Natural Medicines & Family Practice
1315 Ruddell Rd. SE Lacey, WA 98503 360-357-8054
HDL CHOLESTEROL
Start a health care file and place this article, along with any letters in the file and bring it to every appointment, along with any medicines or supplements you take and your written questions to every appointment.
HDL is the high cholesterol you want to have. Most practitioners and patients think only about lowering cholesterol. Reducing fat intake too much, taking some prescription drugs or supplements and other treatable factors lowers HDL cholesterol too much.
HDL means high density lipoprotein cholesterol. Studies in the New England Journal of Medicine show people with normal levels of HDL were 40% less likely to have strokes or heart attacks.
If HDL is too high, it can signal other problems we can diagnose and treat. Excessively high HDL does not always protect you from strokes or heart disease.
What to do about low HDL? Bring this checklist to appointments and review it from time to time if your HDL is abnormal.
___Test HDL, both the total amount and the most protective types in our office
___Schedule better tests to see if you have other treatable problems that increase
stroke or heart disease risks. A few of these tests are insulin, CRP, homocysteine
and others
___Cholesterols are manufactured in the liver, under the influence of fat cells, exercise,
insulin & glucose, foods you consume, stress, the kidneys, the thyroid, genetics and
other modifiable or treatable factors. See a holistic practitioner to help you see the
big picture.
___Cholesterol lowering drugs often lower HDL. See me for Alternative Drug
Management.
___Cholesterol lowering drugs promoted to raise HDL do not exist yet. The few that
did help raise HDL increased the rate of strokes or heart disease and were banned
by the FDA.
___Do cardiovascular tests to see if you have treatable cholesterol plaque. The younger
or sooner the tests are done, the faster we start on Conventional and Alternative
Stroke, Alzheimers & Heart Disease Prevention or Treatments
___Test insulin and glucose properly in our office. If abnormal, follow up as instructed.
___Stop or reduce foods that spike or cause abnormal insulin. If insulin or glucose is
abnormal, see us for Pre Diabetes & Diabetes Education appointments or
see us for Pre Diabetes & Diabetes Conventional & Alternative management.
___Low glycemic vegetables, legumes, nuts, healthy dietary fats and proteins raise
HDL.
___Sugar, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, excessive calories, large meal servings,
refined carbohydrates (white bread, cookies, crackers, etc.), excessive fruit juices
and other common foods lower HDL. This also cause weight gain, abnormal
insulin and glucose, known as Pre Diabetes or Diabetes.
___Lose weight. If overweight, see us for Medical Weight Loss. Excessive weight
lowers HDL, raises other cholesterols and causes abnormal insulin and glucose in
many people. This is known as Pre Diabetes or Diabetes if advanced.
___Exercise regularly. Make exercise a habit and strive for 30 minutes most days of
the week. Do not guilt yourself if you can’t exercise every day– just do what you can
do. I’ve just exercised on weekends for years and it’s helped me.
___Nicotine and marijuana lower HDL. When you are ready to stop smoking, see us
for our Stop Smoking 4 Part Program.
___Excessive alcohol may alter HDL. Cut down or if you have cravings and trouble
cutting down, see us for our Alcohol Abstinence Program
___Excessive stress alters cholesterol. If anxiety, depression and other mental health
problems are out of control, see us for Conventional & Alternative Stress
Hormone Management
___Some drugs alter cholesterols (estrogens, beta blockers, diuretics, others). See us
for Conventional & Alternative Drug Management.
___1 in 9 Americans have chronic silent kidney disease and many more have chronic
silent kidney damage. Both can affect cholesterol levels. See us for testing and
if abnormal, see us for Kidney Disease or Damage Prevention & Management.
___Toxins can alter cholesterols. See us for toxin testing (insulin, environmental
chemicals, lead, mercury, arsenic or others). Our Toxin Eye Test is covered by
insurance. Our Toxin Antibody Test is more accurate, but not covered by
insurance. If tests abnormal, see us for Conventional & Alternative Toxin
Management.
___If you have cardiovascular disease and are not treating the causes, your body may
increase total cholesterol and LDL while lowering HDL to keep vessels from
bursting. Unfortunately, this may reduce blood flow. See us for Conventional &
Alternative Cardiology Management.
___Supplements can raise HDL. Do our Nutritional Testing to help figure out
which supplements are best for you.
___If you have chronic sub clinical infections, some of them hide inside cholesterol
plaque. See us for Conventional & Alternative Infection Management.
___Follow up on abnormal thyroid tests as instructed. If abnormal, see us for
Conventional & Alternative Thyroid Testing and Management.
___Test HDL every 3-6 months until normal, then annually.
David Overton, PA-C works at Natural Medicines & Family Practice providing conventional and alternative medicine approaches under the supervision of Dr. Richard Faiola, MD. ABFM. 360-357-8054