High Cholesterol: "Alternatives" Perspective

     As seen in Healthy Planets - March 2007 edition 

Cholesterol is the blood element that people most commonly associate with their state of health. The most common lifestyle recommendation is a low fat/high carbohydrate diet which many find unsuccessful in lowering their cholesterol. This diet loads the body with sugar that must be dealt with. Studies have shown only 15% of a person’s cholesterol can be controlled through diet. If only 15% of your cholesterol is through diet, what is causing high cholesterol? Until recently, cholesterol and blood sugar were looked at as separate issues. Now, we know they are directly related. When an individual loses the ability to transport glucose into their cells (insulin resistance) the body will resort to fat production, increasing cholesterol and triglyceride levels and leading to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Functional Medicine finds increases in cholesterol and triglycerides are very helpful in identifying stages of blood sugar disorders. High cholesterol is the major problem caused by the blood sugar disorder - insulin resistance.

There are several key factors that are overlooked in cholesterol issues. Food sensitivities and anemia have a direct impact on blood sugar. Insulin resistance and anemia commonly occur with inflammation from the food sensitivities. Food sensitivities that result in an immune hypersensitivity response will have powerful impacts on blood sugar stability. Gut related problems, inflammation and increased gut permeability (leaky gut) making the immune cells more sensitive to the food most frequently eaten. Any adverse allergen that interacts with the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) will trigger an inflammatory response which will create a vicious cycle that includes inflammation, pain and oxidative stress. Gastrointestinal dysfunction should always be investigated in all patients who present with any form of chronic pain.

Diligence must be used to remove food sensitivities from the diet as well as to eradicate gut inflammation. However, inflammation impairs the guts ability to produce the chemistry necessary for digestion. You could eat a pristine diet and still develop food sensitivities. Supplementing with digestive enzymes will make you dependent upon the enzymes suppressing the natural digestive chemistry. Wellness Alternatives focuses on restoring gut chemistry to correct problems such as high cholesterol.

Have you ever failed to respond to supplements that others have succeeded with? If a person is anemic, there will be limited success because the blood cells will not be able to deliver oxygen to their cells for energy production.  Contrary to popular thought, there are different forms of anemia than just iron. Iron supplementation in the presence of inflammation will increase free radicals, enhancing the cellular damage through inflammatory processes. It is important to know that inflammation must be eliminated before treating the anemia or using iron supplementation.

For more information on a different perspective on controlling cholesterol, call Wellness Alternatives at 636-227-4949 to schedule your consultation.

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