I have diabetes, so my doctor and health nurse have expressed concern with my cholesterol levels. I refuse to take the statin drugs the nurse has tried so hard to get me onto. I know there are better, healthier, more effective ways of dealing with this and I know I will find one that works for me. I just found
this article and I will, starting today, be eating 2 apples every day for the next 6 months or more and see how this works for my body.
July 30, 2012 by MARCO TORRES
More evidence continues to surface supporting
the superior effectiveness of nature's foods over medication in
preventing disease. New research shows that just two apples a day could
help protect women against heart disease lowering blood fat levels by
almost 25 percent, a claim unattainable by cardiovascular prescription
medications.
Scientists
found apples significantly lowered blood fat levels in postmenopausal
women, the group most at risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Studies in the past have found that flavonoids act
as antioxidants -- enzymes that target free
radicals that can damage DNA. Flavonoids are
commonly found in chocolate, green tea and other
fruits and vegetables.
Snacking on the fruit every day for six months slashed levels of so-called "bad cholesterol" by almost a quarter, a figure that all statin drugs combined cannot attain.
Why Cholesterol Drugs Are Ineffective
Two-thirds of people taking widely
prescribed cholesterol-lowering medicines do not get
as much benefit as drug company statements suggest
they should, primarily due to cholesterol drugs working better in labs
than they do in people.
Moreover, study after study has
shown that cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins
(Lipitor, Mevecor, Crestor, etc.) do not reduce the risk of death and
heart disease in people with moderately high
cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Despite their ineffectiveness, a recent report from the American Heart
Association predicted a tripling of direct medical costs of
cardiovascular disease from $272.5 billion to $818.1 billion between
2010 and 2030 (Circulation, March 2011, Vol. 123, pp. 933-944).
Statin medications are the number-one-selling drugs
in the world. They work by interfering with the
liver function and reducing the production of LDL.
But statins are a questionable innovation on at
least a couple of accounts. Firstly they are not without
side-effects: they can, for example, lead to the breakdown of
major muscular material, which can ultimately
overwhelm the kidneys and even cause acute renal
failure.
Statins also appear to reduce the body's natural levels of the
vitamin-like, cellular protection agent known as
Co-enzyme Q10. This
benzoquinone plays an
important role in cellular energy release,
particularly in hard worked areas like the lungs,
liver and heart. CoQ10 (as it is sometimes called) has also
been shown to protect the brain against neurological
degeneration. But perhaps most interestingly, with
respect to cholesterol, CoQ10 also acts as an
antioxidant, particularly active in protecting the
system against LDL oxidation and the potential problems
associated with this as described above. So whilst Statins might
provide a reduction in LDL per se, they might also
be causing more problems in the long-term.
Naturally, as with many modern drugs, they
generally have to be taken for the long-term by
anyone who has been prescribed them.
What is particularly disturbing about Statins is, perhaps, the
fact that they may be seen as a 'quick fix' for
unhealthily high LDL, and consequently cholesterol
levels throughout the body. However, the average
reduction for LDL cholesterol for all statin drugs combined is less
than 18% making the plant extract blend a feasible, affordable and an
superior option to Statins for patients with elevated LDL cholesterol
levels. Considering the lack of side effects from red yeast rice and
artichoke leaf extract blends, the option is gaining deserved
attention in the natural health community.
Study Support Previous Evidence
The findings, by a team of researchers at Florida State University
in the U.S, support previous evidence that apples could be good for
the heart. But the latest study suggests they could benefit one of the
highest-risk groups.
Almost 50 percent of women
will suffer from heart disease or a stroke and it is the biggest
single cause of death among post-menopausal women.
Up to the menopause, women appear to have a
natural immunity to heart disease and the rate of illness is only a
third of that seen in men. But from the age of around 50 onwards, the
incidence increases sharply.
Researchers wanted to see if eating the
equivalent of two apples every day could have a significant effect on
heart disease risk.
They recruited 160 women who had been through
the menopause and got half to eat 75 grammes a day of dried apple -
the equivalent of two medium-sized fresh apples.
As a comparison, the other half were told to eat the same quantity of prunes to see if they had a similar effect.
Each volunteer underwent blood tests every three months for one year.
The results, published in the Journal of the
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, showed that after three months
total cholesterol levels in the apple-eating group had dropped by nine
percent and LDL cholesterol by 16 percent.
After six months, levels were even lower, with
total cholesterol down 13 percent and LDL levels dropping by 24 percent.
There was no further decline in the remaining six months of the
experiment.
Prunes lowered cholesterol levels slightly but not to the same extent as the dried apple.
In a report on their findings the researchers
said: ‘Consumption of about two medium-sized apples can significantly
lower cholesterol levels as early as three months.’
Previous
researchers at UC Davis School of Medicine
have determined that drinking apple juice and eating
apples has a beneficial effect on risk factors for
heart disease.
In 2009, a Polish study revealed two apples a day also halved the risk of bowel cancer in adults.
And research by scientists at St. George’s Hospital Medical School
in London shows lung function is boosted in middle-aged men if they
eat at least one apple every day.
Choose Your Apples Wisely
Many apples sold in supermarkets and greengrocers contain pesticide residues that are
above the maximum legal level.
Organically produced apples have a
15 percent higher antioxidant capacity than conventionally produced apples.
A report published in March 2008 by the Organic Center
at America’s Organic Trade Association argued that organic
produce is 25 per cent more nutritious than conventional
foodstuffs.
Bernhard Watzl from the Federal Research
Institute of Nutrition and Food in Karlsruhe stated “...organically
produced apples displayed a higher phytochemical
concentration and a higher antioxidant capacity
than conventionally produced apples.”
