mmol/l) High mg/dl ( 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 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 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. 13

15 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. 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 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 14

16 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. 15

17 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 Triglycerides- less than 150 mg/dl (1.5 mmol/l) (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

18 2.1. Your Mindset Matters Section 2: The Mind-Body Connection 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 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. 17

19 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 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. 18

20 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 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. 19

21 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: 20

22 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) 21

23 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) 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. 22

24 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 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. 23

25 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. 24

26 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 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. 25

27 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 B 3, 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 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. 26

28 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 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 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. 27

29 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 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 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. 28

30 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 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 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! 29