“What Do You Take to Lower Cholesterol?” This was the question asked of me by a patient who has known me for over 20 years. She was asking for a friend who was told he needed a statin. I paused, and when I finished banging my head on the desk, I said, “Statins.”
“No,” she said. “Something natural.”
“It doesn’t work that way. There are all kinds of things that have been studied, like omega-3 fatty acids, phosphatidylcholine, lipoic acid, and niacin, to name a few. But they won’t do what you are suggesting.” I pointed out that she asked nothing about diet or lifestyle—we all want that pill that fixes the problem—even when we look into natural healthcare.
Supplements are not drugs. We do not “treat” high cholesterol. High cholesterol is a clue that something is “off”. Maybe it is stress. Maybe it is insulin insensitivity. I look for high LDL, high triglycerides (triglycerides should be no more than ½ of total cholesterol)—those are clues that he needs to stop sugar and limit carbohydrates. Supplements like magnesium and berberine may help improve insulin sensitivity and, by extension, may help improve cholesterol levels. Maybe it is inflammation. Also, high cholesterol is not a disease, it is a risk factor.
Maybe this individual is concerned about heart disease. Maybe he should have his CRP checked to see if inflammation is an issue. If you have high cholesterol, your chances of a heart attack or a stroke goes way up if you have high CRP. So, I could not just say, “Yeah, take some niacin.”
Natural healthcare works and this gentleman probably could bring his cholesterol down, but no single supplement is going to do it. I am reminded of an old joke. A man goes to the doctor with a health problem. The doctor tells him to stop eating sugar and processed foods. Stop drinking alcohol. Start exercising. Meditate. Eat only whole food and get plenty of vegetables. As the man leaves the office, he says to himself, “Man, I gotta find a different doctor.”
