Treat High Cholesterol with a Better Diet

There are many alarming statistics when it comes to obesity and the ways it effects the health of millions of people every year, not the least of which is death. One very obvious symptom of the worsening average American diet is the increase in cholesterol readings. This means more clogged arteries and more heart attacks.

While drug companies make record profits each year providing drugs to treat the symptoms, more people continue to indulge in the type of foods and lifestyle that continues to perpetuate the problem. If diet is responsible for a rise in cholesterol, wouldn't diet be responsible for getting it under control and maintaining healthy levels? The number of people on cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins is extremely high, and I would guess that most have no idea about the dangerous side-effects that go with them. Here's more about a case of how more people are starting to look at other ways to lower their cholesterol (from the AZ Republic) --

In a single morning recently, Phoenix cardiologist Edward Diethrich saw four patients who wanted to talk about alternatives to cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.

With more than 13 million Americans taking statins, at times with troubling side effects, such conversations are becoming increasingly common. High cholesterol is a key risk factor for heart attack and stroke, and efforts to lower blood levels of the fatty substance have turned statins such as Lipitor and Zocor into the top-selling class of prescription drugs in the United States.

"There's rising interest in being able to accomplish the same goals without statins," said Diethrich, founder of the Arizona Heart Institute. "Everybody's asking about this." Read on...

Every year new drugs are created to "treat" a health problem, and the cycle continues. In order to break the cycle, we need a strong movement toward better health, diet, and a lifestyle that includes regular exercise. This isn't rocket science, yet we seem to continue to ignore the problem and turn a blind eye to the obvious causes. Other than lack of good choices, let's just consider the main things that contribute to obesity.

Excluding exercise, which must be an action taken by an individual and will have a substantial impact on their health, here are the main items that continue to keep the obesity statistics on pace. First are beverages - soft drinks and sugary drinks. These are the easiest calories to consume and generally the least healthy. Being so easy to consume, it is understandable how too many people can easily get too many calories from drinking these unhealthy beverages. Second is fast food. Again, it's easy, but not healthy. High in fat and salt make most fast foods a huge contributor to obesity. Lastly is a larger category - sweets. This includes cakes and cookies and anything that resembles either one. These are easy to consume, everyone loves to snack on 'em, and always seem to be the perfect ending to a big meal with friends and family. Trading in these items for water, fruits and vegetables, and something you can come up with that is healthier than any of those, will be what saves the health of the U.S. and reverses the growing obesity epidemic.