CHOLESTEROL: WHAT’S THE GOOD NEWS?
The good news is that most people, even those with seriously elevated cholesterol levels, can bring their cholesterol back down to a level that will protect them from life-threatening cardiovascular disease – without drugs. By following the Pritikin Lifetime Eating Plan, which is based on low-fat, low-cholesterol, high-unrefined-carbohydrate foods, you can keep your cholesterol level exactly where it should be for good health.
Based on our studies of thousands of individuals at the Pritikin Longevity Centers – as well as other clinical research and studies of populations where heart disease is found very infrequently – it’s now clear that for maximum cardiovascular safety, total cholesterol levels should be 100 plus your age, and no higher than 160 mg/dl. The exception would be for individuals who have very high levels of HDLs (“good” cholesterol, which we’ll learn about soon), which could push their total cholesterol level above 160 mg/dl.
Without a doubt, the surest way to keep your total serum cholesterol below 160 is to keep your intake of dietary cholesterol and saturated fat within the standards of the Pritikin plan – regardless of how many calories you consume. In fact, most adults throughout the world who are on a lifetime eating plan that derives no more than 10 percent of its calories from fat, provides no more than 100 milligrams of cholesterol a day, and contains high-fiber, unrefined-carbohydrate foods can maintain blood cholesterol below 160 mg/dl throughout their lives.
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