BusyBodyHealth

Total cholesterol level is INSUFFICIENT in determining one's risk for heart disease. You have to look at the ratios.  The exception is if you have a genetic defect of LDL which usually results in levels above 350. 

The two most important ratios are:

1. HDL to Cholesterol ratio should be above 25%, preferably in the 30's. If it's in the 40's, that nearly guarnatees immunity from heart disease. If it's below 15, and certainly below 10, a heart attack is inevitable.  To calculate, divide your HDL by your total cholesterol and multiply by 100.

2. The triglyceride to HDL ratio should be below 2.0. High triglycerides alone increased the risk of heart attack nearly three-fold, according to a report in Jan 2008 of Circulation. And people with the highest ratio of triglycerides to HDL - the 'good' cholesterol - had 16 times the risk of heart attack as those with the lowest ratio of triglycerides to HDL in the study of 340 heart attack patients, and 340 of their healthy, same age counterparts.  The ratio of triglycerides to HDL was the strongest predictor of a heart attack, even more accurate than the LDL/HDL ratio.

Are cholesterol Drugs Even Effective?

Most cholesterol lowering drugs can effectively lower your cholesterol numbers, but do they prevent heart diseases?  Hardly. The best-selling cholesterol lowering drug (statin) is Atorvastatin (Lipitor and Torvast). On the Lipitor website, it stated that in a large clinical study, 3% patients that received palcebo had heart attacks, compared to 2% of patients taking Lipitor. That means for every 100 people who took the drug over 3.3 years, three people on placebos, and two people on Lipitor, had heart attacks. That means taking Lipitor resulted in just one few heart attack per 100 people. The other 99 people, taking Lipitor for nothing.  This is hardly an effective drug to prevent heart disease. Other cholestero-loweringl drugs are Fluvastatin (Lescol), Lovastatin (Mevacor, Altocor, Altoprev), Pravastatin (Pravachol, Selektine, Lipostat), Rosuvastatin (Crestor), Simvastatin (Zocor, Lipex), and Pitavastatin (Livalo, Pitava), and several combination preparations of a statin and another agent, such as ezetimibe/simvastatin, have similar records.  They don't lower your risk of heart attack by much. Statin drugs were thought to lower your risk by lowering inflammation in your body. But there are other natural methods to accomplish the same without side affects.

How to Lower Your cholesterol Naturally....

1. Get plenty of high-quality, animal-based omega-3-fats such as krill oil. 500mg/day may lower your total cholesterol and triglycerides and will likely increase your HDL as well.

2. Reduce or eliminate grains and sugars, especially fructose.

3. Eat the right foods for your nutritional type. 

4. Eat a good portion of your food raw.

5. Eat healthy, preferably raw, fats: olive oil, coconut and coconut oil, organic raw dairy products (butter, cream, sour cream, cheese, etc.), avocado, raw nuts, seeds, eggs, organic, grass-fed meats.

6. Get the right amount of exercise, especially Peak Fitness type of exercise. 

7. Avoid smoking and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.

8. Address your emotional challenges - use Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) for stress management.

Side Effects of Statin Drugs:

Most common adverse side effects are raised liver enzymes and muscle problems (muscle breakdown, muscle cramps), cognitive issues, neuropathy, pancreatic and hepatic dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, gastrointestinal or other symptoms.

Sources & References:

 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/01/02/cholesterol-irrelevant-to-heart-disease-risk.aspx
 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/10/making-sense-of-your-cholesterol-numbers.aspx
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statin