Sally blogged me with a very interesting comment about whether or not 'The Hay Diet' might be helpful in lowering cholesterol. I can't talk about individual cases without a medical referral but my own personal experience with treating elevated cholesterol is that any healthy diet that avoids sugar and hydrogenated fats and one that is rich in fresh fruits, vegetables and salads, wholefoods, fresh fish and lean protein should help to balance cholesterol levels. Although I cannot speak for the Hay Diet specifically because I don't use it, certainly the type of Food Combining I do use has shown some excellent results in bringing down very high LDL. My concern over Sally's blog is that she mentions her husband has been diagnosed with what she terms 'borderline high cholesterol' at 5.6. However, she does not give me the breakdown figures between the two types of cholesterol that make up this total, i.e. the LDL (low density lipoprotein) and the HDL (high density lipoprotein). If the HDL is high, then that is generally considered to be a good thing. Indeed, according to research, it seems that slightly elevated cholesterol can be protective against certain cancers. A figure of 5.6 is considered by most medical professionals to be high although perhaps we should not forget that not so many years ago, 6.0 was considered the high end of normal. In any event, a reading of 5.6 may only be considered a risk factor for heart disease if it is accompanied by a number of other risk factors including high blood pressure, high fibrinogen, blood viscosity and lipoprotein-a, elevated triglycerides and low red cell magnesium. I have discussed this in my article on this site concerning Cholesterol and Statins and will repeat what I said at the time. If you are being told you need medication, talk again with your qualified health professional and ask if you have had these tests. Personally, I would be concerned about accepting statins on the basis of one basic cholesterol test without further investigations being carried out to see if these drugs are really necessary. I have treated countless numbers of people over the years who have had cholesterol levels way higher than 5.6 and have seen readings come down to normal using dietary therapy alone. I would definitely recommend that Sally and her husband talk again with his GP before launching into statin therapy.
These sites have more information that might be useful:
http://www.anh-usa.org/ldl-cholesterol-may-protect-us-against-cancer/
http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/news/20100615/healty-cholesterol-may-lower-cancer-risk
http://www.acc.org/about-acc/press-releases/2012/03/25/15/15/ldl_cancer
These sites have more information that might be useful:
http://www.anh-usa.org/ldl-cholesterol-may-protect-us-against-cancer/
http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/news/20100615/healty-cholesterol-may-lower-cancer-risk
http://www.acc.org/about-acc/press-releases/2012/03/25/15/15/ldl_cancer