Lowering Your Cholesterol

I came across this video that Mark Hyman did on lowering your cholesterol and triglycerides and was totally floored.

Here's the question... Could having higher cholesterol actually be good for you? Check out this video and listen to Doctor Hyman break it down for you in just 7 minutes.

CLICK HERE

Okay, but seriously... if you haven't clicked about.. just do it. You won't regret it.

Assuming you have watched the video... Here is some of the main take away's from the video.

Cholesterol is Important

It helps make hormones, brain cells, & cell membranes

Not enough cholesterol causes low testosterone (and what man wants that?), effects cell function, block the making of coQ10 enzyme causing brain issues.

Side effects of cholesterol medications:

Muscle damage

Brain damage

Memory issues

Parkinson's-like symptoms

Muscle pain and muscle aching

5 years, one drug, to prevent one heart attack

You have to treat 50 people to prevent one heart attack

You have to treat 890 people to prevent one death from a heart attack

Not a very good drug

The Truth

Get the right cholesterol test-that gives the number and size of your cholesterol particles.

Increase the right kinds of fats, decrease sugar and grains. It's not fat that causes your cholesterol to go up-- IT'S SUGAR

Sugar causes your cholesterol-producing factory in the liver to turn on.

Good fats to increase in your diet:

Avocado

Nuts

Seeds

Coconut butter

Olive oil

Fish oil

It's not about lowering your cholesterol... it's about having the right type of cholesterol.

(And this is not the right type of cholesterol)

Two other important factors:

Exercise

Deal with stress

Supplements that can help NATURALLY:

2-4 grams of fish oil daily

PGX-super fiber 5 grams before every meal

Red rice yeast

Phytosterols

This post might have turned your idea of cholesterol upside down and that's good! Hopefully, this post has brought you one step closer to reaching optimal health. 

Until Next Time,

Hope

xoxo

I Need A Coffee Break

I need a coffee break, seriously. After a night of nine hours of sleep (which is my sweet spot), a stressless week I feel like I'm walking around in a daze. I feel like I need coffee to really wake up and to avoid a 2:30pm nap. What is my deal?

As I have reflected on the last couple month of my life and beyond, I have realized a few things.

1. When I'm tired, I typically just drink coffee to give me a needed "pick-me-up"
2. If I know I have to get to wake up super early and/or will get to bed late resulting in little sleep, I typically don't worry about it and just tell myself I will get some coffee

For the most part this works. I will hit a wall eventually and end up taking one of my "famous" 3-4 hour naps but that's okay, that's just what I do.... right?

Wrong.

What am I really doing to myself when I participate in this behavior? 

I was recently putting together a budget for myself with my moms help (she's cool like that). As we were talking about my monthly spending I made an off handed comment about how I was going to have to start making my coffee at home to make this budget work. My mom looked at me and said, "But you don't need to drink coffee." I have heard this from her before but it just hit me differently based on what I had been thinking about the past week. You know, I don't actually need coffee, do I? I never drank coffee growing up and both of my parents have never drank coffee.

As I continued to process, I began to see our "coffee culture" and what it has really done. In Minneapolis, everyone meets for meetings or with friends at coffee shops. You do your homework at a coffee shop. You go on first dates to coffee shops and the list goes on. There is nothing wrong with coffee shops but let's dig a little deeper.

I think coffee has given us a good means of neglecting our health in some ways. We have gone to coffee as our fuel to get us through the day at the expense of what we eat (real food) and how much we sleep.

The biggest issue I see with this is the effect it has on our Adrenal Glands. Our Adrenal Glands play a big part in our hormone regulation. As you might have read in some of my previous posts, hormone regulation has EVERYTHING to do with weight-loss and metabolism. When our Adrenal Glands get fatigued, it can result in our hormones getting all out of balance leaving you tired and frustrated, especially if you are trying to lose weight.

There are some great health benefits from drinking good coffee. That is, coffee without all the artificial creamers and syrups, loads of sugar etc. Some of these benefits include lowering risks of different cancers and diseases, type 2 diabetes, and increases overall mortality.

There are some awesome benefits to drinking coffee, but we need to be careful we don't abuse it. 

With all this being said I am going to try something. I'm going to try to live without coffee (until the New Year). For me I think this will do a few things:

1. Make me be intentional about going to bed at a reasonable time.
2. Break any addiction I have to coffee (I really don't want to live addicted to anything)
3. Make me richer (I won't be spending all my pennies on coffee)
4. Give my adrenal glandes a chance to recover
5. I wonder if I'll lose weight? (That is more of a question based on the fact that I can't drink coffee black... ie I put lots of sugar and stuff in it...eeekkk!!)

If after reading this you have any desire to try and join me, let me know! (Leave a comment below) I find it so much easier to do things like this with others!

Until Next Time,

Hope

xoxo

P.S. I just want to reiterate that I LOVE coffee shops... I'm at one right now! :) It's not the WHAT, it's in the HOW.