Cholesterol Down Ten Simple Steps to Lower Your Cholesterol in Four Weeks--without Prescription Drugs

1 Cholesterol 101 The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease. Thomas Alva Edison, American scientist and inventor (18471931) CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: WILL IT BE YOUR CAUSE OF DEATH? Odds are that you will die from some form of cardiovascular disease our nation's deadliest epidemicbe it a heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, or other disease of the heart and blood vessels. In the United States, one person dies from cardiovascular disease approximately every thirty-five seconds. Combine that overwhelming death toll with the staggering $403 billion estimated direct and indirect cost of cardiovascular disease for 2006, and you begin to grasp the magnitude of this huge public health concern. More fearful that you will die of cancer? Recent American Heart Association statistics reveal that you are much more likely to succumb to a disease of the heart or blood vessels. In 2003, almost twice as many Americans died of cardiovascular disease as of cancer. In fact, cardiovascular disease claims more lives than the next four leading causescancer, respiratory diseases, accidents, and diabetes combined. If you are a woman and think your gender will protect you, you should know that in 2003 almost half a million American women died of cardiovascular disease, mainly heart disease. In fact, according to the American Heart Association's 2003 statistics, a woman's odds of dying from heart disease far surpassed her chances of dying from breast cancer (1 in 30 women who died did so of breast cancer, while 1 in 2.6 died of cardiovascular disease). Furthermore, more women succumbed to cardiovascular disease than menapproximately 60,000 more women than men. The truth is that women are different from men, both in their symptoms of heart disease and in the propensity of women to exhibit a different but just as deadly type of heart disease, "coronary microvascular disease" or a hardening of the minute arteries that feed the heart (but are too tiny to show up on a typical angiogram). According to new findings, high cholesterol and high blood pressure are among the leading causes of this condition. The good news is that lifestyle modifications will provide you with a powerful measure of protection against diseases of the heart and blood vessels, including microvascular disease. By following the easy ten-step Cholesterol Down Plan outlined in Part II of this book, you can lower your "bad" cholesterol and maybe even save your life. According to the World Health Organization's report Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity, and Health, various forms of cardiovascular disease resulted in an estimated 16.7 million deaths globally in 2003. Most of these deaths were from heart disease (7.2 million) and stroke (5.5 million), with the rest attributed to high blood pressure and other vascular illnesses. Source: http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/facts/ cvd/en/print.html. What causes a heart attack or stroke? A heart attack or stroke is ultimately caused by a corroding of LDL particles that accumulate within the inner arterial wall, resulting in inflammation and eventual thickening of the arterial walls leading to the heart or brain, a process called atherosclerosis. This slow, progressive disease typically starts in childhood, when cholesterol, cellular debris, fat, calcium, and other compounds begin building up in the large arteries. Over time, a poor diet and sedentary lifestyle predispose our arteries to clogging up with this thick mass of gunk, called plaque, with often fatal consequences. Eventually the plaque ruptures and a blood clot forms; the flow of blood, oxygen, and nutrBrill, Janet is the author of 'Cholesterol Down Ten Simple Steps to Lower Your Cholesterol in Four Weeks--without Prescription Drugs' with ISBN 9780307339119 and ISBN 0307339114.