I have been cursed with genetic high cholesterol, just like my mom and her father. High cholesterol is not your ticket to an automatic heart attack by any means; it is merely correlated. Although my grandfather did die way too young from heart problems, my mom's cholesterol is every bit as high, and her heart seems to be fine.
About a decade ago we started hearing about "good" vs. "bad" cholesterol, yet we are still adding the two types. A better trend in measurement that is starting to catch on is to measure the ratio of good to bad, (should be about 1:3.) We are also hearing talk about a desirable level of HDL (good) cholesterol being at least 50, and LDL (bad) cholesterol should be no higher than about 130.
One way to knock back your cholesterol is to use pharmaceutical means such as the statin family of drugs. Do not believe that merely lowering your cholesterol is an infallible magic bullet against heart disease. People with excellent cholesterol numbers also have heart attacks. Unfortunately, statin drugs are hard on the liver and often give rise to side effect aches and pains in the muscular system that perhaps go under reported. People with liver impairment can't take them, and why should someone with a good liver stress their liver? Statins clearly do reduce cholesterol but it is unclear how they truly lower the heart attack risk. We only care about cholesterol because of the correlation - high cholesterol or hyperlipidemia by itself does not cause any symptoms - but there is controversy as to whether the benefit of statins is worth the risks.
Dean Ornish has a program involving a very low-fat almost vegan diet, combined with stress reduction and physical exercise, that has been shown to decrease cholesterol and reverse existing atherosclerosis. Though it is safe and effective, people seem to find it difficult to stay on Ornish's program.
There are products sold that are intended to meet this market niche. Unfortunately commercial products have to be sexy to sell, and the only way to make a food product sexy is to add sugar or fat, or to get a celebrity to endorse it. I'm a firm believer that sugar is evil, and that even good fat where it's not strictly necessary is a bad idea.
Having said all that, I'd still prefer to have lower, rather than higher serum cholesterol levels. I'm a believer in doing things a bit at a time. I decided to see how much I could reduce my cholesterol by diet alone. I developed the recipe that follows for morning cereal. I could never market this recipe. This cereal is decidedly unsexy; it looks like cow pie; and is only just edible. But... after two months on this cereal, and also adding legumes to my evening meal and cutting out butter, all sweets and fried foods my cholesterol dropped 50 points. Some of my friends have tried it and dropped their cholesterol. I'd love to hear how it works for you.
2 Tbsp organic oat bran
1 Tbsp soy protein powder
Mix with 3/4 C water and microwave on high, covered, for 2 minutes. It will be soupy.
Stir in:
2 tsp ground flax seeds
1 tsp hemp seed or hemp protein powder
1 tsp psyllium husks, powdered
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1-2 tsp agave nectar
1/2 C frozen blueberries
The cereal will start to thicken up. You can let it stand for a little while longer if you want it thicker. If it is too thick, thin with a little soy milk or water. Optional: 1 tsp brewer's yeast, 1 tsp wheat germ, 1/2 tsp ground nuts, other chopped dried fruit
Tips: Keep your flaxseed meal and your hemp products frozen as they tend to go rancid. Ingredients from the second list should never be cooked with the base cereal: For example, the lignans in flax seed meal are altered by high temperatures, and the other ingredients are also better raw, for a variety of reasons.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. The information herein should not be taken in lieu of medical advice. Consult your doctor if you have health concerns; weigh the evidence and make up your own mind.
See more of Colleen's healthy recipes and food tips at food.dorkage.net Dork Chow.
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