These next few statements will challenge everything you thought you knew about cholesterol:

• Cholesterol is NOT the cause of heart disease
• Saturated fats and high-cholesterol foods will NOT raise your blood cholesterol
• Your total cholesterol number is NOT a good indicator of heart disease risk
  • You need cholesterol in order to be healthy.  You need it for cell membranes, hormones, neurotransmitters and overall nerve function.
• High LDL (“bad cholesterol”) is NOT a good predictor of heart disease.
  • You can have high or normal LDL cholesterol and be at low risk, and you can have low or normal LDL cholesterol and be at high risk.
• The best predictor for heart disease risk is a test you likely have never gotten; it’s the test that counts the number of LDL particles, not the size/volume of cholesterol they carry.
• The vast majority of people do NOT need a statin drug to address high cholesterol
• Studies are showing that high cholesterol can actually be associated with a longer life expectancy than low cholesterol
• Although the USDA’s (US Department of Agriculture) dietary guidelines advise you to consume less than 10% of calories from saturated fat, expert research show that most people may actually need upwards of 50-70% of healthful fats for optimal health!!

All of this information and more was presented in this wonderful interview with Integrative Medicine Practitioner, Chris Kresser, who has dedicated countless hours to reading and reviewing over 750 different pieces of research on cholesterol.

Not only is a lot of the information we’ve heard about cholesterol and fats wrong, it is SERIOUSLY wrong and it’s affecting our health and the health of our loved ones.  How can everything we’ve heard for so long be so wrong?

Did you know or have you ever considered these facts?

• The dietary advice that we’ve been receiving for the past 50 years is issued by the US Department of Agriculture.  How did the Department of Agriculture become the authority we should follow on making food choices for health?
• The majority of the fats research that gave rise to the advice to avoid saturated fats is old research and flawed research.  We have learned a lot about different fats, Omega-3s, Omega-6s, coconut oil, etc. in the past 15 years, but the mainstream is still following research that is 30-50 years old.
• Two thirds of the medical research conducted in the US is funded by the pharmaceutical industry. How would the pharmaceutical industry benefit, or ever recuperate its investment, if people were able to manage their health with food instead of drugs?
• 8 out of the 9 doctors on the National Cholesterol Education program who write the guidelines for cholesterol receive money from pharmaceutical companies.  How can they seriously be unbiased?

All of this fires me up because a lot of people are following advice based on old research.  Both my parents were in that lot.  They were both prescribed statin drugs and they both had serious side effects. Fortunately, neither of them is on a statin anymore and they’ve learned to minimize their heart disease risk through food and supplements.

If you’re curious as to how my parents have done it, join me for a 1-hour teleclass I’ll be teaching on May 30th from 12:00 to 1:00 pm. See details below. But for a quick summary…

What is the true way to minimize heart disease risk and have healthy cholesterol?

In order to truly reduce your risk for heart disease, you need to lower your body’s systemic inflammation. It is inflammation that is behind heart disease, not cholesterol.  This means you need to eat lots of colorful foods (greens, reds, purples, oranges) and you need to eat the right amount of the right fats for your unique metabolism.  For most people this means they need to eat more fat than they might think is healthy for them (fish oil, olive oil, nuts, grass-fed butter, coconut oil, etc.) and for the majority of people it means they need to sharply cut back on the amount of starch and sugar that they are eating.  Sugar is your number one enemy for a whole host of things, heart disease included. 

You also need to exercise, but that doesn’t mean you need to put hours and hours in every day. If you do high intensity interval exercises, you can get better results in 20 minutes than in a whole hour of cardio or weight training.

If you really want to learn more, for yourself or for a loved one…

Join me for my 1-hour teleclass on Thursday May 30th:  Healthy Cholesterol the Natural Way from 12:00 to 1:00 pm EST.  The fact that it’s a teleclass means you can participate via conference call from anywhere in the world.

In the class, I’ll cover:

• The true cause of high cholesterol 
• The 4 only fats/oils you need in your pantry
• The “healthy” oils that are seriously affecting your health and worsening your LDL (“bad cholesterol”)
• The key to have stellar HDL (“good cholesterol”)
• The key to having stellar triglycerides
• How to do high-intensity interval training without needing any equipment
• The 2 essential supplements that all people with heart disease risk need to take
• What are cholesterol ratios and why your doctor should never even mention a statin drug if they haven’t looked at your ratios
• What are the top anti-inflammatory foods that lower heart disease risk AND also help reverse metabolic syndrome and diabetes (actually metabolic syndrome and heart disease risk go hand in hand)

Included in the handouts you’ll also get two articles written by cardiologists and the cholesterol ratios worksheet so that you can be fully equipped to have informed, intelligent conversations with your primary care physician.

To join me, sign up on the class page.

• 3-4 chicken breasts
• 1 medium-large onion – cut in strips
• 3 stalks celery – sliced
• 12 button mushrooms
• 3 cloves garlic – crushed
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp of organic chicken broth paste – or substitute for 1/2 cup organic chicken broth and skip the water
• Salt and pepper
• Various herbs you have – I used a mix of “herbs de Provence”.  Some good ones for chicken are thyme, sage, parsley, savory and fennel. Use your favorites.

This is super easy. Preheat your oven to 350, and while your oven heats up, cut up the onion, celery, mushrooms and press the garlic. Put the onion, celery and garlic into a baking dish that is large enough to fit all of the chicken and veggies.

Prep the chicken breasts by sprinkling salt and pepper and your mix of herbs on both sides of each breast. Then place the chicken breasts in the baking dish on top of the veggies.  Add the chicken stock or water and chicken broth paste. Cover the dish with a lid and place in the oven.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, then add the sliced mushrooms on top of the chicken and cover again.  Cook for another 15-20 minutes and check the chicken. Cut slightly into one of the chicken breasts to be sure it’s cooked through.

You can adjust salt and pepper seasoning of the sauce to your liking.

While the chicken was in the oven, I steamed some asparagus and some green beans. That week, I alternated eating the chicken and veggies with either asparagus or green beans. I simply put them all together in an oven-safe bowl and heated them together in my toaster oven.

By Sara Bunnell, mother and banker

We are a family of four; two fairly normal grown-ups and two funny, wild, bouncing, screeching, sweet and lovable little people. My husband and I both work full time along with all of our other extracurricular activities (Fire Dept, PTF, Sugaring, plays, art, sports, etc…) we stay fairly busy.  I try to insist on FAMILY MEALS together!  Some days it happens, some days it is 2 or 3 of us. I know all the reasons that we should: kids get better grades, less drug abuse, less obesity, kids have better manners and your family gets a chance to reconnect.  Why not have family meal times?

My kids LOVE vegetables!  My five year old son is crazy about them. The grocery store is a playground for him, he runs through the produce section, bringing me handfuls of Brussels sprouts and heads of broccoli to put into the cart.  He thinks that the little salad bar cups of black olives make an excellent snack (& drink!) We will be growing kale in our garden this year, because this is his new love! I always have trouble getting the veggies in the house from the garden, because they eat as they go along.  They have gone through weird phases: my son hated Mac & Cheese of any kind until recently.  My daughter refuses to eat spaghetti with the sauce on it.

RULE 1: This is not a restaurant.

“You get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit!”  Yes, we do have nights where we just have sandwiches or cereal.  The kids really enjoy sitting at the table to eat.  I do think it makes it just a bit more special and brings us all together after a long day.  We always sat at the table to eat when I was growing up and I still remember good times around tables.   Tables are where my family ate, played games, celebrated, cried, and spent time with friends and family. It is all too easy to plop ourselves in front of the TV in various chairs and couches and ignore each other.  But, it is very difficult to resist the little people when they ask “will you sit with me.”

RULE 2: You must try it!

If you don’t like it you must at least have a bite or a small piece.  You might find you like it now.  Sometimes, it is just a difference in the way it is cooked that makes all the difference.  My kids are fairly adventurous eaters.  They have tried & like many different foods: calamari, squirrel, venison, lamb, figs, prunes…

RULE 3: Help.

I have my kids help set the table.  I have downloaded printable place mats for kids (from the resources below;) some are paper, some you can sew.  Another rule: clear your place when you are done. Again, Mommy is not a restaurant; you must clean up after yourselves.  I forget that my kids really love to wash dishes, seriously.  I really must learn to take better advantage of that.

We have been working on a few things at our table. First: Manners.  Please, Thank you, your head is not that heavy, no reaching…  Second: more “fun” conversation.  I printed out some of the lists from the resources below.  One of the questions I asked is: “Which is happier a bird or a dog?” Daughter: “a dog because he gets to be around people.” Son: “a parrot, because the dog is always in trouble.”

One nice thing I have at my house is a husband who sometimes cooks!  He really likes it & has a few specialties.  He is also pretty good at putting the “make ahead” meal in the oven to be ready when I get home.  I love freezer meals & I wish I did it more often.  Making 3-4 meals at a time on the weekend is SO HELPFUL.  Cooking 3 lbs of hamburger or a bunch of chicken breast really is as easy as cooking one.  I use many recipes from the “Other page.” I love the apps on my iPad; I have recently found a love for cooking videos.  I love easy cooking casseroles and crock pot cooking any thing that makes my life a little less chaotic.  Life should be more fun and soul-soothing.  I hope that you take a look through the resources below and that you find some help in getting your family to the table!

Resources

• http://thefamilydinnerproject.org/
• Great Article in Time Magazine “The Magic of the Family Meal”: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200760,00.html
• NYT article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/fashion/at-family-meals-children-encouraged-to-take-part-in-the-conversation.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Conversation Starters:

• http://poweroffamilymeals.com/MealtimeIdeas/Conversation_Starters.aspx
• 100 Questions to Ask Your Kids  – from Family Education
• 30 Family Dinner Questions  – from how does she?
• One-Line Conversation Starters: 12 starters from The Family Dinner Project
• Dinner Conversation Starters: 8 from Skip to My Lou

Quick-Easy Recipes & My Favorites:

• http://www.kraftrecipes.com/home.aspx  (they have an app too!)
• http://www.recipe.com/
• http://recipeshoebox.blogspot.com/ Love that she has directions & freezer directions!
• http://www.allyou.com/food/
• http://family.go.com/food/ (Disney – I use this site for all sorts of things; food, meal plans, printables, crafts, etc.)
• http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/index.html – I love the Real Simple website for LOTS of things.  There are also meal plans & printables.
• http://myfridgefood.com/ – this one is fun you go through & check off what you have & it will tell you what your options are!
• COOKING FOR GUYS! I love that these have short videos: http://easyrecipesforbeginners.com/, http://www.cookingfordads.net/ & http://www.whatsdadcooking.com/
• KIDS COOKING: http://www.simplebites.net/easy-recipes-that-kids-can-cook/, http://www.kraftrecipes.com/yourkids/main.aspx, & http://www.cookinglight.com/food/quick-healthy/quick-kids-recipes-00412000072526/page38.html

Meal Plans:

• www.foodonthetable.com (website & app) I am trying this, I like that you can poke through the recipes to see what you like. I don’t like that you only get a few meals before you have to pay.
• http://www.dinnerplanner.com/ There are so many sites to choose from.  I typed into “Google” easy family meal plans.
• http://pinterest.com/txterrisweeps/meals-menu-planning-what-s-for-dinner/ This one is great!  I love the bins for each day of the week!
• http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/index.html – I love the Real Simple website for LOTS of things.

Printables & Other Stuff:

• http://frugalliving.about.com/od/grocerysavings/tp/Free-Meal-Planners.htm
• http://frugalliving.about.com/od/frugalliving101/ss/Money_Saving_Printables_2.htm
• http://www.nestlefamily.com/Categories/CraftsActivities/ArtsCrafts/Article.aspx?articleID=ABD6C8ED-702C-4140-B29A-0957923213FF
• http://frugalliving.about.com/od/householdsavings/tp/Household_Notebook.01.htm
• http://dinnertrade.com/
• http://thefamilydinnerbook.com/tag/games/
• http://unclutterer.com/2008/02/20/creating-a-weekly-meal-plan/

In our food & water…

Detoxifying requires more than simply taking a pill and buying a nifty detox kit.  I was speaking with someone about this yesterday and said, “buying a detox product or kit and doing nothing else is like buying a phenomenal mop but then wearing your muddy boots while you mop!”

Detoxification is about getting your liver, colon, kidneys and lymphatic system in tip top shape.  You do that by following a conscientious detoxification protocol for a few weeks.  I’ll talk about that in more detail in my next blog post.

Today I’m sharing the summary of my top 10 things to foster detoxification and clean up your world:

10.   Get a good water filter

• Ideally one that removes fluoride, chlorine and chloramines, among other chemicals.
• Look at the water filters on the Environmental Working Group’s website (EWG).
• Do keep in mind that carbon filters (like PUR, Brita, etc.) do not remove all chemicals, such as fluoride.

9.   Get rid of as many plastics and plasticizers around you

• Tupperware, shower curtain, rain poncho, food cans (they’re lined with BPA on the inside), drinks in plastic bottles, baby bottles labeled 7, receipts (coated in BPA plastic)
• Plastics are endocrine disruptors because they have estrogen-like qualities and so they bind with estrogen receptors in the body.

8.   Eliminate chemical household cleaners

• Make your own cleaners with water, vinegar and baking soda.  It’s all you need!
• Search the EWG’s website for non-toxic cleaner brands

7.   Eliminate chemical personal care products

• Adopt the following philosophy: If it’s not safe to eat, don’t put it on your skin.
• Use the EWG’s Skin Deep database to find clean personal care items

6.   Eliminate GMO foods and conventionally grown produce

• Look at the Dirty Dozen list of produce that you should always buy organic

And the top 5 basics for detoxification…

  5.   Sweat profusely

At least a couple times a week. Take saunas, do vigorous exercise, take soaking baths, etc.

  4.   Eat clean food

Eat organic produce, free range chicken and eggs, grass fed beef and organic milk, wild caught fish, etc.

  3.   Eat lots of green

Eat lots of green vegetables and take a chlorophyll supplement

  2.   Use lots of fiber

Take a fiber supplement to clean out your colon regularly.  Eat foods high in fiber on a daily basis.

1.   Drink plenty of clean water

Take your body weight and divide it in half. That is the number of ounces of water you should aim to drink on a daily basis to flush out excess toxins.  Body weight ÷ 2 = # ounces of water to drink daily  (i.e.  180 lbs ÷ 2 =90 oz of water daily.

Learn how to detoxify your body

This Thursday, March 21st I will be leading a webinar class called Detox 101.  You can participate from anywhere in the world and we’ll discuss how to detoxify your body in a whole lot more detail.  We’ll also discuss supplements, baths and yoga for detoxification.

How a Ketogenic Diet May be The Key to Cancer Recovery

Low Fat Diet Causes More Heart Disease

The first article highlights the work by Drs. Seyfried, Hatfield and D’Agostino.  Three of the leaders in treating cancer nutritionally. Dr. Hatfield in particular, had been diagnosed with terminal cancer which had metastasized throughout his body. He was given three months to live and that there was no cure. So he tried a ketogenic diet and was completely cancer free one year later.

A ketogenic diet consists of eliminating all carbohydrates and eating plenty of healthy fats and moderate amounts of protein foods. How does a ketogenic diet work?  Dr. D’Agostino explains:

“Your normal cells have the metabolic flexibility to adapt from using glucose to using ketone bodies. But cancer cells lack this metabolic flexibility. So we can exploit that.”

Cancer cells cannot live without glucose, so by starving your body of glucose you starve the cancer cells.  The rest of your body can live on fat.

The second article on  how a low fat diet causes more heart disease is a review of a landmark study conducted in Spain. Three groups of people were given three different diets: (1) group #1 were told to eat a low fat diet, (2) group #2 were told to eat a Mediterranean diet (lots of fresh vegetables, fruit and seafood) and supplement with nuts and olive oil, and (3) group #3 were told to eat the same Mediterranean diet but to supplement only with olive oil.  Groups #2 and #3 had a significant drop in the risk of heart disease, whereas group #1 had more incidence and risk of heart disease; so much so, that the study had to be halted for ethical reasons, meaning that researchers could no longer ethically deprive group #1 from the life-saving benefits that the higher fat diets were proving to have.

Fat is essential for health

We do not need sugar for health, but we do need fat for health. Think about it. The only truly natural forms of sugar that require NO processing are fruits and sweet vegetables. And in the natural cycle of life we would only have them seasonally.  Fats on the other hand, are available year round and keep well.

Not All Fat is Created Equal

There are definitely some fats you need to stay away from and never, ever put in your body. Hydrogenated oils top the list. These fats are man-made and do not exist in nature. They do not belong in your body and are quite destructive.

The second category of fats that we should not be eating are highly refined vegetable oils like corn, soy and canola.

Other fats are extremely healthy and essential for good health, like the omega-3s in nuts and seafood; but this doesn’t mean that the only healthy fats are polyunsaturated omega-3s. Many people think that “saturated” is a bad word and that they should always avoid it, but coconut oil is a saturated fat that is incredibly healthful and provides many great benefits to your body.

Curious about what other healthy or unhealthy fats you may be eating?

Join me for my next teleclass called Fats That Heal and Fats That Kill.  It’s an eye-opening class and it is based on the work of Dr. Udo Erasmus PhD, a nutritionist who has dedicated his life’s work to dispelling the myths about fat and getting the facts straight.

I’ll be sharing with you:

• The absolute must-have fats, the never eat again fats and the ones you want to minimize
• What fats/oils to cook with and which you never want to heat up
• What is the fat that helps boost thyroid function, combat yeasts and help regulate blood sugar
• What fat everyone needs to take on a daily basis

The class is this Thursday March 14th from 12:00 to 1:00 pm EST via conference call, so you can join us from wherever you are!

The study looked at the nutrition components of food in 175 countries as well as the prevalence of diabetes in each country. What they found was that for every increase of 150 calories (per person per day) the rate of diabetes incidence increased 0.1% (not a big increase); whereas for every increase of 150 SUGAR calories (per person per day,) the rate of diabetes incidence increased 1.1%.  In other words, for every 12 oz can of sugar-sweetened-beverage introduced into the food supply (per person per day), the rate of diabetes increases 1.1%!

1.1% may not seem that large, but it is significant.  The difference between 1.1% and 0.1% also shows that diabetes incidence increases 10 times more quickly when your calories come from sugar than when your calories come from other foods (i.e. fat, meat, vegetables, etc.) In other words it shows that the more sugar people eat, the more diabetes they get. It doesn’t get any plainer than that.

This is exciting because for a long time the medical establishment has been beating the drum that obesity is the primary driver for diabetes an therefore that overeating is what causes diabetes.  This study shows that’s not necessarily true, and that the true predictor of diabetes is sugar consumption.

The significance of this is huge, as Bittman says, this is demonstrated “with the same level of confidence that linked cigarettes and lung cancer in the 1960s.”

Sugar is a problem

Excess sugars are everywhere.  They’re not just in soda, candy and ice cream.  Excess sugar also comes in the form of eating lots of pasta, bread, crackers, cereal, muffins, bagels, pizza, donuts…  This means that our standard American diet not only is loaded in sugar, it is also heavily centered on foods that convert into sugar. Double whammy!

Sugar (and carbs) are an addiction

As any addiction, they can be hard to overcome. Before you know it you’re a sugar (or carb) junkie and you have a hard time staying away from the foods that are so delectable, and give you such joy and comfort.

Low blood sugar is a warning sign

Lots of people think it’s normal that when their blood sugar drops they get shaky, cranky, foggy-headed and need to eat something quickly.  This is NOT normal.  It’s a warning sign.  Many people think that if they need to eat every 2-3 hours it’s because they have a “fast metabolism”, this is not true. In many cases this is really a sign that the body that has become sugar dependent.

When your blood sugar dips and you get ANY symptoms, it’s a sign that you are veering into hypo-glycemia (which literally means low blood sugar) and that your body is not able to tap into your fat stores effectively to keep you running until it’s time to eat.  Think about it, if you have even just a little fat on your body, you should be able to easily go without food for 4-5 hours, unless you have some serious metabolic issues. If your body can’t tap into fat and needs constant fuel from food to run, it can be a sign of the slow road to diabetes.

Could this be you?

Here are some signs to look out for:

• Do you crash when you haven’t eaten in a few hours?  (i.e. get a headache, become irritable or moody, get shaky and/or foggy-headed, faint)  –and when this happens you know you need to eat something to feel better quickly.
• Do you crave sweets and/or starches?
• Do you have trouble losing weight?
• Are you accumulating weight around your abdomen?
• Do you wake up hungry at night?
• When you lose weight, do you lose muscle mass instead of fat?
• Do you drink soda?  (diet or regular)
• Do you eat things with sugar?

Overcoming Sugar and Carb Addiction

I’m teaching this teleclass on Sugar and Carbs via conference call on Thursday March 7th from 12:00 to 1:00 pm EST. The fact that it’s a teleclass means you can participate from anywhere in the world.  The class will also be recorded so if you can’t join us live, you can still sign-up and listen to the recording afterwards.

Check out the full class description and sign up here.

I look forward to having you!

When it comes to stir-fry, it’s common to serve them on top of rice or noodles.  However, my version this week puts a spin on that and adds a whole lot of flavor while taking out the starch.  My intention is to help you create a tasty alternative to eating starch.  This is especially important in you are:

• Looking to lose weight
• Needing to lower your cholesterol and triglycerides
• Wanting to cut back on grains
• Eating a Paleo diet

I made this on Sunday in about 30 minutes flat.  It’s now stored in my fridge and will be the basis of this week’s lunches.  I just had it today for lunch with some sauteed ground beef and it is simply amazing!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 bunch of Bok Choy, cut in bite size strips
• 1/2 bunch of kale, cut in bite size strips
• 2 small onions or 1 large one, cut in strips
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut in strips
• 7-8 medium mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 small celery root (celeriac), peeled and shredded or juliened**
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/4 cup of veggie stock
• salt & pepper
• Hot sauce (optional)
• Tamari (aka. gluten-free soy sauce – optional)
• Pickled carrots + a splash of pickling liquid (optional) — if you don’t add the pickled carrots, then add a splash of apple cider vinegar

Directions

In a wok or large saute pan over medium-low heat, melt the coconut oil and saute the onion, peppers and juliened celery root for 5 minutes or so.  When they start getting soft, add the garlic and mushrooms and toss for a minute or two.  Add the bok choy, kale, and veggie stock.  Add salt and pepper, hot sauce, pickled carrots, tamari and toss.  Cover for 3-5 minutes until the greens wilt.  Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.

Enjoy with a meat or other protein ‘side dish’!  I had this for lunch with some sauteed ground beef with onions and peppers, and everything blended together beautifully!

Enjoy!  And let me know how it turns out for you.

The secret ingredient: Celery Root!

This is quite simply my new favorite soup -and that of my friends who have been lucky enough to try it. I whipped it up because I am always on a quest to eat more greens and I simply LOVE celeriac.
Some of the benefits of this soup?

• It’s low carb!
• It is a great way to increase your chlorophyll intake
• With the chlorophyll, you’ll be getting a healthy amount of magnesium and iron
• The onion and garlic are great anti-bacterial and anti-viral agents, so if you’ve been getting sick, this soup is a good addition

Here we go:

• 1 whole head of broccoli, trimmed to discard only the toughest stems
• 1 whole celeriac root (yes this is the root of the celery plant), peeled and cut in big chunks
• 1/2 bunch cilantro – get rid of the stems and only use the leaves
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut in large chunks
• 4-6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 – 1.5 Qt. organic chicken stock
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Splash of white vinegar
• Hot sauce to taste

Put all of the vegetables in a medium large pot and cover with chicken stock (you can also use organic vegetable stock.)  Add about 1 tsp salt and freshly ground pepper, lots! Bring to a boil and then let it simmer for 20 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Turn heat off and blend with a hand blender, or allow to cool for a few minutes and blend in batches in your blender.

Return to the pot so you can adjust the flavor.  Add the splash white vinegar, which gives it a tartness and aliveness that brings all the flavors together and then adjust the salt and pepper.  I always add a little hot sauce to give it an extra zing and also dial up the heating properties of this soup during the winter.

The color is a lovely green and the taste is just incredible!

Enjoy!

“Hi Morella – …  I just had my blood cholesterol levels done this morning (2/6/13).  I haven’t had them done since July of 2012.  Here are the comparisons.  I hope you are as excited and as proud as I am!!!

In July of 2012 my total cholesterol was 310 – it is now 210.  My LDL cholesterol was 226 – it is now 145.  My HDL cholesterol was 49 – it is now 46.  My TC/HDL Ratio was 6.3 – it is now 4.8.  My Triglycerides were 177 – they are now 133.  Isn’t that awesome!?!?  Please feel free to use these stats in whatever way is helpful for you.  I have continued with the 1/2 lemon every morning, the liquid chlorophyll (so gross!), digestive enzymes and other organic supplements, eating healthier all the time, interval training and walking several times a week and taking care of my mind and soul.  Yippee!!

Best to you…..Wendy”

You can imagine how elated I am to see Wendy have such amazing results after our work together. Wendy was totally committed to taking care of herself and in that way, was a perfect participant for my group cholesterol program. Every week, she took action on the things we discussed in the group and she would come back the following week reporting incredible improvements.

Wendy has come down from “high risk” to average risk

She is living proof that if you take just a few baby steps each week, your health will in fact turn around.

This is perfect timing for her to be sharing this with us, because if you are someone with high cholesterol who needs to learn how you can eat delicious foods that will get you back on track and help you avoid statin drugs, then you can do what Wendy did and get started next Tuesday. Check out my Healthy Heart program right now.

But the best news is this:  this plan in NOT about eliminating fat, eggs, butter, cheese or bacon!  Trust me. This program is about helping you understand how cholesterol is all about inflammation in your body and how you can reduce the inflammation in your body 100% naturally.

Why ratios matter

If you look at Wendy’s total cholesterol (210 down from 310), that improvement is significant but most doctors would still call 210 “borderline high.”  Now, if you look at her Total Cholesterol to HDL ratio (4.8 down from 6.3) this number tells a great story. It tells us that Wendy went from being at high-risk for heart disease to now be average risk.  In other words, she has no more risk than someone with cholesterol under 200 (which is what most doctors want to see.)  In FACT, unless you look at your ratios, even with cholesterol under 200 you might still be at higher risk for heart disease than Wendy, but you won’t know it just by looking at the totals!

I wish explaining ratios were simpler.  If you’re interested in knowing what your ratios say, send me an email and include all your numbers:  Total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and Triglycerides, and I’ll happily send you the ratios tables, what your own ratios are and what they mean.  I’m offering this absolutely complimentary because I want you to be well informed and be able to have better conversations with your general care provider.

Email me and send me your numbers. I’ll tell you what your ratios say.

Once again, I cannot encourage you enough to join my Healthy Heart, natural cholesterol management program, because it will change your life for the better in a completely natural way.  Just like it did for Wendy.