LOWER CHOLESTEROL WITHOUT STATIN SIDE EFFECTS

From talking to patients, I’ve discovered that many people consider statins to be “miracle” drugs that allow them to eat anything they please without worrying about consequences. No wonder statins are the top selling prescription drugs in the country, with nearly half of the nation’s adults taking them.

What many people don’t understand is that statins rob the body of an essential nutrient known as Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). This vitamin-like substance plays a huge role in our lives, since it is responsible for roughly 95 percent of the energy creation within our bodies.

Although we manufacture CoQ10 internally, production slows as we age. So anyone over age 40 is most likely already experiencing a slowdown in CoQ10 production. Add statins to the mix, and you’ve got an older individual with serious fatigue issues.

Many people don’t know this, but your heart and brain use an enormous amount of energy just getting their everyday jobs done. That’s why you’re likely to feel both mentally and physically exhausted when your CoQ10 levels are low.

To keep energy up all day, I strongly urge everyone over age 40 to take at least 100 mg of CoQ10 daily, whether you have heart disease or not. For individuals taking statins, I recommend doubling that dose to 200 mg daily. As my patient Gene noticed, taking CoQ10 supplements made a big difference in his energy levels – something he’d been struggling with for several years.

The Problem with Statins

While statins can be helpful for patients who already have heart disease, I hesitate to prescribe them to reasonably healthy patients who want to take them as a preventive measure. Statins are not harmless drugs by any means. There are some 300 side effects linked to statins, including:

Many times, these side effects don’t kick in right away, so when they occur, patients don’t connect them to the drugs. And there are less noticeable side effects, too. For example, new research shows that statins may block the benefits of omega-3 supplements, such as fish or flaxseed oil. Considering the long list of health benefits we get from omega-3s, that’s a serious problem.

In my opinion, the best approach to preventing heart disease is with lifestyle adjustments. The big two factors are…

Here are four basic suggestions on how to avoid statin-related side effects and keep your heart and brain healthy.

1. Substitute a Statin Alternative

When it comes to lowering cholesterol, statins aren’t the only game in town. A natural substance, known as red yeast rice (available without a prescription at most health food stores), is chemically identical to a statin but is not as powerful and has far fewer side effects. Follow the dosage instructions on the product you purchase.

2. Make Meals Matter

I’ve noticed that, for many people, meals are a touchy subject. Everyone has favorite foods that they enjoy, and being deprived of them can take away some of life’s small pleasures. So, when a patient really needs to make dietary changes but is reluctant to give up unhealthy items, I often suggest they add a few better choices to balance the good and bad.

Adding the proverbial “apple a day,” for example, may seem like a small step, but it has a big payoff. Research has shown that the substances in apples may:

Most people like apples, so this is a much easier sell than, say, broccoli. Once a patient has gotten accustomed to an apple a day, I encourage them to branch out and try a new fruit or vegetable. Because, the truth is, that list of benefits I cited for apples is pretty much true for all fruits and vegetables, with some minor differences.

Eventually, most patients find that eating more produce isn’t as terrible as they imagined it would be. And once they start feeling better and the pounds begin to fall off, it’s a good bet they’ll understand how powerful – and beneficial – dietary change can be.

3. Move On

Maintaining a healthy heart, regardless of cholesterol levels, requires exercise. The heart is a muscle, and nothing strengthens it better than activity, like regular, brisk walking.

Unfortunately, few people get sufficient daily exercise. A new survey of nearly half a million Americans shows that only about 20 percent of U.S. adults get the recommended amount of aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercise daily.

Unless your physician has declared workouts off limits, please carve out 20 to 30 minutes each day for walking, jogging, bicycling, swimming, or other activity. Personally, I find that exercising first thing in the morning not only gets me going, but it also takes one important item off my to-do list, which is a nice way to start the day. Try it, and see if it works for you, too.

4. Consider CoQ10 Supplements

If you’re over age 40, I’ll repeat what I said earlier – you need supplemental CoQ10. Your body is simply not producing enough on its own to keep energy levels where they should be or to protect you from serious illness. For example, a recent study found that low blood levels of CoQ10 were observed in a broad range of critically ill, hospitalized patients and were also associated with fewer daily activities after those patients were discharged from the hospital.

Clearly, it’s important to maintain healthy levels of this essential nutrient. Look for supplements that include boosters like resveratrol and Pterostilbene, antioxidants that make it more absorbable. Because they work, these are the ingredients I used to formulate my own version of CoQ10 supplements. As I mentioned earlier, if you’re currently taking statins aim for a daily dose of 300 mg of CoQ10. If you’re free of heart disease and aren’t taking statins, 100 mg daily should be sufficient.

If you’re concerned about cholesterol, remember that your body needs it for a number of important functions, including hormone production. In addition, cholesterol provides some little-known benefits, such as…

So please don’t get competitive about lowering your cholesterol further than your physician recommends. There are downsides to very low cholesterol, including depression, aggressive behavior, dementia, and an increased risk of a type of stroke known as cerebral hemorrhage. Instead of fretting about cholesterol, simply work to increase your number of healthy behaviors each day, and see what a difference that can make!

We are working on a recipe book with recipes that have proven to have positive health benefits for people afflicted with common health risks.

This recipe below is one of them. The soup lowers cholesterol levels over a 6 month period , the soup must be taken once each day during this time.

This recipe is submitted here as a gift. It works.

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Introduction:

This soup recipe was evolved over a period of 20 years ,from periodically cooking for Shibata Kanjuro, XX, Sensei, Onyumishi ( Bowmaker) to the Imperial Family of Japan and seeing him join heaven and earth in cooking for himself, and from observing over many years how the Sakyong Mipham Rimpoche works with the elements of the phenomenal world in the way of Heaven , Earth and Man , or Natural Hierarchy. Actually this is cause for great celebration.

It has been shown that eating one bowl of the soup each day over a six month period can have a beneficial effect on one's health It takes about one month of having this soup once each day to feel its effects. One may notice a gradual change in weight, a speeding up of metabolism, and one's hair might change color, beginning at the roots of the neck. This depends on whether one can cook the soup in the ancient way of joining heaven and earth, perhaps a bit of a Gordian knot, but its really not that difficult.

Just remember that this soup can be created by working with form ( the physical aspect) , energy ( heat , light , etc.) and space ( mental relaxation and joyful mind, a kind of empty/full quality, with an approach of just using what is available), while cooking. Make sure your cooking environment is relaxed, not too "busy" , and that you can concentrate well with your senses in a relaxed way. And really HAVE FUN!

Ingredients:

A) From Oriental Grocery

1) Dashi Flakes ( bonito flakes), large bag

2) Miso paste, live culture unpasturized ( red for winter, white for summer)

3) Soy Sauce ( low salt)>[? 4) Sake ( rice wine)

5) Wakame (dried seaweed flakes ) 6) 2 to 4 cups of Organic Brown Glutinous Rice

7) Umeboshi ( pickled plum)

8) Pickled Ginger

9) YUBA ……..Soy Rope Noodles , also known as Dried Bean Rope Curd or dried bean curd skin( Very Important …reduces cholesterol)

10) Rice Vinegar

Above : Soy Curd Rope Noodles

“On Yuden Mountain, a sacred holy mountain in the feudal province of Dewa, there was an inn, Kinshiya Inn, visited by many pilgrims who came to the mountain to pray. The esteemed vegetarian cuisine was prepared by an old woman who was very skilled at making a variety of delicious foods from ground soybeans and soymilk. One of the foods was a thin film, which she fried before seasoning it. Others liked it so much that they began to make it themselves here and there. Sometimes they made it in the shape of bags and squares. In Kyoto, the capital, they used it in vegetarian dishes. Since the new food had been created by the old woman of Yuden Mountain, people named it yuba, where yu is taken from the Yu of Yuden mountain, meaning `hot water' and ba is the character for `old woman.'

B) From Any Grocery

1) fresh ginger root

2) 1 garlic bulb

3) Mustard greens ( or Collard Greens)

4) Bok Choy ( 1 head)

5) 2 Green Peppers

6) Green Onion ( 3 bunches)…or a large white onion.

7) 8 oz to 16 oz of lean pork, boneless chicken breast, or white fish ( haddock), or a brick of tofu

8) Sea Salt

9) Shitake mushrooms ,. 1 cup or substitute portobello mushrooms.

C ) Equipment

One 18 inch wok, one 2 – 3 quart stock pot, slotted spoon, very sharp cutting knife, 1 small Nyen Bowl and one large Lha bowl for vegetables and a cutting board.

This recipe follows the scheme of Natural Hierarchy,: Lha ( Heaven) , Nyen( Friend or Earth) and Lu ( The Water Realm of the Nagas), with a view to joining heaven and earth.** It has been demonstrated that eating this soup daily with a small portion of organic brown glutinous rice and umeboshi pickled plum can drastically reduce cholesterol in the blood and can contribute to gradual weight loss, as well as gradual metabolic change when combined with moderate exercise such as walking a mile each day.

Lu ( the realm of the Nagas or water beings) Prep:

Lightly boil 1.5 quarts of pure water ( non chlorinated) with 1. 5 cups of bonito flakes for 15 minutes. Strain out the flakes and replace liquid on the stove, put in from 4 to 6 ropes of Yuba, lightly broken up .Boil lightly for about 10 minutes. REMOVE FROM HEAT. Add two table spoons of wakame and a half cup of sake.

Do not boil the liquid from this point onward in order to preserve the enzymes of the Miso.

Add 3 table spoons of miso paste to the liquid and stir gently until miso paste is dissolved, set aside this Lu and keep warm well below a boil. Taste and add a very little sea salt if necessary.

Nyen ( The realm of Man , or friendship) Prep:

Remove all fat and gristle from the meat. If using tofu, drain well over night in the traditional way by using a tofu press ( tofu in a colander with a plate and a weight on top).

Slice meat into ¼ inch thick strips from 2 to 3 inches long. If using tofu, slice into ¾ inch cubes

Chop about ¼ cup of ginger finely, and chop an equal amount of garlic finely.

Place the Nyen in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 table spoons of soy sauce, and two table spoons of sake. Mix well and let stand for 15 minutes OR over-night in fridge depending on how hurried you are.

Cook the rice in the usual way, add a teaspoon or tablespoon of rice vinegar or white vinegar with the proper amount of water. Note that Sensei washes his rice with 5 to 7 rinsings of water before adding cooking water. The vinegar is optional but it will keep your left over rice from spoiling, and also can have the effect of speeding up metabolic function.

Lha ( Heaven, realm of the dralas) Prep.

Cut all vegetables into strips or pieces that are chunky, say in pieces that are 2 to 3 inches long. The vegetables MUST NOT lose their temper and become mushy in cooking, so size matters. The smaller the pieces, the faster they cook. Harder vegetables are cut up smaller. Soft vegetables ( mushrooms) are cut larger.

Green onion can be finely chopped into small ¼ inch pieces after peeling. This is the only exception to the rule. Reserve the green onions in a small bowl and place all other cut vegetables in a LARGE BOWL .

Joining Heaven and Earth. ( Cooking)

Place WOK on stove on largest burner available. Gas burners work well but electric is OK if you are not afraid of using high heat settings on electric stove.

Place ½ cup of olive oil in wok , and turn the burner to its highest setting. When the wok begins to smoke, let it heat up until its really smoking well and place the Nyen ( meat/protein) into the wok, ( beware of splatter) , and move the contents around the wok with slotted spoon, do not allow any portion to burn but browning is OK, DO NOT burn the garlic/When the garlic is brown and just barely beginning to burn , add the bowl of Lha vegetables, and continue to stir fry with slotted spoon, if you need a little more olive oil to keep the bottom of the walk from drying or scorching you can add a little now.

You will notice the vegetables begin to brighten or deepen into vivid color, when this happens THE JOINING MOMENT HAS ARRIVED, reach over to your lu pan and gently pour the Lu into the Nyen and Lha in the hot wok. You should hear a joyous HISSSSSSSssss, as heaven and earth join. One can develop a feeling for this moment of energy. Turn the heat on low, DO NOT BOIL OR SIMMER. Sprinkle the green onions on the top of the soup.

After 5 minutes the soup is ready to serve with rice and a small side of Umeboshi pickled plums.

Green tea is best taken with this meal. A pickled plum can be like the sun in the bottom of your cup of green tea sea.

Dessert can be a small serving of sliced or cubed cantaloupe or green melon.

You can also substitute or add your favorite green vegetables to the soup as you develop a feel for cooking it. It can be cooked in so many seasonal variations according to the vegetables that are available through winter, spring , summer and fall, that one never tires of it.

Do not microwave to reheat, this will kill the live culture in the miso. Simply warm on top of stove without boiling. Refrigerate leftovers and the soup stores well for about 3 days. Do not freeze to store, that also will kill the live culture in the miso.

**Reference:

Chapter 17 of Trungpa Rinpoche's extraordinary book, Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior. This book is the foundation of the movement known as Shambhala. The seventeenth chapter is entitled "Natural Hierarchy." In it Trungpa Rinpoche talks about three "principles," which in Tibetan are called lha, nyen, and lu. Lha refers to the divine, or to "the highest points on earth." Nyen refers to the human domain, or to "the great shoulders of the mountains," and "includes forests, jungles and plains." Lu refers to "water being[s]," or to "oceans and rivers." Trungpa Rinpoche thinks that these three principles "describe the protocol and the decorum of the earth itself, and they show how human beings can weave themselves into that texture of basic reality." From this mysterious beginning, he draws conclusions such as that you ought never to put your hat on the floor. [ http://lodrochodrak.com/protocol.html ]

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