Kinds of Cholesterol – HDL

September 17, 2010 · Posted in cholesterol · Comment 

Not all cholesterol is created equal. Does this seem like a strange statement? While it may seem
strange, it is true. Not all types of cholesterol are the same. Your body creates some cholesterol;
you add some to your body by the foods you eat. Also, medical experts consider some cholesterol
bad while they think that you also have good cholesterol. What, good cholesterol? With all the
negative publicity we hear each day about cholesterol, how can you believe that any form of this
substance is good?

To understand how expert can call one cholesterol good, you must first understand the role of
cholesterol in the body. Since the body naturally produces this substance, it makes sense the body
needs this substance to survive. Cholesterol’s main role in the body is to preserve and build cell
wall membranes. Cholesterol also aids in digesting fat soluble vitamins and is important in
producing hormones.

So, as you see, cholesterol is a substance the body needs for it to be healthy. Cholesterol becomes
bad when there is a surplus of it in our systems either because our body produces too much of the
substance or when we take in too much cholesterol though the foods we eat. This excess
cholesterol can build up in the blood vessels, clogging arteries and causing heart disease and
heart attack.

This is the point where doctors begin to distinguish between good and bad cholesterol. Medical
researchers refer to good cholesterol as high density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol, while they
term bad cholesterol as low-density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol. You can also call HDL
cholesterol good cholesterol, because the medical practitioners believe that your bodily processes
work to transport this cholesterol out of the body. This is good because it does not stick around to
plug up your arteries. Meanwhile, it is LDL cholesterol that builds up in the arteries and causes
heart disease.

Therefore, if you want to avoid heart disease, your goal should be to raise your good cholesterol
levels and lower the bad cholesterol levels. What, then, is the ideal good cholesterol level?
Doctors want your good cholesterol to be above 50 mg/DL. Any reading between 35 and 50
mg/DL they consider acceptable while they look at those below 35 mg/DL to be too low.

Now, what can you do if you find your good cholesterol level is too low? What are the best ways
to raise it? Here are a few things to try. First, lose some weight. If you are overweight, this
change can drastically help improve cholesterol levels. Join a weight loss program to help you
reduce your weight. Exercise can also help to raise your HDL level. If you smoke, quitting can
also help to raise levels of good cholesterol.

As you can see, all cholesterol is indeed not created equal. By increasing your good cholesterol,
you can cut your risk of heart disease and stroke. Several lifestyle changes, such as losing weight
and giving up smoking, can help improve your levels of this good cholesterol.

Author: Julia Carmichael
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Lower Cholesterol And Boost Liver Function With The Ayurvedic Herb Guggul

July 18, 2010 · Posted in cholesterol · Comment 

Guggul is gum resin that can be used to lower cholesterol and boost your liver function, though it has been used for thousands of years in India to treat a number of diseases and conditions. However, its mode of action is completely different to that of most other cholesterol lowering agents.

The active ingredient is known as guggulsterone, which is a plant sterol that increases the amount of body cholesterol into bile acids by the liver. Bile acids are an essential part of our digestion system, working to emulsify the oils and fats we eat and covert them into a form suitable for transferring to the blood and use elsewhere in the body. They also help the body make use of fat soluble vitamins such as vitamins A and E.

The resin used in this Ayurvedic remedy comes from the stem of a tree called Mukul myrrh that grows throughout India. Ayurvedic medicine is said to have originated from ancient Hindu texts, but is now thought to have evolved over thousands of years. The basis of the medicine is contained in two Sanskrit texts written on palm leaves and form the basis of modern Ayurvedic training. Guggul has been used for millennia in the treatment of skin conditions, rheumatism, arthritis, cardiovascular problems and high cholesterol.

Being an oily fat, cholesterol is not soluble in blood plasma and hence cannot be carried around the body without a carrier. These carriers are known as low density lipoproteins and high density lipoproteins. The LDL carries cholesterol to where it is needed by the body, and is a sticky substance that can also deposit cholesterol in the arteries that are carrying it. This can form a hard coating on the inside of the arteries called plaque, and effectively narrow them and harden them up.

This atherosclerosis, as it is called, is a dangerous condition, and if a blood clot encounters the narrow part of an artery so affected it can be blocked. If in the heart, then this can cause a heart attack, and if in the brain it can give rise to a stroke, both potentially fatal conditions.

HDL, on the other hand, carries excess cholesterol back to the liver for destruction or conversion to bile, and is a free flowing liquid material known as ‘good cholesterol’. Cholesterol is needed by the body and so cannot be eliminated completely. That would be even more dangerous. One of the major functions of cholesterol in the liver is in the production of bile that is used by your digestive process to emulsify fats. Any compound that could also carry out this vital function would mean that liver would have less cholesterol to manufacture.

Your body receives a dietary supply of cholesterol from fatty animal sources such as meat, fats, eggs and dairy products such as cheese and butter. There is no cholesterol in purely vegetable foods. However, that does not mean that vegans have no cholesterol, since as stated earlier, it is an essential substance in the body’s metabolism. In fact, the liver is able to generate all the cholesterol you need, and that which is taken in your diet is superfluous.

The liver can manufacture cholesterol from the trans and saturated fats in your diet, and there are several sources of these. Included among them are popcorn, vegetable shortening such as found in cookies and donuts and other manufactured bakery products made from hydrogenated margarines and oils widely used in the bakery industry. Also from rapeseed and palm oils and coconuts. Saturated fats are also contained in French fries and similar fried foods using certain vegetable oils, and also potato chips. Even vegetarians and vegans can suffer from high cholesterol levels.

Cholesterol is manufactured in the liver and taken up by LDL for distribution by the blood. However, a large proportion of that cholesterol is used by the liver to manufacture bile, essential for digestion of fats. This bile is stored in the gall bladder, and released into the upper intestine on the ingestion of fatty food. The bile acids and fats pass down the intestine, where the fats are emulsified into a form suitable for absorption by the body.

The bile acids are then absorbed in the final part of the ileum by proteins that carry them back to the liver where they are recirculated into the bile. Once the level of bile acids in the body reaches a certain level, a chemical known as the Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) stops the liver from converting cholesterol into bile. Although only 5% of the bile is excreted from the body and needs replaced, this still accounts for 50% of the body’s usage of cholesterol.

The production of bile from cholesterol operates on a closed loop system, with a feedback that maintains a constant level of bile acids. The feedback is controlled by FXR that detects the current level of bile acids and represses the enzyme (CYP7A1) that stimulates bile manufacture until a minimum level has been reached when the CYP7A1 is re-activated.

By blocking the action of FXR, the guggulsterone in guggul continues the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids by the liver without interruption. The liver has to use more LDL cholesterol for this and so reduces the overall amount of cholesterol in the body, specifically the LDL type.

A double blind study in India showed a total cholesterol reduction of 11.7%, including a 12.7% reduction in LDL and a 12% reduction in blood fat (triglyceride) levels, and other studies have indicated a total cholesterol reduction of up to 27% and triglycerides of up to 30%. The Indians believe guggul to be so effective that is has been approved as a treatment for high cholesterol by the Indian government. The connection with FXR has been confirmed by testing with mice with and without FXR.

Another factor in high cholesterol levels is that an under-active thyroid can interfere with the liver’s ability to process cholesterol. Guggul stimulates then production of thyroid hormones, and so can help to reduce excessive LDL cholesterol in the blood cause through a low level of thyroid hormone production.

Overall, then, this Ayurvedic remedy for many ills can help anyone who needs to reduce the level of cholesterol and triglycerides in their blood. Recommended dosages are about 1500 mg twice daily, though if you are also taking statins or are under treatment for cancer you should first consult your doctor, as you should with all natural remedies that are new to you.

More information can be found at http://vitanetonline.com/ where a large selection of Ayurvedic remedies like guggul are available.

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Cholesterol and Heart Diseases – Exposed

June 3, 2010 · Posted in cholesterol · Comment 

You must have heard of the term blood lipids? Which is a medical name given to all the fatty substance in the blood, including cholesterol? Cholesterol is a soft, fat-like, waxy substance found in the bloodstream and in all body cells. It is produced by the body, and is important for the body to function properly. In fact, the body makes about 80 per cent, the rest 20 per cent comes from dietary sources. Without cholesterol, our bodies would be unable to function properly. About half of American adults have high level of cholesterol and about 1 in 5 has a high-risk zone level.

Cholesterol is particularly important in the formation of brain cells, nerve tissue, and the spinal cord. It helps to produce bile that metabolizes fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E, and K. But too much cholesterol in the blood is a major risk for coronary heart disease and stroke.

As we all know, fat deposits in the arterial wall is the major cause of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). The deposits of fats in the arteries make the wall narrower and so reduce blood flow to the heart muscles (myocardium). The arteries can become clogged and narrow, and blood flow reduced. If this plaque ruptures, a blood clot may form here or a piece may break off and travel in the bloodstream. If a blood clot blocks the blood flow to your heart, it causes a heart attack. If a blood clot blocks an artery leading to the brain, a stroke results. This whole process is more likely to happen to a person with a high level of bad blood cholesterol in the blood.

But Cholesterol is difficult to measure because the level in the blood includes several different types, and put simply, there are good and bad cholesterol in our body. There is enough evidence to show that the risk of Coronary heart disease rises as total cholesterol level increases.

First get to know the different types of cholesterol to determine which one is actually a threat to our health. Blood cholesterol is referred to as total cholesterol (TC) and there are two types:

High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C) often called the good cholesterol helps to protect against heart diseases. This type of cholesterol transfers the fatty deposits away from the arteries and they are usually low in hyperinsulinism which is dangerous to the heart.

Low-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C) is a bad form of cholesterol which deposits blood fats in the arteries and therefore is associated with increased risk of heart attack. Triglycerides are another common type of fat in the body. They’re a good energy source that our body also makes mostly. High levels of blood triglycerides are often found in people who are overweight, have high cholesterol levels, heart problems, and diabetes.

So, we no know that a measure of cholesterol by itself does not count since if the cholesterol level is high, it may be due to high HDL-C (good one) or high LDL-C (bad one). So a breakdown of the type of cholesterol has to be measured.

There is enough evidence to show that the risk of heart disease rises as total cholesterol (TC) and LDL-C levels increases. And because HDL-C is the good cholesterol, it is expected that high level of it will help lower the risk of coronary heart disease. So high level of HDL-C appears to neutralize the potential adverse effect of raised total cholesterol level in our blood.

Blood cholesterol level are measured by blood test and the ideal total is less than 5.0mmol/L. for instance, in the Framingham Heart study, people with a total cholesterol level of about 6.5mmol/L had a heart attack risk two or three times higher than people with level less than 5mmol/L.

Your genetic makeup is partly responsible for determining your blood cholesterol level. Some families carry genes for raised level of various kinds of blood fats. But in all, diet plays the most important role in determining cholesterol levels in the body.

Animal and dairy fats like beef, pork, eggs, cheese, some vegetable oil raises blood cholesterol, do the first step of preventing heart diseases significantly in both men and women is to reduce the amount of saturated or animal fats contents in meals. But rather, replace animal and dairy fats with vegetable fats which are low-saturated and may lower
blood cholesterol. Eat more of fruits, wholegrain meal, and fresh vegetables. Do physical activities at least 30 minutes on most or all days of the week.

Many people who have angina or a heart attack have high lipid level which are partly as a result of diet and partly genetic. By good and careful dieting plan, you can reduce blood cholesterol levels by 10-20 per cent. For greater lowering of cholesterol, drugs are usually necessary. Drugs like Statins, Resins and Fibrates are very useful. See your doctor for effective treatment plan.

To learn more about cholesterol and heart diseases visit http://www.heartcares.blogspot.com

Knowledge is power, so Learn and Live!

Miracle is an expert researcher on health and fitness matters especially heart health, women and men’s health, dieting, environmental health issues, a motivational speaker and a teacher. For more information, visit http://www.heartcares.blogspot.com http://www.dietcares.blogspot.com

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Cholesterol and Heart Disease – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

December 22, 2009 · Posted in cholesterol · Comment 

And if you have high cholesterol, you would feel the same as if you had low cholesterol because there are no side effects, no symptoms of having high cholesterol. Mark Spitz, winner of 9 Olympic gold medals in swimming.

Heart disease remains the leading killer of men and women in the United States. Each year, 1,200,000 people suffer a coronary heart attack, and about 40% of them die. An American dies of a coronary event roughly every 65 seconds. Abnormal cholesterol, besides smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and physical inactivity, remains one of the main modifiable risk factors for coronary heart disease.

I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol. Comedian Steven Wright. But we should. Abnormal cholesterol levels can clog up your arteries. There are several hundred studies confirming the dangerous health effects of abnormal cholesterol levels. The Framingham Heart Study found that under age 50, total cholesterol levels directly correlated with 30-year overall and cardiovascular mortality. For each 10 mg/dl increase in cholesterol, there is an overall increase in death of 5% and cardiovascular death of 9%. Abnormal cholesterol levels are also implicated in contributing to stroke, limb amputation, erectile dysfunction, Alzheimers disease and kidney failure.

Cholesterol is not totally a bad thing. Cholesterol keeps cell membranes fluid, flexible and functional. Cholesterol helps in the manufacture of bile, and thereby helps in the digestion of fats. It is also important for the metabolism of fat soluble vitamins, including vitamins A, D, E and K. It is involved as a major precursor in the synthesis of vitamin D and many steroid hormones, including the adrenal hormones cortisol and aldosterone, and the sex hormones progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, and their derivatives. Cholesterol is water insoluble, and is carried to its destinations by lipoproteins. About 80% of the cholesterol is made by the liver via carbohydrate metabolism through the HMG-CoA reductase pathway. This amounts to about 1000 mg per day. Diet in the Western countries adds about 200 – 300 mg for intestinal intake. Most of dietary cholesterol comes from animal food, including meat, poultry, fish, egg yolk, butter, cheese and whole milk. Trans fats are hydrogenated fats and are found in margarine and many commercially prepared processed and deep fried foods like cookies, cakes, crackers, french fries and donuts. These are also unhealthy and consumption is associated with atherosclerosis. Plant sources of food ( fruits, vegetables, nuts and cereals ) are free of cholesterol. Phytosterols found in certain plant products like flax seed and peanuts may actually help lower serum cholesterol. However, cooking oils of plant origin, especially palm and coconut oil, are high in saturated fats and are heart unhealthy. But there’s another kind of fat called essential fatty acids. These are unsaturated fats and include omega-3 and omega-6 fats. These help are cell membranes and are required for the production of certain hormones that are essential for blood clotting, blood pressure control, and eye and brain function. Overall, they lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and reduce mortality from heart disease.

Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up tall, there’s a land where they’ve never heard of cholesterol. Musician Allan Sherman. However, in the real world, we have to monitor its levels. Total cholesterol should be measured after a 9 to 12 hour fast. A level of less than 200 mg/dl is desirable. A level of 200 to 239 mg/dl is borderline high and a level above 240 mg/dl is associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease. However, a lipoprotein analysis is more reliable as it better profiles the risk. A lipid profile gives the levels of the bad low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the good high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and the triglycerides. LDL levels should ideally be less than 100 mg/dl. Levels over 160 are high and associated with an increased risk of heart disease. HDL provides protection against heart disease if it above 60 mg/dl. A level less than 40 mg/dl is associated with increased heart disease. Triglyceride levels should be less than 150 mg/dl. Higher levels, especially when associated with abnormal LDL or HDL levels, increase your risk of heart disease.

Does lowering cholesterol help? Scientific medical literature is filled with research data confirming the beneficial effects of lowering cholesterol. A 1995 study called the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study (WOSCOPS) followed 6500 men with high cholesterol levels for 5 years. One half the people were given a cholesterol reducing statin drug, provostatin, while the other were given a placebo. The drug reduced the total cholesterol levels by 20 percent and the bad LDL cholesterol levels by 26 percent. The heart attack risk was reduced by 31 percent in those receiving the statin drug. The need for bypass surgery or angioplasty was reduced by 37 percent. Overall deaths from all causes were reduced by 22 percent, and deaths from cardiovascular causes by 32 percent. In 1998, the results of the Air Force/Texas Coronary Atherosclerosis Prevention Study (AFCAPS/TexCAPS) showed that cholesterol lowering with another statin drug, lovastatin, also reduced the risk of a first major coronary event by 37 percent when given to generally healthy men and women with average cholesterol levels. The total cholesterol levels in the treatment group were lowered by 18 percent and LDL-cholesterol levels by 25 percent, after a year of treatment. Like in the WOSCOPS study, significant reductions in events were also noted: heart attack was reduced 40 percent, unstable angina 32 percent, the need for bypass surgery or angioplasty 33 percent, and all cardiovascular events 25 percent. Recent scientific data suggests that higher doses of statins may provide even greater benefits.

The commonly used drugs to lower high total cholesterol or the bad LDL cholesterol are statins. The statins lower cholesterol by inhibiting the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which is the rate-limiting enzyme in cholesterol synthesis. Inhibition of this enzyme in the liver results in an increased clearance of LDL from the bloodstream and a decrease in blood cholesterol levels. Results are seen as early as after one week. Maximal effect occurs after four to six weeks. There are over ten statin drugs available commercially in the United States. Other agents are also available to reduce total cholesterol and LDL levels and act mainly by preventing absorption of the cholesterol in the intestines. They are often used in combination with the statins. Although the statins can raise the good HDL cholesterol, this effect is small. HDL can be raised by the common vitamin niacin. A class of drugs called fibrates not only help raise HDL but also help lower triglycerides.

There are many ways to improve the lipid profile without drugs. Reduce the amount of animal fats and saturated fats you consume. Regular exercise and weight loss not only will help reduce the LDL and triglyceride levels, but also raise the good HDL levels. Moderate alcohol intake also increases HDL cholesterol .Eating more fruits and vegetables and consuming more monounsaturated fats also improves the lipid profile. Remember, our health always seems much more valuable after we lose it. So let us listen to the motivational speaker Jim Rohn, who said, Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.

Author: Shashi Agarwal MD
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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