Heart Health - Which Doctor is Right?


by Warren Matthews of Xtend-Life

Question: from Dee

I am 48 and have my cholesterol checked due to family history (father died with heart problems at 56, 18 months after his first heart attack). My latest reading is 6.4 (increasing from 5.8 2 years' ago). I am not sure I have enough information re cholesterol breakdown - all I know is that HDL is 2.4. I am semi vegetarian (eat fish occasionally), my weight is in proportion to my height, blood pressure normal.

One Doctor put me on Simvastin 10 mg and 75 mg aspirin but I was so ill with headaches, stomach upsets etc that I came off both meds. A second Dr has advised I do not need any drugs as he states my HDL is very high and counteracts the LDL - however, due to my family history, I am very concerned by the increase over the past 2 years, and feel confused by 2 different sets of advice. Can you advise please?

Answer: from Warren Matthews of Xtend-Life

Your second Doc is right.  Your HDL is very high and does indeed offset any elevated LDL, or total cholesterol.  Your first Doc was either being lazy or irresponsible by putting you on that medication.

High cholesterol rarely is the cause of death from heart disease.  It is only one factor, and unless it is highly elevated it need not be much of a concern.  When it is, then natural options such as our Cholest-Natural should be tried first.  However, you don't even need our Cholest-Natural with your current figures.

To maintain good heart health there are four ‘markers’ that you should be aware of.

1. Cholesterol is easily measured and is reasonable in your case.

2. Triglycerides which are just as important as cholesterol.  These can be kept in line by minimizing your intake of simple carbohydrates, processed foods and also taking Omega 3 fish oil on a regular basis. Note: when you have your triglyceride levels taken you must fast for at least 12 hours prior to the test.

3. Homocysteine.  High levels of this are more dangerous than elevated cholesterol.  It is often due to poor methylation which can be kept under control quite easily whilst you are young by the B vitamins.  However, as you age the B vitamins are not so effective and you need a much more potent methylator such as SAMe (which is the best) or Tri Methyl Glycine.  Homocysteine is also easily measured and should be done at the same time as the Cholesterol and Triglycerides.  (Note: if you click here you can get more information about methylation and inflammation.)

4. Inflammation.  This can be measured by testing your blood levels of C-Reactive Protein.  Many forward thinking Doctors believe that inflammation is a much greater risk than elevated cholesterol…and indeed the evidence is there to support this contention.

In summary, I would not focus on your cholesterol levels as it is unlikely that this is what caused your Dad’s heart failure.  Rather I would focus on ALL the main causes of poor heart health.  If you do this I very much doubt that you will ever have a heart ‘event’ provided you combine this focus with a good diet and reasonable exercise.

Interestingly, if you focus on all the causes of poor heart health you not only do good things for your health but also for the rest of your body as all organs are interdependent.  Additionally you help your brain and your general sense of wellbeing.  For example, in the process of using SAMe to improve methylation you also help active serotonin which may otherwise be inactive.  This in turn makes you feel better.

So, what it the answer?  It is easy!  Take a full daily dose of Total Balance Womens Premium plus 2 soft gels of Omega 3 DHA.  Total Balance addresses all the above issues.  It even has natural cholesterol lowering bio-active nutrients as well.

Spend some time reading about the Total Balance Womens Premium and click on the various links on the comparison tables and you will get a better understanding why this will help provide a sound foundation for good heart health for the rest of your days. You will also see how it will help with the general causes of aging such as free radicals, glycation and also DNA degeneration.

I have no doubt that if you follow such a protocol that the likelihood of having any heart issues in the coming decades will indeed be slight.

Learn more about Xtend-Life - Micro-Nutriments - The elite of natural Supplements. Love life, Live Longer!