CHOLESTEROL
Cholesterol is a substance that can only be found in meat, poultry, fish, and animal products such as eggs, milk and cheese. Foods from the plant kingdom such as fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, etc., do not have any cholesterol.
There are two types of cholesterol: one is the high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) which the body manufactures and is necessary for the maintenance of optimum health; the second type is low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) which is the bad cholesterol that causes most of the trouble. Meat, animal products, oils, fats and grease of all kinds are the foods most responsible for low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL). Therefore, these items should be eliminated from the diet.(1) The ideal diet for lowering cholesterol is a diet low in natural fats and protein (such as avocados, nuts, etc.) and high in complex carbohydrates, which are whole grains, vegetables, legumes (peas & beans), tubers (potatoes), fruits, honey, etc.
Cholesterol can also be reduced by eating a diet high in fiber. All grains are high in fiber. Hard red spring wheat was reported in 1978 by a United States Government scientist to cause a 17% decrease in low density lipoprotein cholesterol.(2) If people ate complex carbohydrate food that contain natural fiber we would not have today's epidemic of high cholesterol. The more natural the food the better. Oat bran, for example, is not a whole natural food, for the bran has been removed from the oat. It would be better to use oatmeal as opposed to oat bran.
Another way to help lower cholesterol is by sunbathing. It is important to note that cholesterol and Vitamin D are related, for when cholesterol in the skin is exposed to sunlight, it may easily be changed to Vitamin D and thereby made harmless to the body. It was in 1904 that one research scientist discovered that sunlight was able to transform cholesterol to Vitamin D. Human skin has a very rich supply of cholesterol, and this cholesterol keeps moving back and forth between the skin and the blood stream. If it is removed from the skin, then the cholesterol from the blood stream moves into the skin to replace the cholesterol that was lost. It has been found that sunlight will cause a reduction of cholesterol in the skin and it also affects the overall cholesterol metabolism of the whole body. When the skin is exposed to sunlight, cholesterol is destroyed so rapidly and to such a great extent that the total body cholesterol is decreased. A study was done using 30 patients who had hardening of the arteries. Each of these patient's blood cholesterol level was taken before a sunbath. The results showed that there was almost a 13% decrease in the blood cholesterol following the treatment.(3)
You may wonder then, if I sunbathe to lower my cholesterol, what do I do about the possibility of getting skin cancer from all the sunbathing? According to Dr. Kime, in his book, Sunlight Could Save Your Life, if you take a moderate amount of sun and do not eat meat, animal products or refined oils, your chances of getting skin cancer are rare. There is little doubt in the research literature, as to whether or not a high fat diet promotes a higher and earlier incidence of skin cancer due to ultraviolet light.(4)
For years we have accepted cholesterol levels of 250-300 mg% as "normal" in our society because ninety percent of Americans fall into that range. While these levels may be common for Americans, (where every second person dies of atherosclerosis), they are not ideal. The ideal cholesterol is 100 plus your age, not to exceed 160 mg%. Dr. Antonio Gotto M.D., president of the American Heart Association, stated in a U.S. Senate hearing, that if we lower the cholesterol count of everyone in the United States to below 150 mg%, we would probably wipe out heart disease. (5)
There are several cholesterol lowering drugs. Big expensive investigations of these drugs report success in reducing blood cholesterol by levels of five to ten percent. Unfortunately, none of these drugs improve life expectancy. On the contrary, they prove more harmful than helpful. They produce unpleasant and distressing effects and excessive mortality. (6)
The more we learn about cholesterol, the more we realize that by following a natural diet, the one given to us in the Garden of Eden, the healthier we will be.
(1) Jay Milton Hoffman, Ph.D., The Missing Link, Professional Press, Valley Center, 1984, p. 353.
(2) Prevention Magazine, January, 1979, pg. 32.
(3) Zane Kime M.D. M.S., Sunlight Could Save Your Life, World Health Publications, Penryn, 1980, pg. 51-53.
(3) Baumann, C.A.: Rusch, H.P.: Effect of Diet on Tumors Induced by Ultraviolet Light, American J. Cancer, 35:213, 1939.
(5) Keys, A. (1970), Coronary Heart Disease in Seven Countries, Circulation 41, Supplement 1.
(6) Coronary Drug Project Research Group (1975), Clofibrate and Niacin Coronary Heart Disease, JAMA 231:360-381.