You know the score on cholesterol by now. It’s not the LDL that matters the MOST when it comes to protecting your heart and health.
The more people wake up to this fact, the more sales of cholesterol meds plunge. And with liver and muscle inflammation being among the many potential side effects, all I can say is. “It’s about time!”
But there is one type of lipid in the blood that does matter. And that, of course, is triglycerides.
The trouble is, despite being drug company darlings, statin drugs often won’t help much here. It can require a high dosage of the drugs to make a significant dent in triglycerides. Statins aren’t associated with a reduction in serious illness overall in average folks. And the potential for side effects can still make them a risky choice.
But new research reveals something that can do what those drugs don’t, and that’s help to safely flush these dangerous particles right out of your system.
And that could give you more protection against heart attacks, stroke, and death than any cholesterol med in the pharmacy.
Meet the most dangerous lipid in your body
When most people get their cholesterol test results back, they immediately look for their LDL and HDL levels. But the third number, those often-overlooked triglycerides, are in many ways more important than either of the other two.
When your triglycerides are too high, you might get a little lecture from your doctor about eating better and moving more.
Now, of course, it IS good to eat better and move more. I’ll give you no argument there. But it’s also easy to tune out that advice because it’s the standard lecture we get for EVERYTHING.
And unfortunately, most docs simply don’t communicate just how urgent it is to reduce triglycerides. But make no mistake about it, lowering them IS urgent.
High triglycerides are a warning sign that your arteries may slowly be thickening and hardening (arteriosclerosis). And as they lose elasticity, your risk for heart attacks and strokes rises.
Even moderately high triglycerides can raise that risk making it a far more critical sign of potential cardiovascular problems than LDL cholesterol. But since conventional medicine doesn’t really have much to offer you beyond the diet-and-exercise advice, doctors often don’t talk much about it.
But the new study offers something better than just diet and exercise alone.
Dynamic duo can cut triglycerides
Typically, we don’t think of pomegranates and olives as a pair that goes together. But maybe we should. Because this unusual duo is at the heart of the latest research that could send those dangerous triglycerides packing.
The researchers recruited a group of middle-aged and older folks with average triglycerides of 201, which is considered high. They were divided into two groups, and a combo supplement of punicalagin (a compound from pomegranates) and hydroxytyrosol (from olives) was put to the test against a placebo.
To be considered “normal,” triglycerides levels need to reach 150 or lower. And within just eight weeks, the two natural and safe compounds came so close to that mark that most doctors would be thrilled.
The supplement brought triglycerides all the way down to 155 mg/dL. As a bonus, the dynamic duo also helped reduce LDL cholesterol and raise HDL (“good”) cholesterol.
Those kinds of results would make any doctor… yours included… practically ecstatic.
That makes a fantastic starting point for improving triglycerides and overall lipids. But don’t stop there because there’s another proven alternative with even more evidence behind it. And that’s fish oil.
Omega-3 fatty acids can be so effective at reducing triglycerides that one of the few “drug” options that target them effectively is actually just a synthetic form of fish oil.
But you don’t need a prescription to try the real deal. So speak to your doctor about the amount that’s best for you.
For one more effective way to help reduce triglycerides, see my earlier report, “The cholesterol number you SHOULD worry about.”
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