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HYPERLIPOPROTEINEMIA TREATMENTS |
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Diet and lifestyle change are the primary focus for most cholesterol
problems. It is a mistake to think that a pill will reverse the
effects of a bad diet, obesity, smoking, excess alcohol, stress, and
inactivity. Reducing the amount of fat in the diet by at least half
is the most important move to make. Much of the food eaten to
satisfy a "sweet tooth" is higher in fat than in sugar. A switch
away from saturated fats is the next step, but the rush to
polyunsaturated fats was ill-conceived. These, and particularly the
hydrogenated fats in margarine, have problems of their own. They
raise the risk of cancer and are considered more dangerous than
animal fat by many experts. Theory supports population studies that
suggest monounsaturated olive oil may be the healthiest of all. There is a tremendous push at the end of the 20th century to use lipid-lowering medications. The most popular and most expensive agents, the "statins," hinder the body's production of cholesterol and sometimes damage the liver as a side effect. Their full name is 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coemzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors. Their generic names are cervistatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, and simvastatin. Studies show that these do lower cholesterol. Only recently, though, has any evidence appeared that this affects health and longevity. Earlier studies showed, in fact, an increased death rate among users of the first class of lipid-altering agents--the fibric acid derivatives. The chain of events connecting raised HDL and lowered LDL cholesterol to longer, healthier lives is still to be forged. High-tech methods of rapidly reducing very high blood fat levels are performed for those rare disorders that require it. There are resins that bind cholesterol in the intestines. They taste awful, feel like glue and routinely cause gas, bloating, and constipation. For acute cases, there is a filtering system that takes fats directly out of the blood. Niacin (nicotinic acid) lowers cholesterol very effectively and was the first medication proven to improve overall life expectancy. It can also be liver toxic, and the usual formulation causes a hot flash in many people. This can be overcome by taking a couple of aspirins half-an-hour before the niacin, or by taking a special preparation called "flush free," "inositol-bound" or inositol hexanicotinate. Omega-3 oil is a special kind found mostly in certain kinds of fish. It is beneficial in lowering cholesterol. An herbal alternative called gugulipid, Commiphora mukul, an extract of an Indian plant, is supposed to work the same way as the expensive and liver toxic cholesterol-lowering medications. |
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HYPERLIPOPROTEINEMIA ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS To lower cholesterol, naturopathic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, and ayurvedic medicine may be considered. Some herbal therapies include gugulipid, alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng), and fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum). Garlic (Allium sativum) and onions are also reported to have cholesterol-lowering effects. In naturopathic medicine, the liver is considered to be an organ that needs cleansing and rebalancing. The liver is often treated with a botanical formula that will act as a bitter to stimulate bile flow in the liver. Before initiating alternative therapies, medical consultation is strongly advised. |
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