Book Review. Chef Alain Braux’s How to Lower Your Cholesterol with French Gourmet Food

Chef Alain Braux’s food is nothing fancy, but much of its charm lies precisely in this fact. It’s a very good primer on nutrition and food traditions in southern France, and it’s based on scientific research that’s still largely valid, even though the book was published in 2009. You also get Chef Braux’s cooking tips and shopping advice. He has a B.S. in Holistic Nutrition and other degrees and has studied for two years to become a Macrobiotic Counselor, in addition to being a chef and pastry chef. He lives in Austin, Texas.

I’ve referred to Chef Braux’s book many times in the past decade, and it has inspired me, among other things, to create a range of products with 35 foods that help lower cholesterol. I’ll show some of them below in this post.

Chef Braux’s inspiration for this book was his own journey to better health and his work as a nutritherapist. He explains in his book that a nutritherapist, unlike a nutritionist, improves his clients’ health through food alone, without resorting to supplements. That’s what he did himself to lower his cholesterol and triglycerides, and the result is this book that is packed with nutritional advice for anyone who’s trying to eat healthier. It’s mostly a “practical guide,” as he calls it, about how to lower your cholesterol with French foodstuffs but you’ll learn so much more in the process.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical or health practitioner, and no part of This Blog, or the articles, websites, and products I mention and link to on This Blog, is intended as professional medical or health advice, and should not be considered as such. Consult with your doctor(s) about starting any course of treatment, taking any supplements, or changing any (dietary, exercise, etc.) routines. Note that natural supplements and even some foods may interfere with certain medications. Also ask your doctor(s) about potential allergies you may have, including cross-reactive allergies. Some allergens can cause anaphylaxis. Here are my Full Terms and Conditions.

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Chef Braux’s total cholesterol was 240 before his diet and 205 after a year; LDL cholesterol: 167 and then 143; HDL cholesterol: 52 and then 49 (he probably relied too much on nutrition and didn’t do enough exercise, as studies do show that exercise helps raise HDL cholesterol, among other health benefits); and triglycerides: 105 and then 67.

How to Lower Your Cholesterol with French Gourmet Food also includes a section with great recipes. Don’t be put off by the word “gourmet” in the title. While it does include some fancy recipes, the book is not really about gourmet food. These are foodstuffs you’ll find at most supermarkets. What the book does is give you a fancier primer on nutrition, with some info you may not be aware of even if you do know a few things about the science of eating healthy. And again, you’ll get very useful shopping advice and cooking tips.

You’ll learn why eggs may be good for your cholesterol if eaten in moderation, the health benefits of raw fresh butter, why you shouldn’t roast nuts and seeds at high temperatures (because their healthy oils turn into trans fats) but how roasting peanuts increases an antioxidant they contain, p-coumaric acid, and how organic peanut butter can actually decrease triglyceride levels, how prunes are a wonder food, packed not only with fiber but also with antioxidant phenolic acids, having, he says, twice as much antioxidants as blueberries and raisins on the ORAC scale. Well, in fact the ORAC scale is constantly being updated but Chef Braux is largely correct if we talk about regular blueberries and white raisins. Wild blueberries, however, have more antioxidants than prunes, on a par with cranberries.

You also learn all sorts of extra interesting info, such as why cows burp methane (because they can’t digest corn), how he recommends seedless frozen grapes as a dessert healthier than ice cream, or the French names of some traditional French foods as well as of the foodstuffs presented.

The more elaborate “gourmet” recipes comprise half the book but there are recipe ideas as well sprinkled throughout this “practical guide.” I’ll let you discover them on your own. It’s a book worth reading.

And now here are some of my products with 35 foods that help lower cholesterol. Again, talk to your doctor first. This list, originally inspired by Chef Braux’s How to Lower Your Cholesterol with French Gourmet Food and extended with more recent research of my own, is meant for information purposes only. Remember that some people have a hard time lowering their cholesterol with food and walking along with one dance class a week, as he did, or even with food and regular exercise, and they may need an allopathic treatment. Personally, however, I managed to improve my cholesterol and triglyceride levels about a year ago after a detox diet and then by including more cholesterol-reducing foods in my daily meals, and I managed that at the time with minimal exercise—well, I did go often for acupuncture and chiropractic treatments, so that counted too as exercise, I guess.

Here’s my list of 35 foods that help reduce cholesterol naturally. They include almonds, apples, avocado, garlic, lentils, onion, olive oil, lentils, persimmons (kakis), pistachios, prunes, salmon, walnuts, and many others. Enjoy!

Please note that the writing is much crisper on the actual products. Just click on the images to see them on Zazzle.

Thank you for reading! I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. As always, pins and shares are much appreciated!

To a happier, healthier life,

Mira