Your diet doesn't impact your cholesterol levels as much as you think it does.

It doesn't increase it as much as you've been led to believe and it certainly doesn't help to lower cholesterol like so- called diet experts tell you.

It's not that extra egg you have for breakfast that raises your cholesterol appreciably. This is because around 80% of your blood cholesterol is manufactured by your liver.

To lower cholesterol levels, you must both slow down manufacture of cholesterol, and reduce oxidation of LDL while raising your HDL.

Apart from normal, sensible lifestyle improvements such as better nutrition and more exercise, there are a couple of proven strategies to return lower cholesterol to its optimal level.

Option 1: Prescription Drugs

A range of drugs known as "statins" are widely used in U.S. and other Western countries. In fact, they are currently most prescribed medicine in world.

These drugs work by blocking an enzyme that liver needs for manufacture of cholesterol. They have been proven effective in reducing levels of LDL, but unfortunately they will not raise levels of HDL (the good cholesterol).

The downside is that there are a large number of negative side effects such as liver damage, fatigue, upset stomach, abdominal pains and cramps, gas and constipation, and, in case of a statin drug called Baycol, a large numbers of deaths.

An investigation into side effect of statin drugs is being conducted by National Institutes of Health.

Discuss pros and cons of this medication very carefully with your physician in event that a statin drug is prescribed to you.

There Is Another Treatment Very Beneficial With Only Positive Effects...

Option 2: Natural Treatments

Even though general public hears very little about them, there are effective natural alternatives to lowering one's cholesterol, and such therapies exhibit no side effects.

I closed my eyes and lay back on bed, my body covered in a warm blanket, as sound of some kind of ethnic music, maybe Chinese, drifted

across room. I felt very warm, comfortable and relaxed, I lay there waiting for massage to start, I waited, no hands on my body yet, no touching,

but something was moving inside me. Words cannot explain this feeling, I later came to know it as Reiki effect, it was as though something had

grabbed hold of me, and pulled me back toward centre (of myself). From then for next 30 minutes hands were placed on various parts of my

body, for several minutes at a time, hands felt very warm, even hot at times, but never uncomfortable, in fact quite opposite.

I am sure we all have those moments when we wish that time would stand still, that how we feel could last forever, but everything has an ending, and so

it was with this, reluctantly I had to open my eyes at end of session, and find my way back to real world, reality as we call it. After several

minutes silence we started to talk gently, Sue and I about what we both felt, how session went and also about other things she had found in me, but

that is another story, this story in about Reiki, and this was my first taste of it.

Sue Luffman was Reiki practitioner that day, and she was later to become my teacher and friend, I think if I could use one word to describe Sue it

would be sparkling, she is full of life, energy, wit and vitality. She also has that look, again this is difficult to describe in words, it’s a connection you

make with certain people, as though you have known them all your life, it can happen with strangers you pass in street, never to meet again, but it is

something that goes very deep, anyway I digress.. back to Reiki….

The History…

Once upon a time in Japan, a long time ago (about 150 years) there lived a Dr Mikao Usui, he was a very good doctor but was also a very curious man,

he wanted to know how he could do his job better. His curiosity led him down many paths, and was fascinated by Christian religion and stories of

Christ’s miracles, in particular ones where people were healed, he wanted to know where these powers came from, and if he could access them. He

also knew something of teachings of Buddha, and stories relating to him regarding healing, so he inquired of various sects as to what methods

they used to heal, but found them all to concentrate on mind and spirit and no methods or practices for healing body (apparently they had been

forgotten centuries ago) which being a Doctor was thing he wanted. Despite this he studied Zen Buddhism for seven years, in those years he dug

deeper and deeper, learned Chinese to read original Buddhist texts (although Buddha being an Indian Prince texts were written in Chinese).

From there he went on to learn Sanskrit (the root of all languages) to read texts from ancient Tibetan Buddhists, here he found what he thought to be

keys for learning healing techniques. After some meditation on this it came to him that he should go to a holy mountain (Kuri Yama, near Kyoto) and

meditate for 21 days, so this he did, taking with him 21 stones to count days off. Each day he awoke before sun, threw a stone away, and

meditated and fasted for rest of day, and each day nothing happened, no revelation came to him. On morning of 21st day, as he cast

away his last stone, a light grew in sky, and four coloured bubbles came to him, each one containing a Sanskrit character. To cut a long story short

he found that using these characters greatly enhanced his healing powers, but after a while only concentrating on healing body he had another

revelation that told him to heal both spirit and mind, and gave him five principals of Reiki, and here they are…