From:  Cholesterol Lowering and Controlling – Patricia and Edward Krimmel

Did you know that the issue of cholesterol is not a new hot item?  As early as 1908, a Russian researcher by the name of Ignatowsky fed rabbits meat, milk and eggs for several months and he discovered that their aortas (largest artery) developed arterioscleroctic lesions.  This was the first time that it was shown that arteriosclerosis could be induced by the foods one ate.  Imagine that?! 

Cholesterol is a soft, odorless, wavy-type substance which is part of all animal cells.  It is one of a number of fats, called lipids, found in the blood.  There are two primary sources of cholesterol:

1. Within the body – the liver, intestine and skin produce all the cholesterol the body needs.
2. In foods we eat – foods only of animal origin such as: Egg Yolks – Dairy Products – Meats, Fish, Poultry

The cholesterol content of meat is found mostly in the lean tissue, not the fat.  A food may contain substantial cholesterol but only a moderate amount of fat (for example, an egg-yolk has only 6 gms. of fat but 210 mgs. of cholesterol).  Foods of plant origin have NO CHOLESTEROL.

High blood cholesterol means that you have more cholesterol present in your bloodstream than is necessary for normal, healthy fun-ctioning.  We know from studies, such as the Framingham Heart Study, that most people in the US who suffer a heart attack have total cholesterol levels between 200 & 250.  Sat-urated fat in the diet is the number one villain in causing blood cholesterol levels to go higher.

I’m sure we’ve all heard of the “good” (HDL) vs. the “bad” (LDL) cholesterol.  The relationship between your total cholesterol and your HDLs is one indicator of your risk for cardiovascular disease.  This relationship is called your ratio.  The lower your ratio number, the lower your risk for cardiovascular disease.

To find your ratio, divide your total cholesterol number by your HDL number.  For example:

• If your total cholesterol number is 210 and your HDL number is 35, divide 210 by 35 which equals 6 and 6 is bad
• If your total cholesterol is 210 and your HDL is 60, your ratio would be 3.5 which is very good

Strive for a high HDL cholesterol and a low total cholesterol with a ratio of 3.5 or less.

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a Cardiac Surgeon who used to work at the Chicago Heart Institute, also known as the "Heart Attack Proof Doctor" (see:  www.heartattackproof.com) claims that if your cholesterol is 150 or below you are "Heart Attack Proof."  He helps people (and doctors) from all over the world to achieve this through something unheard of in the medical community – a PLANT BASED DIET!

From Esselstyn’s website:  The proof is in the results. The patients in Dr. Esselstyn’s initial 20 year study came to him with advanced coronary artery disease. Despite the aggressive treatment they received, among them bypasses and angioplasties, most were told by their cardiologists that they had less than a year to live. Within months on Dr. Esselstyn’s program, their cholesterol levels, angina symptoms, and blood flow improved dramatically. Twenty years later, they remain free of symptoms. Here are the documented results:

Drop in cholesterol levels: After 5 years on Dr. Esselstyn’s plant-based diet, the average total cholesterol levels of his research group dropped from 246 milligrams per deciliter to 137 mg/dL (Above 240 mg/dL is considered “high risk,” below 150 mg/dL is the total cholesterol level seen in cultures where heart disease is essentially nonexistent.) This is the most profound drop in cholesterol ever documented in the medical literature in a study of this type.

Cardiac events: The 17 patients in the study had 49 cardiac events in the years leading up to the study, and had undergone aggressive treatment procedures. Several had multiple bypass operations. After beginning the eating plan, there were no more cardiac events in the group within a 12-year period.

Genetics you say???  You can have a genetic tendency, but could it be that you eat the same way as your relatives?  Your blood cholesterol level is influenced by a variety of factors.  Recent research has established that all of the following factors have some influence on your levels to one degree or another.  The foods you eat, exercise, weight, gender, age, heredity, stress, smoking and coffee.  But the foods you eat have the greatest influence on blood cholesterol levels.  Most people who have had their levels tested – then changed to a plant based diet and got retested show a 25 to 75 point drop in just the first week.  Usually within a month or two they do not need their medications anymore because they have reached the “safety numbers.”

The three quickest things you can do is:

• Change to a PlantBased Diet
• Exercise regularly
• Reduce weight if necessary

Some of the most common foods to avoid are:  Fat on a cut of meat, sausage and processed luncheon meats, the skin of poultry, butter, whole milk, 2% milk, skim milk, cream, dairy products, ice cream, solid vegetable shortenings, Hydrogenated vegetable oils, lard, commercially baked goods, non-dairy coffee creamers, hot chocolate mixes, and prepared breakfast drinks.  Of course, all these things are prohibited on the Hallelujah Lifestyle anyway but many people who have a High Cholesterol problem do not realize that just that “little bit” of these foods can prevent them from lowering their cholesterol.

Sound basic principals – life change with a health focus – simple tools to change your life.  Educating yourself with truth will change YOUR life!

For the first time, an influential doctors group is recommending that some children as young as 8 be given cholesterol-fighting drugs to ward off future heart problems. The new advice is based on mounting evidence showing that damage leading to heart disease, the nation's leading killer, begins early in life. "If we are more aggressive about this in childhood, I think we can have an impact on what happens later in life ... and avoid some of these heart attacks and strokes in adulthood," says Dr. Stephen Daniels, of the American Academy of Pediatrics' nutrition committee.

Drug treatment would generally be targeted for kids at least 8 years old who have too much LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, along with other risky conditions, including obesity and high blood pressure.  For overweight children with too little HDL, the "good" cholesterol, the first course of action should be weight loss, more physical activity and nutritional counseling, the academy says.

Screening is recommended sometime after age 2 but no later than age 10, at routine checkups. Because obesity is a risk factor for heart disease and often is accompanied by cholesterol problems, the academy recommendations say low-fat milk is appropriate for 1 year-olds "for whom overweight or obesity is a concern."

Daniels, a pediatrician in the Denver area, agreed that could include virtually all children. But he said doctors may choose to offer the new milk advice only to 1-year-olds who are already overweight or have a family history of heart problems. With one-third of U.S. children overweight and about 17 percent obese, the new recommendations are important.