Elevated levels of serum cholesterol can dramatically increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and strokes. Maintaining ‘health levels’ of cholesterol is important to reduce the risk of these diseases.
Where do your cholesterol levels fall? See the guidelines below to assess your level of risk.
ATP III Classification of LDL, Total, and HDL Cholesterol (mg/dL)
LDL Cholesterol – Primary Target of Therapy
- <100 Optimal
- 100-129 Near optimal/above optimal
- 130-159 Borderline high
- 160-189 High
- >190 Very high
Total Cholesterol
- <200 Desirable
- 200-239 Borderline high
- >240 High
HDL Cholesterol (good cholesterol)
- <40 Low
- >60 High
The results of a recent study suggest that Omega-3 fatty acids when combined with phytosterols may actually work together to help lower your LDL, total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. Further, this combination may actually help to elevate your HDL or “good cholesterol” levels.
Intervention:
1.4 g/d (n-3) long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) capsules
with or without 2 g phytosterols per day.
Phytosterols are phytochemicals which are naturally found in plants. Sources Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids or Omega 3-fatty acids include fish oil or flax oil.
Results:
Total Cholesterol:
- The combination of phytosterols and (n-3) LCPUFA reduced plasma total cholesterol by 13.3% (P = 0.001), which differed from (n-3) LCPUFA alone (P < 0.001).
LDL-Cholesterol
- 12.5% decrease (P = 0.002) in the combination group.
HDL-Cholesterol
- Increased by (n-3) LCPUFA (7.1%; P = 0.01) alone and in combination with phytosterols (8.6%; P = 0.04), whereas phytosterol treatment alone had no effect.
Plasma Triglycerides:
- Lowered by (n-3) LCPUFA (22.3%; P = 0.004) alone and in combination with phytosterols (25.9%; P = 0.005), whereas phytosterol treatment alone had no effect.
Conclusions:
In conclusion, the combined supplementation with phytosterols and (n-3) LCPUFA has both synergistic and complementary lipid-lowering effects in hyperlipidemic men and women.
The results of this particular study suggest that long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 fatty acids) which are found in fish oil may actually help to naturally lower your LDL and total cholesterol levels. Additionally, the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on lowering bad cholesterol were synergistically enhanced by the addition of phytosterols.
Reference:
Micallef MA, Garg ML. The lipid-lowering effects of phytosterols and (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids are synergistic and complementary in hyperlipidemic men and women. J Nutr. 2008 Jun;138(6):1086-90.
cholesterol omega-3 fatty acids phytosterols health blog nutrition stroke cardiovascular disease heart attack fish oil dietary supplement
6 Comments
June 30, 2008 at 7:49 am
Hi Dr Jarrow,
your blog is very informative….in today world very few people know about normal levels cholesterol…I am sure now this blog going to help everyone to seriously check they LDL, total and HDL levels…
Thanking you for precious piece of information…
October 13, 2008 at 8:00 pm
[...] Lower your cholesterol levels naturally? [...]
October 23, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Hi Neerali, thank you for your comment.
cheers,
Jarret
November 8, 2008 at 11:11 pm
[...] may actually work together to help lower your LDL, total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. read more | digg [...]
February 12, 2009 at 9:03 pm
[...] Improve vascular health [...]
March 26, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Dr. Morrow,
Over the past couple of years I have been faced with increasing Cholesterol and Triglyceride levels. The dietician said my diet was not a serious problem and I felt at a loss as to how to fix the problem without resorting to drugs. In my search I came across products from USANA Health Sciences. Since using their nutritional supplement products I have experienced an increase in energy, a loss of 12 pounds in about 2 months, and a significant reduction in LDL, Triglycerides and total cholesterol. This has made me a firm believer that there are ways to lower Cholesterol levels naturally through nutritional supplementation as indicated in your article “Lower your cholesterol levels naturally?”
I am very excited about the products USANA has to offer. Some of the ones I am taking are:
Essentials – USANA’s adult multivitamin product which is a combination of mega antioxidants and chelated minerals that are highly bioavailable. They are a unique blend of powerful antioxidants that provide comprehensive protection from oxidative stress.
Biomega – which contains ultra-pure, highly concentrated omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA
CoQuinone (CoQ10) – promotes a stong and healthy cardiovascular system.
Proflavanol – high concentrations of grape seed extract and vitamin C to support the body’s fight against free-radical damage and oxidative stress.
“The company voluntarily meets Good Manufacturing Practices(GMPs) for pharmaceuticals-grade products, eclipsing the standards followed by most nutritional product manufacturers. Raw ingredients are quarantined until tested and quality control tests are conducted on the products during manufacturing. Products are laboratory tested and guaranteed to meet USP specifications for quality, potency and disintegration, where applicable. The company is registered with the FDA as a pharmaceutical manufacturer.”
The above quote comes from the Comparative Guide to Children’s Nutritionals by Lyle MacWilliam, MSc, FP. (He also authored The Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements). In both publications USANA’s Multivitamin products rate 5 out of 5. Whereas, many of the off the shelf products rate around 1 out of 5.
If you would like more information about the USANA product line go to http://www.USANA.com or contact me directly at t_rbreault@shaw.ca.