What is Most Effective for Lowering Cholesterol: Diet and Exercise or Lipitor?
Although it is typically thought that lifestyle change alone can’t lower LDL cholesterol levels as well as statins, there is mounting evidence that it may. Joseph Keenan, a cardiologist and professor at the University of Minnesota, prescribes Lipitor to his patients and was using it himself until he began to experience muscle spasm side-effects and blood tests which indicated muscle damage. For people like Keenan who can’t tolerate statins, a balanced diet, exercise and supplements may be the answer. Keenan managed to lower his LDL cholesterol by 60% without prescription drugs. After his personal success, Keenan believes that 70% of people who would be prescribed cholesterol drugs could get their cholesterol levels to a healthy balance solely through these lifestyle changes.
A balanced diet of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish, and legumes has shown to work well in lowering LDL cholesterol. Whole food diets work best compared to prepared foods that are low in cholesterol, says Christopher Gardner, a Stanford nutrition specialist. This is because the components of whole foods, such as plant sterols, interact differently with your body and are able to lower LDL cholesterol. Plant sterols work by displacing some of the cholesterol from intestinal micelles resulting in less cholesterol being absorbed into the bloodstream. Thus, plant sterols have shown to lower LDL levels by 10%. Plant sterols are present in small quantities in many fruits, vegetables, vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, cereals and legumes.
In addition to diet, exercise has a big effect on cholesterol levels; specifically aerobic exercise and HDL levels. A new research study from the Archives of Internal Medicine says that at least two hours per week of aerobic exercise like walking, biking, or swimming will provide an increase in HDL or “good” cholesterol levels. Workouts need to last at least 30 minutes to gain HDL benefit, and it is recommended to exercise at least five days per week. The study found that the “gains in HDL cholesterol levels translate to a 5% drop in men’s heart disease risk and more than a 7% drop in women’s heart disease risk.”
Already, 16 million patients take some form of the drug statin. As this patient base grows to include millions more people worldwide, another side of high cholesterol research is showing that simply diet, exercise, and supplements can be as effective as statins in lowering LDL cholesterol and potentially more effective in preventing cardiac events.
Have you been diagnosed with high cholesterol? Have you decreased your cholesterol levels? If so, by what means? Have you found that “natural” means like diet and exercise make you feel better overall, due to fewer side effects? Share your experiences!
13. September 2008 at 1:12 pm :
I recently took my mother to Cleveland Clinic for bypass surgery and three stents to open blocked arteries. They Doctors there told her that there are only two truly effective remedies for serious artery damage and blockage; exercise and a vegetarian diet.
I was shocked that this would come from an institution as entrenched as the Cleveland Clinic, but to their credit, they are more interested in curing her then pushing drugs. They did put her on Plavix and about 5 other medications, but they were clear that they wanted her to get off them as soon as possible and to get her started on diet and exercise.
I am sure Lipitor and statins are good for some issues, but people really need to try the alternatives first.
Thanks for the good article.- nice blog