High Cholesterol could mean “heart attack”, but you can fight that with lifestyle changes!

Drs. prescribe statins for people to lower their cholesterol to reduce their risk for heart attack or stroke. While they can be effective, they also have the possibility of unwanted side effects. Among the list of side effects include muscle tiredness, weakness, or pain, digestive problems, mental fuzziness and possibly liver damage. I have had clients who have been on statins and complain of these issues. It is also possible your blood sugar may increase when you take a statin, which may cause the development of type II diabetes…I’m sure you must know you don’t want to end up with 2 metabolic concerns! Drinking alcohol while taking medication increases the risk. If you go to the doctor and have high cholesterol or high blood sugar show up on your blood test you will likely be asked to take medications. All medications have side effects. You will also be encouraged to cut out a long list of what might be your favorite foods. You will likely hear stop eating red meat and eat fish and stay away from cakes and other goodies speech.

I vote for some preventive measures before you need to have the all or nothing speech. What do you think about cutting fast food out of your diet? If you haven’t been thinking about it at all maybe you should start! You can make a huge difference in your blood test results which reflect what you have been doing and where you are going (there are some genetics involved, but a lot more in your control than you may want to admit).  Is now the time for you to get serious about your health? Do you want a quality vigorous life?

How about starting with some decisions to help yourself naturally. Fast food should go, including a lot of “fast food” in your pantry. #1 Read ingredients, if you have a list of chemical foods in your pantry, well consider if it is really food. Food needs to be REAL. What do you get in fast food, high calorie no nutrient fillers and you will be hungry again shortly after. That will increase your calorie consumption to a number higher than you will burn off. No fiber in white flour buns, rolls, bagels, etc. Lots of fat in fast food and not the healthy kind. If you don’t want your doctor to tell you to quit eating a nice steak (the right portion size, of course) then quit eating burgers from the drive through hot dogs and most deli meat.  You rarely get any vegetables when you eat burgers out at the bar or fast food, and sorry french fries do not count as a vegetable! Vegetables are your a high nutrient content low calorie food of choice, you can learn to love them.

Last but not least, raise your HDL. Raising you HDL works in your favor against the bad LDL number. You can raise your HDL with good quality fatty fish and exercise. Thirty minutes of moderate exercise, yes I repeat: 30 MIN OF MODERATE EXERCISE a day can raise that HDL. Exercise will contribute to you being a healthy weight IF you will watch what kind of food you are eating!  What do you say you start on your way to better health today!