Lowering Cholesterol: Destination Spas
Updated May 13, 2015.
Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.
Visiting a destination spa can be the perfect way to start a cholesterol-lowering lifestyle. Healthy dining options, stress-relieving treatments, and educational consultations and lectures are all emphasized as methods to improve one's health. One such spot is the Andrew Weil Integrative Wellness Center at Miraval (Tucson, Arizona). We consulted the team there for take-home advice.
Lifestyle Modifications "Prior to using medications, elevated cholesterol can often be treated with lifestyle changes, including nutritional changes, physical activity, stress management, and weight loss," says James P.
Nicolai, MD, Medical Director of the Andrew Weil Integrative Wellness Center at Miraval. "However, in most medical practices, this approach is difficult to implement."
Lessons From a Destination Spa "Miraval and the Integrative Wellness Center focus on using lifestyle modification as the primary treatment intervention, where our experts guide guests in making the necessary changes to improve their health and maintain those modifications once they are home," states Nicolai.
Nutrition Recommendations At Miraval, Dr. Nicolai and registered dietician Junelle Lupiani teach the concepts of an anti-inflammatory diet. "We emphasize vegetables and fruits from all parts of the color spectrum, whole grains, fish and other sources of omega-3 fatty acids, vegetable protein more than animal sources, monounsaturated fats and low-fat dairy," notes Nicolai.
"Other suggestions that focus on cholesterol-lowering include eating healthy nuts daily, especially almonds, walnuts and cashews. Substituting soy protein in the diet has been shown to lower cholesterol levels -- you can choose from tofu, tempeh, soy milk, whole soy beans and roasted soy nuts".
Nicolai recommends using fresh garlic regularly in the diet (one to two raw or lightly-cooked cloves daily) as well as drinking two to four cups of green tea daily, since antioxidants in green tea help lower total cholesterol and prevent bad cholesterol from oxidizing in the blood (contributing to coronary artery disease). "Eating plenty of soluble fiber like beans, lentils, apples, citrus fruits, oats, barley, peas, carrots and freshly ground flax seed is a great idea for lowering cholesterol by way of the gut," Nicolai adds.
Foods to Avoid "Limit refined sugars and processed foods of any kind, and reduce the pro-inflammatory trans-fats that reduce good cholesterol and raise the bad kind. Avoid anything where 'partially hydrogenated oil' is listed anywhere on the ingredient list of food labels."
Smart Supplements "Finally, I might also mention supplements like Coenzyme Q10, fish oil and red yeast rice as natural agents that help to lower cholesterol and improve the ratio of good vs. bad cholesterol."
Sources:
Personal Interview: James P. Nicolai, MD, 3/18/11
Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.
Visiting a destination spa can be the perfect way to start a cholesterol-lowering lifestyle. Healthy dining options, stress-relieving treatments, and educational consultations and lectures are all emphasized as methods to improve one's health. One such spot is the Andrew Weil Integrative Wellness Center at Miraval (Tucson, Arizona). We consulted the team there for take-home advice.
Lifestyle Modifications "Prior to using medications, elevated cholesterol can often be treated with lifestyle changes, including nutritional changes, physical activity, stress management, and weight loss," says James P.
Nicolai, MD, Medical Director of the Andrew Weil Integrative Wellness Center at Miraval. "However, in most medical practices, this approach is difficult to implement."
Lessons From a Destination Spa "Miraval and the Integrative Wellness Center focus on using lifestyle modification as the primary treatment intervention, where our experts guide guests in making the necessary changes to improve their health and maintain those modifications once they are home," states Nicolai.
Nutrition Recommendations At Miraval, Dr. Nicolai and registered dietician Junelle Lupiani teach the concepts of an anti-inflammatory diet. "We emphasize vegetables and fruits from all parts of the color spectrum, whole grains, fish and other sources of omega-3 fatty acids, vegetable protein more than animal sources, monounsaturated fats and low-fat dairy," notes Nicolai.
"Other suggestions that focus on cholesterol-lowering include eating healthy nuts daily, especially almonds, walnuts and cashews. Substituting soy protein in the diet has been shown to lower cholesterol levels -- you can choose from tofu, tempeh, soy milk, whole soy beans and roasted soy nuts".
Nicolai recommends using fresh garlic regularly in the diet (one to two raw or lightly-cooked cloves daily) as well as drinking two to four cups of green tea daily, since antioxidants in green tea help lower total cholesterol and prevent bad cholesterol from oxidizing in the blood (contributing to coronary artery disease). "Eating plenty of soluble fiber like beans, lentils, apples, citrus fruits, oats, barley, peas, carrots and freshly ground flax seed is a great idea for lowering cholesterol by way of the gut," Nicolai adds.
Foods to Avoid "Limit refined sugars and processed foods of any kind, and reduce the pro-inflammatory trans-fats that reduce good cholesterol and raise the bad kind. Avoid anything where 'partially hydrogenated oil' is listed anywhere on the ingredient list of food labels."
Smart Supplements "Finally, I might also mention supplements like Coenzyme Q10, fish oil and red yeast rice as natural agents that help to lower cholesterol and improve the ratio of good vs. bad cholesterol."
Sources:
Personal Interview: James P. Nicolai, MD, 3/18/11
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