The Lower Cholesterol Secret - Know Your Prescription Drugs

This is #3 in a series of articles showing how to successfully manage and lower your cholesterol levels

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If you have to embark on a course of taking cholesterol reducing drugs, it is wise to at least know how they work and how they are likely to affect you.

There are basically four categories of drug used to lower cholesterol.

STATINS: The most common of the prescribed drugs for lowering cholesterol, which work by blocking the substance your liver requires for cholesterol production. Effectively, this causes your liver to remove cholesterol from the blood.

Statins, in fact, have the potential to reverse coronary heart disease, as they help with the re-absorption of deposited cholesterol back into the body.

BILE-ACID BINDING RESINS: These work indirectly by binding themselves to the bile-acids (which are required for healthy digestion) which your liver uses cholesterol to produce. The excess cholesterol is used by the liver to make yet more bile-acids, which then in turn reduce the blood cholesterol level.

These medicines are known as Cholestyramine are available commercially as Prevalite and Questran. Also Colesevenlam which is sold under the name of Welchol and CholestipoL under the name of Colestid.

EZETIMIBE: This works by limiting the amount of dietary cholesterol that is absorbed into your small intestine. This is available under the brand name of Zetia and can be used alongside any of the statin drugs.

EZETIMIBE-SIMVASTAIN: Known by the brand name Vytorin, this drug is a combined cholesterol absorption inhibitor as well as a statin. It works by decreasing the production of cholesterol in your liver and also reducing the amount of dietary cholesterol absorbed into your small intestine.

ON FIRST DIAGNOSIS: Your doctor possibly may suggest cholesterol-reducing medication after assessment of all the relevant factors which may affect your risk of possible heart problems. People who already have a form of heart disease, perhaps a number of high risk factors or even diabetes may have no option but to take medications to help control cholesterol. However, If you do not have these problems already and if you would rather not take any medications you could certainly try and make some simple life-style changes as a way of reducing cholesterol. You should: Make changes in your diet; quit smoking and take regular exercise.

DIET: A carefully monitored diet which is low in cholesterol and contains a maximum of three hundred mg. of the substance per day is the standard recommendation. This should only be two hundred mg. if you are already being treated for heart disease. Avoiding any high saturated fat or foods that contain high quantities of LDL cholesterol, will almost certainly reduce your cholesterol intake to a marked degree. As a very minimum aim to keep you saturated fat intake at a low level.

This is the third in a series of articles on lowering cholesterol naturally by Alan Christopher. To find out more go to the next article: The Lower Cholesterol Secret #4 - How Do You ezinearticles.com/?How-Do-You-Lower-Cholesterol-Naturally-With-Food?&id=6137832 Lower Cholesterol Naturally With Food

Alan Christopher has years of experience in nutrition and how to lower cholesterol with food. Visit lowercholesterolfood.com/foods-for-lower-cholesterol foods for a lower cholesterol diet - at LowerCholesterolFood.com where you will find much more useful information and and informative FREE 10 part mini-course.