Phytosterols, you may recall, are plant compounds that bind to cholesterol in the blood stream and carry it to the liver, where it is excreted in bile and other compounds. One of these supplements, “Vasacor” is a combination of natural ingredients that help your body naturally decrease the levels of LDL, while also promoting an increase in your HDL levels. This two-part approach to cholesterol management allows you achieve better results than diet and exercise alone. 

Finally, recent advances in the treatment of high cholesterol include adding medications known as "statins" to a regimen of natural cholesterol reduction therapies. “Statins,” which are scientifically termed “HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors,” also positively affect the balance of HDL and LDL and can increase the efficacy of a program of diet, exercise and nutritional supplements, thereby further lowering the risk of cardiac complications. 

Unfortunately, as is the case with most pharmaceutical compounds, statins are not without some risk of significant side effects and toxicities. The most serious of these is the breakdown of muscle tissue in the body. If extensive, this can lead to muscle weakness, fatigue and even kidney failure due to excess strain on the kidneys caused by the excretion of the by-products muscle cell breakdown.

Hopefully, this review of cholesterol and cholesterol reduction therapy will prove helpful to those of you who are trying to develop a healthier life-style–preferably before you develop high cholesterol or heart disease. Although our country’s demographic is shifting to an older population, you are never too young to make yourself aware of the dangers of high cholesterol and atherosclerosis. Beginning a lower-fat diet, high in fiber and plant sterols, starting a moderate exercise regimen and adding a natural dietary supplement such as Vasacor to your routine is a positive step towards better health for anyone at any age. 


Excessive Daytime Sleepiness: for a medical diagnosis, it sounds relatively innocuous. After all, everyone has experienced the symptom at one time or another. Given the frenetic pace of life in modern society, exhaustion is almost a “badge of honor” for many of us–a hard won emblem of our success that we display with pride, not unlike our Smart phones and technologically efficient SUV’s. 

In truth, however, Excessive Daytime Sleepiness or “EDS” is a far cry from the innocent, relatively harmless affliction its name would have us believe; rather, it is a disabling condition that can turn a normal, active life into a constant battle against the overwhelming desire – and compelling, often irresistible need – to sleep. People who suffer from EDS frequently experience other signs of exhaustion, such as an overall decrease in physical energy, difficulty concentrating and marked changes in normal cognition. While EDS can be the result of a persistent sleep “deficit,” people who suffer from a EDS due to a medical condition usually require large amounts of sleep, sleep as much as possible, yet are still excessively sleepy during the day. 