When Ruth came to see me, her cholesterol was high and she had already tried her doctor's prescribed diet, which failed. Her doctor's conclusion was that she had genetically high cholesterol and that she would need to be on medication for the rest of her life.

I was surprised when I discovered that her doctor put her on a low-fat diet with no additional information. A low fat diet without further explanation is not the answer to lowering cholesterol. Not only is it not the answer, the diet caused Ruth to have dry skin and brittle nails among other uncomfortable symptoms.

Ruth called me for a consultation and through some simple changes in her diet we brought her cholesterol down to perfect numbers. She is no longer on medication and is feeling great!

By now you’ve probably heard the news on partially hydrogenated oils, but are you taking it seriously? Partially hydrogenated oils contain high levels of trans fatty acids. They are unsaturated fats that have been turned into solid fats by an artificial process. They are present in fast foods, French fries, commercially baked goods and packaged foods such as crackers and cookies.

Trans fatty acids are damaging to our health because they lower HDL (good blood fat) and raise our LDL (bad blood fat). A more complete review may be found online at www.hsph.harvard.edu/reviews/transfats.html.

When working with clients I do a number of things to help make healthy eating and healthy living a practical part of their life. They increase their consumption of whole foods, reduce refined foods and become educated about what they should avoid. They also incorporate exercise, relaxation, become more creative and enhance the quality of their relationships.

Ruth’s first priority was to eliminate partially hydrogenated oils. She began reading product ingredients and learned to look for the word “hydrogenated,” most commonly seen as “partially hydrogenated soybean oil.” When she saw this ingredient, she would either eliminate the food completely, or search for another brand.

Despite the fact that word has been out for several years now, Ruth was not my only informed client. Even if you refuse to give up certain foods, you can almost always find the same product by a different brand made without these toxic ingredients! There is even a version of Oreos with no hydrogenated oils.