Lipitor

How to Lower Your Cholesterol?

Cholesterol Lowering Drugs and Cholesterol Lowering Diet

Whatever the reasons may be for your high blood cholesterol level - diet, heredity, or both - the treatment your doctor will prescribe first is a diet. If your blood cholesterol level has not decreased sufficiently after carefully following the diet for 6 months, your doctor may consider adding cholesterol-lowering medication to your dietary treatment. Remember, diet is a very essential step in the treatment of high blood cholesterol.

Cholesterol-lowering medications are more effective when combined with diet. Thus they are meant to supplement, not replace, a low-saturated fat, low-cholesterol diet.

Summary of Diet Guidelines for Lowering High Blood Cholesterol Levels

* Eat less high-fat food (especially those high in saturated fat)
* Replace part of the saturated fat in your diet with unsaturated fat
* Eat less high-cholesterol food
* Choose foods high in complex carbohydrates (starch and fiber)
* Reduce your weight, if you are overweight

Eat Less High-fat Food

Dietary Fat

There are two major types of dietary fat - saturated and unsaturated. Unsaturated fats are further classified as either polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats. Together, saturated and unsaturated fats equal total fat. All foods containing fat contain a mixture of these fats.

Reduce Total Fat Intake

One of the goals in your blood cholesterol-lowering diet is to eat less total fat, because this is an effective way to eat less saturated fat. Because fat is the richest source of calories, this will also help reduce the number of calories you eat every day. If you are overweight, weight loss is another important step in lowering blood cholesterol levels (as discussed later in this brochure). If you are not overweight, be sure to replace the fat calories by eating more food high in complex carbohydrates.

Remember: When you decrease the amount of total fat you eat, you are likely to reduce the saturated fat and calories in your diet.

Saturated Fat

Saturated fat raises your blood cholesterol level more than anything else in your diet. The best way to reduce your blood cholesterol level is to reduce the amount of saturated fat you eat.

Animal Fats

Animal products as a group are a major source of saturated fat in the average American diet. Butter, cheese, whole milk, ice cream, and cream all contain high amounts of saturated fat. Saturated fat is also concentrated in the fat that surrounds meat and in the white streaks of fat in the muscle of meat (marbling). Poultry, fish, and shellfish also contain saturated fat, although generally less than meat.

Hydrogenated Fat - Known As Trans Fatty Acids or Trans-Fats

Trans fats are created during the food manufacturing process when cheap vegetable oils undergo a process called “hydrogenation” - they have hydrogen added to them to make them solid and less likely to become rancid. Unfortunately, trans fats are even worse for our heart than saturated fat, as they encourage atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries).

Vegetable Fats

A few vegetable fats - coconut oil, cocoa butter (found in chocolate), palm kernel oil, and palm oil - are high in saturated fat. These vegetable fats are found in many commercially baked goods, such as cookies and crackers, and in nondairy substitutes, such as whipped toppings, coffee creamers, cake mixes, and even frozen dinners. They also can be found in some snack foods like chips, candy bars, and buttered popcorn. Because these vegetable fats are not visible in these foods (unlike the fat in meats) it is important for you to read food labels. The label may tell you how much saturated fat a food contains, which will help you choose foods lowest in saturated fats.

Remember: Saturated fats are found primarily in animal products. But a few vegetable fats and many commercially processed foods also contain saturated fat. Read labels carefully. Choose foods wisely.

Substitute Unsaturated Fat for Saturated Fat

Unsaturated fat actually helps to lower cholesterol levels when it is substituted for saturated fat. Therefore, health professionals recommend that, when you do eat fats, unsaturated fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats) be substituted for part of the saturated fat whenever possible.

Polyunsaturated fats are found primarily in safflower, corn, soybean, cottonseed, sesame, and sunflower oils, which are common cooking oils. Polyunsaturated fats are also contained in most salad dressings. But be cautious. Commercially prepared salad dressings also may be high in saturated fats, and therefore careful inspection of labels is important. The word “hydrogenated” on a label means that some of the polyunsaturated fat has been converted to saturated fat.

Another type of polyunsaturated fat is found in the oils of fish and shellfish (often referred to as fish oils, or omega-3 fatty acids). This type of polyunsaturated fat is found in greatest amounts in such fatty fish as herring, salmon, and mackerel. There is little evidence that omega-3 fatty acids are useful for reducing LDL-cholesterol levels. However, fish is a good food choice for this diet play anyway because it is low in saturated fat. The use of fish oil supplements are not recommended for the treatment of high blood cholesterol because it is not known whether long-term ingestion of omega-3 fatty acids will lead to undesirable side effects.

Olive and canola oil (rapeseed oil) are examples of oils that are high in monounsaturated fats. Like other vegetable oils, these oils are used in cooking as well as in salads. Recently, research has shown that substituting monounsaturated fat, like substituting polyunsaturated fat, for saturated fat reduces blood cholesterol levels.

Remember: Unsaturated fats when substituted for saturated fats help lower blood cholesterol levels.

Eat Less High-Cholesterol Food

Dietary cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in foods that come from animals. Although it is not the same as saturated fat, dietary cholesterol also can raise your blood cholesterol level. Therefore, it is important to eat less food that is high in cholesterol. While cholesterol is needed for normal body function, your liver makes enough for your body’s needs so that you don’t need to eat any cholesterol at all.

Dietary Cholesterol in Food

Cholesterol is found in eggs, dairy products, meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish. Egg yolks and organ meats (liver, kidney, sweetbread, brain) are particularly rich sources of cholesterol. High-fat dairy products, meat, and poultry all have similar amounts of cholesterol. Fish generally has less cholesterol, but shellfish varies in cholesterol content. Foods of plant origin, like fruits, vegetables, grains, cereals, nuts, and seeds, contain no cholesterol.

Since cholesterol is not a fat, you can find it in both high-fat and low-fat animal foods. In other words, even if a food is low in fat, it may be high in cholesterol. For instance, organ meats, like liver, are low in fat, but are high in cholesterol.

Because many foods such as dairy products and some meats are high in both saturated fat and cholesterol, it is important to limit the amount of these high-fat foods that you eat, choosing lean meats and low-fat dairy products whenever possible.

Remember: Organ meats and egg yolks are high in cholesterol. High-fat dairy products, meat, and poultry have similar amounts of cholesterol. Some fish has less. Foods of plant origin like fruits, vegetables, vegetable oils, grains, cereals, nuts, and seeds contain no cholesterol.

Substitute Low GI Carbohydrates for Saturated Fat

Breads, pasta, rice, cereals, dried peas and beans, fruits, and vegetables are good sources of complex carbohydrates (starch and fiber). Low-GI varieties are excellent substitutes for foods that are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. The type of fiber found in foods such as oat and barley bran, some fruits like apples and oranges, and in some dried beans may even help reduce blood cholesterol levels.

Contrary to popular belief, high-carbohydrate foods (like pasta, rice, potatoes) are lower in calories than foods high in fat. In addition, they are good sources of vitamins and minerals. What adds calories to these foods is the addition of butter, rich sauces, whole milk, or cream, which are high in fat, especially saturated fat. It is important not to add these to the high-carbohydrate foods you are substituting for foods high in fat.

Remember: Foods that are high in complex carbohydrates, if eaten plain, are low in saturated fat and cholesterol as well as being good sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Maintain a Desirable Weight

People who are overweight frequently have higher blood cholesterol levels than people of desirable weight.

You can reduce your weight by eating fewer calories and by increasing your physical activity on a regular basis. By reducing the amount of fat in your diet, you will be cutting down on the richest source of calories. Substituting foods that are high in complex carbohydrates for high-fat foods will also help you lose weight, because many high-carbohydrate foods contain little fat and thus fewer calories.

Fat Contains Twice the Calories of Carbs and Protein

Fat has more than twice the calories as the same amount of protein or carbohydrate. Protein and carbohydrate both have about 4 calories in each gram, but all fat-saturated, polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat - has 9 calories in each gram. Thus, foods that are high in fat are high in calories. And all calories count. So, to maintain a desirable weight, it is important to eat no more calories than your body needs.

Remember: To achieve or maintain a desirable weight, your caloric intake must not exceed the number of calories your body burns.

buy lipitor cholesterol lowering free prescription pills
FedEx overnight shipping free prescription online pharmacy

LIPITOR is indicated as an adjunct to diet for reduction of elevated total-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, apolipoprotein-B, and triglyceride levels in patients with primary hypercholesterolaemia; mixed dyslipidaemia; and heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia.

LIPITOR is also indicated to reduce total-C and LDL-C in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia as an adjunct to other lipid-lowering treatments (e.g. LDL apheresis) or if such treatments are unavailable.

Therapy with lipid-lowering agents should be a component of multiple-risk-factor intervention in individuals at increased risk of atherosclerotic vascular disease due to hypercholesterolaemia. Lipid-altering agents should be used in addition to a diet restricted in saturated fat and cholesterol only when the response to diet and other non-pharmacological measures has been inadequate.

Prior to initiating therapy with LIPITOR, secondary causes for hypercholesterolaemia (e.g. poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, nephrotic syndrome, dysproteinaemias, obstructive liver disease, other drug therapy, and alcoholism) should be excluded, and a lipid profile performed to measure total-C, LDL-C, HDL-C, and TG.

Are there other drugs for lowering cholesterol?

Yes, the most common are the other statins besides atorvastatin. Statins are also referred to as HMG CoA reductase inhibitors and include: simvastatin, rosuvastatin, atorvastatin (Lipitor), fluvastatin, lovastatin, and pravastatin, all of which are sold under their respective brandnames. There are also generic versions of the following statins available: simvastatin, pravastatin and lovastatin.

Another class of drugs that lower cholesterol is the bile acid sequestrants which include: colesevelam, cholestyramine, colestipol, and nicotinic acid (niacin).

Other cholesterol lowering drugs include gemfibrozil, and two drugs discontinued in the US, probucol and clofibrate (Atromid-S).

Rhabdomyolysis with or without renal impairment has been reported with the use of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors.

Myalgia has been reported in patients treated with LIPITOR. Myopathy, defined as muscle aching or muscle weakness in conjunction with increases in creatine phosphokinase (CPK) values greater than 10 times the upper limit of normal, should be considered in any patient with diffuse myalgias, muscle tenderness or weakness, and/or marked elevation of CPK. Patients should be advised to report promptly any unexplained muscle pain, tenderness or weakness, particularly if accompanied by malaise or fever. LIPITOR therapy should be discontinued if markedly elevated CPK levels occur or myopathy is diagnosed or suspected.

As with other HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, the risk of myopathy during treatment with LIPITOR is increased with concurrent administration of immunosuppressive drugs, including cyclosporine, fibric acid derivatives, nicotinic acid, azole antifungals or erythromycin.

LIPITOR therapy should be withdrawn in any patient with an acute, serious condition suggestive of a myopathy or having a risk factor predisposing to the development of renal failure secondary to rhabdomyolysis, (eg, severe acute infection, hypotension, major surgery, trauma, severe metabolic, endocrine and electrolyte disorders, and uncontrolled seizures).

buy lipitor cholesterol lowering free prescription pills
FedEx overnight shipping free prescription online pharmacy