Antioxidants Can Win the War against High Cholesterol.

Maybe you think of cholesterol as a kind of evil plug. The  usual story goes like this: You eat too much cholesterol or animal fat, which is converted to cholesterol in your body, the cholesterol clogs your coronary arteries, and blood and oxygen can't get through to your heart, causing a heart attack. The idea is that if you lower your cholesterol, all will be well.

But, if cholesterol is so bad, why does your body synthesize up to 1,500 milligrams (almost the amount in 10 eggs) a day, using it for all kinds of crucial functions, such as the manufacture of hormones?
Why do Eskimos, who typically eat a diet loaded with animal fat, have very low rates of heart disease?

The answer is that high cholesterol isn't the cause of heart disease; oxidized cholesterol is.
That's the opinion of many alternative physicians, including Philip Lee Miller, M.D., founder and director of the Los Gatos Longevity Institute in California. "I'm one of those people who have been saying for 30 years that cholesterol does not cause heart disease," he says. "It's a recruit in the process, like a soldier is a recruit in a war, but it doesn't cause the war."
Dr. Miller believes that lowering LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol plays a critical role in preventing hardening of the arteries. LDL cholesterol is manufactured and secreted by the liver and is carried to the arteries in the heart in the same way furniture is carried in a moving van. Once there, the cholesterol may be oxidized by the same oxygen-sparked, cell-destroying process that rusts iron or turns an apple brown after it's been cut.

The destructive process of oxidation is literally inflammatory—it's like a fire in the body. The immune system, your body's tire department, rushes "foam cells" to the area to douse the blaze. But just as firemen sometimes have to ax down a door to get into a burning building, the anti-inflammatory process can damage the lining tit the artery. This roughened, injured area is a perfect foundation for the buildup of plaque, the truly evil plug that clogs arteries and triggers heart attacks.

"Oxidized LDL starts an inflammatory reaction that the body tries to heal, but the healing causes more problems than it resolves," says Dr. Miller. The best way to prevent this heart-hurting process, he says, is to prevent the oxidation of EDE cholesterol. And the best way to do that, says Dr. Miller, is to make sure you get enough of the antioxidants vitamin E, vitamin C, and glutathione.

Antioxidants work by calming unstable oxygen molecules called free radicals, which are responsible for oxidizing cells. When antioxidants neutralize free radicals, they're on a type of suicide mission. The antioxidants themselves are oxidized, or, in chemical terms, reduced.
Fortunately, the body has a system to help ensure that there are always plenty of antioxidants available, Dr. Miller says. When vitamin C is oxidized, vitamin E comes to the rescue, donating some of its molecules to restore the vitamin C to its full antioxidant status. In the process, the vitamin E is reduced, butthe glutathione replenishes it. That's why you need all three nutrients, says Dr. Miller.

VITAMIN C: The First Line of Defense against Heart Disease
Vitamin C is a very powerful antioxidant. Dr. Miller recommends taking anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000 milligrams a day to reduce the oxidation of LDL and prevent heart disease. Any type of vitamin C is effective, but his favorite is a form called ester-C, which is non acidic and perhaps a little less irritating to the digestive tract than other forms.

VITAMIN E: A Mixed Bag of Protection
Like vitamin C, vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant. Dr. Miller says that 800 international units daily is the ideal dose to prevent cholesterol from oxidizing. He recommends using vitamin E supplements that are natural, not synthetic. For maximum potency, they should also contain mixed tocopherols; the label will specify the ingredients alpha-, beta-, and gamma-tocopherol.
"A mix of tocopherols, not just one, is the way vitamin E is found in nature," he explains.

NAC: To Create Glutathoine
Vitamins C and E are most effective when your body has high levels of glutathione, says Dr. Miller. A doctor can measure your glutathione levels, and if they are low, Dr. Miller recommends taking a supplement called n-acetylcysteine (NAC), which helps build and conserve your body's store of glutathione.
The body doesn't do a good job of absorbing most glutathione supplements, Dr. Miller says. But NAC, a form of the amino acid cysteine, he says, provides the right chemical precursors for your body to create glutathione. He recommends taking 3,000 milligrams a day.

Improving Your Cholesterol Balance
Stopping the oxidation of LDL cholesterol is crucial to preventing heart disease, says Dr. Miller. But if there's less LDL cholesterol in your body, there's less to oxidize, so reducing LDL is important.
It's also important to increase HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, which hauls the LDL away from your arteries and back to your liver. There are a variety of supplements and herbs that help lower LDL, raise HDL, or do both at the same time.

NIACIN: Strong Natural Medicine
Niacin is a B vitamin that works powerfully to lower LDL cholesterol, says Mark Stengler, N.D., a naturopathic physician in San Diego.
He recommends taking 1,500 milligrams of niacin a day in the form of inositol hexanicotinate. This form doesn't cause the tingling, itchy, hot rush of blood into the face and upper body, called flushing, that may occur with other forms.
"In my experience, this vitamin is as effective as any cholesterol-lowering drug on the market," says Dr. Stengler. He recommends starting with 500 milligrams and increasing the dose by 500 milligrams a week until you reach the full amount. Since high levels of niacin may cause liver problems, you should take inositol hexanicotinate, or any other form, only with the approval and supervision ol your doctor.

SELENIUM: Helps In Three Ways
The trace mineral selenium is very helpful for controlling cholesterol. First, it boosts levels of glutathione. Second, it works on its own to lower LDL. Third, it increases healthful HDL, says Dr. Miller. "Selenium is absolutely critical to any cholesterol-lowering program," he says. He recommends long-term use of a daily multivitamin that contains at least 200 micrograms of selenium.

ZINC AND COPPER: More Minerals To The Rescue
Zinc and copper increase HDL and reduce LDL, says Amy Rothenberg, N.D., a naturopathic physician in Rnfield, Connecticut. She recommends taking 30 milligrams of zinc and 1 to 2 milligrams of copper daily, preferably as part of a multivitamin/mineral supplement.

GUGGUL: A Cholesterol Lowering Herb
"1 have dramatically reduced LDL cholesterol and increased IIDL cholesterol with just this one herb," says Virender Sodhi, M.D. (Ayur-ved), N.D., an Ayurvedic and naturopathic physician and director of the American School of Ayurvedic Sciences in Bellevue, Washington.
Dr. Sodhi recommends using a product standardised for 10 percent guggulsterones, the active ingredients in the herb. Take three doses totaling 900 milligrams a day, he advises, but only under the supervision of an Ayurvedic physician. Once your cholesterol levels are back to normal, Dr. Sod hi recommends reducing the dosage to 300 milligrams a day.

Foods for Cholesterol Control
Many different types of foods, and components of foods, can help lower LDL and boost HDL. Here are the ones that alternative practitioners recommend most.

OAT BRAN: Locks Up Cholesterol
Oat bran is rich in soluble fiber, a substance that binds with cholesterol in the intestine and ushers it out of the body. "Eating 3/4 cup of cooked oat bran cereal a day can lower cholesterol by 10 percent," says Dr. Rothenberg. "However, if you're more likely to eat an oat bran muffin, that works, too."

ONIONS AND GARLIC: Pungent Protection
"Cook with garlic and onions whenever possible," says Dr. Stengler. Both have been shown to cut cholesterol. Or, he says, you can take garlic supplements, following the dosage recommendations on the label.

WALNUTS: The Healthiest Nuts Around
Walnuts contain alpha-linolenic acid, which can help lower cholesterol, says Kitty Gurkin Rosati, R.D., a registered dietitian and nutrition director of the Rice Diet Program at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Other good sources of this good-for-you fat include olive oil, flaxseed oil, linseed oil, canola oil, soybean oil, and purslane, a salad green. To get a double dose, saute purslane in a teaspoon of olive oil, says Rosati.

LECITHIN: Dissolves Cholesterol
Lecithin granules contain phosphatidylcholine, which helps liquefy cholesterol in your body so it doesn't end up fro/en in arterial plaques, says Dr. Rothenberg. She recommends sprinkling 1 tablespoon of granules on your cereal each day. Or toss some in a blender with fruit and nonfat yogurt.

SOY: Any Form Will Do
Tofu, tempeh, and other soy foods contain compounds called isoflavones, which can help lower cholesterol, says Dr. Stengler. An easy way to incorporate isoflavones into your diet is to add soy protein powder to a shake. Or eat more tofu and miso, two popular soy foods that are versatile and easy to cook with.