Lowering Heart Disease Risk Factors

 A frequent question on  forum is
"My doctor want's me to take statins but is there any alternative"
I thought it would be helpful to write a short blog post on EACH of the evidence based supplementary nutritional approaches that have been shown to reduce heart disease risk factors.
So over the next few days I'll be adding blogs on each of these topics.
Magnesium, Vitamin D3, Omega 3, Taurine, Melatonin, Curcumin, Green Tea, Krill, Astaxanthin, Pantethine, Lipoic acid, Flaxseed, Garlic and maybe some others as time permits.

But before we decide on which approach is most suitable for us we have to examine critically if the current consensus medical opinion is actually aimed at the right target and perhaps it may help some here to read


The “Mevalonate hypothesis”: a cholesterol-independent alternative for the etiology of atherosclerosis
and consider if maybe chronic low level inflammation or infection, isn't the real underlying cause of high cholesterol levels and is driving the disease process.

It's also worth considering if rather than just looking at Cholesterol and Lipid profile we also look at our REYNOLDS RISK SCORE
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If you are healthy and without diabetes, the Reynolds Risk Score is designed to predict your risk of having a future heart attack, stroke, or other major heart disease in the next 10 years.

It would be worth asking your doctor/health professionals if you could have a High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP) test so you can make a more informed decision about your risk factors.

You will also need a current blood pressure reading.
A HOME arm cuff BLOOD PRESSURE monitor is a good idea because Blood Pressure readings in the surgery are always high (even Dr Mark Porter (BBC radio 4 Case Notes Hypertension) had a shock when his BP reading from another health professional turned out much higher than his at home readings) Lloyds pharmacy generally have a special offer if Lidl's or Aldi don't have any left over from the last time they were on the shelves.

If, after considering the above sources, we conclude lowering blood pressure and chronic inflammation should be as important as altering our cholesterol profile, then the complementary strategies that affect all of these risk factors will be better value than those that just concentrate on Cholesterol reduction.