All Videos for Cholesterol

Extra Virgin Olive Oil vs. Nuts

The short-term effect of replacing refined olive oil with extra virgin olive oil, walnuts, or almonds on cardiovascular risk factors.



Biblical Daniel Fast Put to the Test

Within a matter of weeks, participants placed on the vegan diet outlined by the prophet Daniel experienced improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin levels, insulin resistance, and C-reactive protein levels, a marker of inflammation within the body.



Fawning over Flora

The good bacteria in our gut can digest the fiber we eat, and turn it into an anti-obesity compound—called propionate—that we absorb back into our system.



Optimal Phytosterol Source

Whole food sources of phytosterols, such as seeds and nuts, are likely superior to supplements, or phytosterol-fortified spreads and beverages.



Optimal Phytosterol Dose

Those eating plant-based diets get the most phytosterols, but there’s still room for improvement to maximize cholesterol reduction.



How Phytosterols Lower Cholesterol

Phytosterols are plant-based cholesterol look-alikes in nuts and seeds that help maximize our body’s excretion of excess cholesterol.



How Fiber Lowers Cholesterol

Fiber bulks, speeds, and dilutes the intestinal waste stream to facilitate the removal of excess cholesterol from the body.



Nuts and Bolts of Cholesterol Lowering

A pooled analysis of studies on nut consumption, cholesterol levels, and risk of death from heart disease show extraordinary benefits, suggesting we should eat nuts every day.



Diet Versus Drugs for High Cholesterol

Though official recommendations are to first treat high cholesterol with dietary change, many physicians jump right to cholesterol-lowering medications, such as statins, that can have an array of adverse side effects.



Black vs. English Walnuts

A dramatic difference exists between the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of black walnuts versus English walnuts.



Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death

Death in America is largely a foodborne illness. Focusing on studies published just over the last year in peer-reviewed scientific medical journals, Dr. Greger offers practical advice on how best to feed ourselves and our families to prevent, treat, and even reverse many of the top 15 killers in the United States.



New Mineral Absorption Enhancers Found

The whole grain phytonutrient phytic acid (phytate) partially inhibits mineral absorption, but has a wide range of health-promoting properties, such as anticancer activity. By concurrently eating mineral absorption enhancers, such as garlic and onions, one can get the best of both worlds by improving the bioavailability of iron and zinc in plant foods.



What Women Should Eat to Live Longer

A competing risks analysis of the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study compares the danger of smoking cigarettes to the danger of animal product consumption (cholesterol), and the benefits of plant foods (fiber) to the benefits of exercise.



Preventing Kidney Failure Through Diet

Given how vascular our kidneys are, it should comes as no surprise that animal protein, animal fat, and cholesterol are associated with declining kidney function (microalbuminurea—loss of protein in the urine), which can be an early warning sign not only for kidney failure, but also for heart disease and a shortened lifespan.



Blocking the First Step of Heart Disease

By preventing the buildup of cholesterol in our bloodstream, we can prevent atherosclerosis in our coronary arteries—the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. This involves increasing our intake of fiber-containing plant foods, and decreasing our intake of trans fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol found in junk food and animal products.



Arterial Acne

Atherosclerotic plaques in coronary arteries may be more aptly described as pimples, initiated by the infiltration of cholesterol into the lining of our arteries. The ending—should blood flow to our heart muscle be cut off by a clot formed by the rupture of one of these inflamed pockets of pus in our arterial lining—is a heart attack.



Raw Veggies vs. Cooked for Heart Disease

Fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with a lower risk of heart disease. But which is more protective—raw or cooked?



The Safer Cinnamon

There are four common types of cinnamon: Vietnamese, Chinese (cassia), Indonesian, and Ceylon (true) cinnamon. Which is safest in terms of the level of coumarin, which may damage the liver at toxic doses?



Watermelon as Treatment for Erectile Dysfunction

Watermelon is a rich source of citrulline, which has been found to improve erection hardness in men with mild erectile dysfunction (impotence).



Cholesterol and Lower Back Pain

High cholesterol can lead to atherosclerosis in the vertebral arteries that nourish our spine, and result in disc degeneration and lower back pain—a leading cause of disability.



Cholesterol and Female Sexual Dysfunction

The buildup of cholesterol in pelvic arteries can lead to sexual problems among both men and women via a similar pathway (erectile dysfunction).



Smoking vs. Kale Juice

The effect of kale juice on LDL and HDL cholesterol, and the antioxidant capacity of the blood.



Soy Worth a Hill of Beans?

Are soybeans better than other types of beans for heart disease prevention—or does the soy industry just have more money and clout to tout?



Daily Source of Vitamin B12

Fortified foods, such as some breakfast cereals and types of nutritional yeast, can provide another cholesterol-free source of vitamin B12.



Safest Source of B12

Since foods are effectively a package deal, what’s the best way to get vitamin B12 (cobalamin)?



Atkins Diet: Trouble Keeping It Up

A case report in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly Journal of the American Dietetic Association) of a man who went on the Atkins diet, lost his ability to have an erection—and nearly lost his life.



Amla vs. Diabetes

For a dollar a month, Indian gooseberry (amla) powder may work as well as a leading diabetes drug—without the side effects.



Power Plants

Many of the most powerful drugs in modern medicine’s arsenal came from natural products, from penicillin to the chemotherapy agents Taxol® and vincristine.



Amla vs. Cancer Cell Growth

Indian gooseberries (amla), an important plant in Ayurvedic medicine, may have anticancer properties, as well as cough-, fever-, pain-, stress-, and diarrhea-suppressing effects.



Dried Apples vs. Cholesterol

Which common dried fruit is the most antioxidant-packed: apple rings, dried apricots, dried cherries, dried mango, prunes, or raisins?



How to Help Prevent Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

What dietary behaviors may cut the odds of developing of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in half?



Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: Ticking Time Balloons

A million Americans have a silent aneurysm in their abdominal aorta (AAA) that may become life-threatening over time.



Trans Fat, Saturated Fat, & Cholesterol: Tolerable Upper Intake of Zero

The intake of trans fats, which come mostly from junk food and animal products; saturated fat, mostly from dairy products and chicken; and cholesterol, coming mostly from eggs and chicken, should be as low as possible.



Fast Food: Do You Want Fries with That Lipitor?

Cardiologists suggest that cholesterol-lowering statin drugs be given out free with fast food meals



Heart Attacks and Cholesterol: Purely a Question of Diet

To achieve the cholesterol level necessary to prevent heart attacks, most people must take cholesterol-lowering drugs—or eat a plant-based diet.



Heart Attacks and Cholesterol: Agribusiness Sees It Differently

The average “bad” cholesterol (LDL) level in people having heart attacks is in the “near-optimal” range, suggesting that the current guidelines are too lax.



Heart Attacks & Cholesterol: Dying Under Normal Circumstances

Most people hospitalized with heart attacks have cholesterol levels considered “desirable” under the current recommendations. Having a “normal” cholesterol in a society where it’s normal to die of heart disease is not necessarily a good thing.



New Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Following the recommendations of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee to “shift food intake patterns to a more plant-based diet,” the latest USDA guidelines include a vegan adaptation.



Dietary Guidelines: It’s All Greek to the USDA

Unlike the United States, where the agriculture department is the lead agency on formulating dietary recommendations, other countries such as Greece rely on their health department. What do their dietary guidelines look like?



Dietary Guidelines: From Dairies to Berries

The success story in Finland shows that science-based dietary guidelines can save millions of lives.