Just Ask Terry

Terry is happy to provide his opinion on diet and nutrition, supplements and lifestyle choices. This information is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to replace the advice of your physician and is not to be considered medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Should you have any concerns please contact your physician directly.

Q. Terry, “My good cholesterol is 124 and my bad is 98, and adding it up puts me over 200+, so my doctor wants to put me on prescription cholesterol-lowering drugs called “statins.” Is it bad to have too much good cholesterol? I follow a healthy diet and am questioning whether I need to take the statin medication. What do you think?” — Jennifer R., Tampa, FL A. Dear Jennifer, First and foremost, cholesterol is not a bad thing! It is necessary for life, and it is very unhealthy to focus only on lowering an arbitrary number. For long term heart health, you need cholesterol BALANCE. If you have good, healthy antioxidants on board, eat healthy fats, have daily activity, and have optimal levels of HDL cholesterol, you will most likely not have heart concerns, even if your total “number” is “high.” To further support healthy cholesterol balance, I suggest you take two things – Indian Gooseberry (also called Amla) and Omega-3 fatty acids. Indian Gooseberry, a fresh fruit from India, has been an important part of Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. However, it was modern research that unlocked the reasons for its success in treating heart disease. Amla is an antioxidant – it can stop the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, the first step in heart disease. It is also able to increase levels of the good, protective cholesterol, HDL. I recommend taking 1,000 mg daily. There are also many studies showing the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids for reducing triglyceride and cholesterol levels. I recommend taking Omega-3 fatty acids from salmon, naturally bound to phospholipids, which you can find in a tablet form. The advantage to this type of omega fatty acid supplement is that the absorption is increased up to 50 times over regular fish oil supplements, and the purity is vastly superior. Therefore, you only need one or two tablets a day instead of handfuls of fish oil capsules or spoonfuls of fishy tasting oils. As always, it’s very important for you to work with your licensed healthcare practitioner. I encourage you to talk with your doctor and see what he/she thinks of using the protocol I have recommended. Healthy Regards! Terry . . . Naturally