An estimated 102.2 million Americans have cholesterol levels above 200, which is considered borderline high, according to the American Heart Association. About one-third of those have cholesterol levels over 240, which is considered by today’s test standard to be in the high-risk zone. And a new study just released showed 41% of Canadians have high cholesterol levels. We have been told that high cholesterol is bad, that it causes heart disease (the leading cause of death in the U.S.), that we should all be tested for it, and that high levels must be treated, usually with statin drugs. With those [Read More]

In my book, What Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You, I write about making better carbohydrate choices and which breads and pastas are best. (One tip: Whole wheat isn’t much better than white bread as it acts the same way in your body. Look for whole grains and sprouted grains instead.) It’s important to try to limit refined white sugar and flour in your diet, but as I share in those chapters, there are less unhealthy, and in fact even some very healthy options for you to enjoy. These options are easy, traditional (and delicious) variations that you can find in [Read More]

As we have read in previous articles, eating cholesterol-rich foods does not raise your cholesterol. If you eat too much cholesterol, your body will just produce less to compensate. But there are some foods that will raise your cholesterol. In the the prior two  articles, we looked at two foods that will raise your cholesterol levels: trans fats and fructose. In the final article of the cholesterol food raising series, we are going to look at a major cholesterol concern: the imbalance between omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. Omega 3 and omega 6 are both essential fatty acids, [Read More]

In the second of three articles about the real foods that raise your cholesterol (animal products are not among them!), we are going to look at sugar and review a form of sugar known as fructose. (If you missed the first article on trans fats, you can read it here.) Studies have shown that it matters what form the sugar takes, what the sugar’s source is, and that not all sugars react the same way inside our bodies. Glucose and Fructose To help you understand the difference between glucose and fructose and more importantly, why it matters, I have to [Read More]

As we have read in previous articles, eating cholesterol-rich foods does not raise your cholesterol. If you eat too much cholesterol, your body will just produce less to compensate. But there are some foods that will raise your cholesterol. In the next three articles, we will examine several foods that actually ARE shown to raise cholesterol levels. There are three commonly eaten foods we eat way too much of that are proven to raise your cholesterol levels.  The first is: Trans fats Trans fats are made when a hydrogen atom is added to unsaturated fat. During this process, hydrogen gas [Read More]