John: Diet and cholesterol/hypertension

John first came to me with the diagnosis of hypertension and high blood cholesterol, for which he had been taking high dosages of two different anti-hypertensive drugs, and two cholesterol lowering medications, as prescribed by his previous physician. Despite these medications, his blood pressure was under borderline control, and his cholesterol was still high at 270, and included a very low protective HDL, and high triglycerides/high LDL (the harmful subfractions). He felt generally well, and exercised regularly, but knew that he should cut down on his alcohol intake. I counseled John to take his diet and lifestyle seriously, including cutting down on alcohol, which would lead to better weight control and better control of his blood pressure and cholesterol. We discussed the basics of healthy nutrition. I also advised John that his body would be ready to give up its fatty weight reserves when it felt it was getting adequate nutrition, and no longer being chronically stressed, such as from poor diet, psychological stress, toxins (such as alcohol), etc. He took my advice to heart and returned three months later to see me, having lost over 30 pounds of weight. We re-tested his cholesterol, which was now down to 130 with no cholesterol-lowering medications! He felt he had much more energy, and that friends began to remark how much younger he looked. Best of all, his entire family had also lost weight and felt better having been exposed to his diet modifications.

John felt that in looking back, he was simply not motivated to work on his diet and lifestyle issues because it was presented to him that a drug would take care of his problems, which is typical of the conventional western medical approach. He had not received guidance on the importance of nutrition and lifestyle issues. He is now doing great over a year later, having lost a total of 40 pounds, off all cholesterol-lowering medications, with drastically reduced doses of anti-hypertensive medications.