Dr. Kenneth Cooper is considered by many to be the father of aerobics and the modern exercise movement. Since opening its doors in 1970, the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas has been on the cutting edge of preventive medicine and has served more than 70,000 individual and corporate patients from around the world. In Episode #105, host Mark Fenton received the ultimate check-up from Cooper himself.

During their conversation, Cooper offered our host some interesting cholesterol-lowering advice, a problem Mark struggles with despite his excellent fitness and health.

Dr. Cooper says the first and foremost way of reducing total cholesterol levels and increasing the good HDL cholesterol levels is through aerobic exercise (not weight training). Secondly, reducing the fat in your diet. There is also the possibility of taking statin drugs, such as Lipitor, Mevecor, Zocor, and Pravachol, if someone finds that exercise and diet still doesn't reduce their cholesterol levels.

However, Dr. Cooper also recommended eating Benecol or Take Control (two margarines available in most grocery stores). They both claim to reduce cholesterol, but Cooper particularly recommends Benecol, due to a study done on it in the Journal of Medicine in 1995. The study showed that one to two tablespoons of Benecol consumed two to three times per day can lower total cholesterol by 10% and the LDL or bad cholesterol by 14%. More info at www.benecol.com and www.takecontrol.com.