Dear Health Conscious Friend,

High cholesterol runs in my family. From my grandparents, to my dad, and on to my sister and me. It's a silent, deadly killer that most people aren't aware they have ‘till it's too late. For those who do know they have a problem, the side-effects from prescription drugs are awful: Headaches, constipation, muscle and joint pains... the list goes on. But now the medical establishment has admitted there’s an effective, safe, natural alternative to treating high cholesterol.

Christine O'Brien gives us the facts...

In the name of good health,

Taryn Strugnell
Managing Editor of Nutrition & Healing

P.S.We've delved into the benefits of rooibos and green tea... now Dr Wright tells us a bit about another hot beverage... keep reading.

Confessions of the medical industry... there is a natural cholesterol treatment
Christine O’Brien
Contributor to Nutrition and Healing

Could it be? Has a major mainstream medical journal really published a study that could help dethrone the mighty statin?

I was shocked when a doctor friend sent me the study - but there it was, in all its statin-busting glory. I'm surprised the big pharmaceutical companies let this one slip by.
 
In a study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers looked at the effect of red yeast rice on LDL cholesterol.

Patients who'd had to stop taking statins because of chronic muscle pain were given red yeast rice (1 800mg twice daily) or a placebo for 24 weeks. All patients also switched to a “therapeutic lifestyle” for 12 weeks of the study.

The researchers were investigating the effectiveness of red yeast rice, of course, but they were also keeping a close eye on a few other things - pain levels, patients' livers and CPK level (creatine phosphokinase, which indicates injury or stress to the heart, brain or muscles.

The conclusion? "Red yeast rice and therapeutic lifestyle changes decrease LDL cholesterol level without increasing CPK or pain levels and may be a treatment option for dyslipidemic patients who cannot tolerate statin therapy."

Hmmm. The “who cannot tolerate statin therapy” seems like a pretty strong nod to pharmaceutical companies. But really - isn't that EVERYONE? With side effects like muscle weakness, pain, mental decline and liver damage; I'm certainly not feeling very tolerant.

It might not seem like much, and maybe I'm feeling a little too optimistic this morning, but I'm encouraged that mainstream drug manufacturers seem to finally be willing to look at alternatives for their (wrongly) celebrated drugs. Of course, it should be their duty, considering their standard is poison.

There's still a long way to go - not a day goes by without my seeing at least one report on the next marvellous application of statins. Statins for infection, for Multiple Sclerosis, even for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease... No matter how much evidence piles up for the dangers of statin use, the mainstream wants to throw the drug at whatever they can. And I'm sure we're not going to see that change for a while.

So keep your eyes peeled, I'm sure we'll be reading about some glorious new drug soon.

Where does oolong fit in the tea family?

Q: Is oolong tea a real tea or a herbal tea? Are there any health benefits?

Dr. Wright: Oolong tea is part of the “real” tea family that also includes black, green and white varieties. Oolong is sometimes referred to as semi-fermented. It is somewhere in between black tea and green tea in terms of how long it’s processed. It’s a very popular variety in China in particular. Because it’s a true tea, oolong shares many of the same benefits of green tea. However, since it does undergo the fermentation process for slightly longer, it may contain less of some healthful elements than green tea, but more than black tea. Its caffeine content is in the middle of these two varieties as well.