How can I reduce my blood cholesterol levels?

Besides drugs, there are a variety of other substances that will lower blood cholesterol levels to some degree. Eating alfalfa will help. So will psyllium husks. Eating garlic will lower cholesterol levels somewhat (it will also help reduce your stress by keeping people away from you). Ingesting the insecticide DDT will raise your HDL or "good" cholesterol, but that's not an advisable way to do it. Eating oat bran or rice bran is another popular way of trying to lower cho psyllium husks lesterol.

Like drugs, though, these substances do not go far enough back in the causal chain. Instead of limiting the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in their diet, many people believe that eating oat bran or other soluble fibers will somehow magically protect them and lower their blood cholesterol levels. (Some oat bran muffins contain more fat than a chocolate cream donut.) They use it almost like an amulet to protect them from heart disease instead of changing their lifestyle. Thirteen years ago, in the first study I conducted, one of the patients came up to me and said, "Dean, I had a cheeseburger today but I had it on a whole wheat bun." Another patient said, "I've stopped eating red meat-now I order it well-done."

Find out more about this book: Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease: The Only System Scie...

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