Take Control of Your Cholesterol

June 20, 2010 · Posted in cholesterol · Comment 

We’ve all heard of someone having “high cholesterol,” and your doctor may have even told you that yours is high. Most of us would agree that it’s a bad thing, but few really know what cholesterol is or how to combat unhealthy levels.

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that your body actually needs a small amount of in order to function normally. However, if you have too much of it in your bloodstream, the extra amounts may be deposited in your coronary arteries where it can lead to the narrowing and blockages that cause the signs and symptoms of heart disease.

In some cases, certain prescription medication can cause elevated cholesterol levels, but for the most part, inherited risk factors, a sedentary lifestyle and an unhealthy diet are the main causes:

• Weight: Excess weight may modestly increase your LDL (bad) cholesterol level. If you are overweight and have a high LDL cholesterol level, losing weight may help you lower it. Weight loss especially helps to lower triglycerides and raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels.
• Physical activity/exercise: Regular physical activity may lower triglycerides and raise HDL cholesterol levels.
• Mental Stress: Several studies have shown that stress raises blood cholesterol levels over the long term. One way that stress may do this is by affecting your habits. For example, when some people are under stress, they console themselves by eating fatty foods. The saturated fat and cholesterol in these foods contribute to higher levels of blood cholesterol.
Not sure whether you are at risk? If your doctor doesn’t automatically test you, request a lipid panel or profile (i.e. cholesterol test) during your annual physical. Here are the general guidelines for interpreting the results:

Total Cholesterol
Below 200 mg/dL Desirable
200 – 239 mg/dL Borderline high
240 mg/dL High

LDL Cholesterol
Below 70 mg/dL Optimal for people at very high risk of heart disease
Below 100 mg/dL Optimal for people at risk of heart disease
100 – 129 mg/dL Near optimal
130 – 159 mg/dL Borderline high
160 – 189 mg/dL High
190 mg/dL and above Very high

HDL Cholesterol
Below 40 mg/dL Poor
40 – 59 mg/dL Better
60 mg/dL and above Best

Triglycerides
Below 150 mg/dL Desirable
150 – 199 mg/dL Borderline high
200 – 499 mg/dL High
500 or above Very high

In order to promote healthy cholesterol levels, follow these four steps:
1. Lose excess pounds
Excess weight contributes to high cholesterol. Losing even 5 to 10 pounds of excess weight can help lower total cholesterol levels. Start by taking an honest look at your eating habits and daily routine. Consider your challenges to weight loss — and ways to overcome them.

2. Eat heart-healthy foods
What you eat has a direct impact on your cholesterol level. In fact, researchers say a diet rich in fiber and other cholesterol-lowering foods may help lower cholesterol as much as medication for some people.

• Choose healthier fats. Saturated fat and trans fat raise your total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Get no more than 10 percent of your daily calories from saturated fat, and try to avoid trans fat completely. Monounsaturated fat – found in olive, peanut and canola oils – is a healthier option. Almonds and walnuts are other sources of healthy fat.

• Limit your cholesterol intake. Aim for no more than 300 milligrams (mg) of cholesterol a day — or less than 200 mg if you have heart disease. The most concentrated sources of cholesterol include organ meats, egg yolks and whole milk products. Use lean cuts of meat, egg substitutes and skim milk instead.

• Select whole grains. Various nutrients found in whole grains promote heart health. Choose whole-grain breads, whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat flour and brown rice. Oatmeal and oat bran are other good choices.

• Stock up on fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are rich in dietary fiber, which can help lower cholesterol. Snack on seasonal fruits. Experiment with veggie-based casseroles, soups and stir-fries.

• Eat heart-healthy fish. Some types of fish — such as cod, tuna and halibut — have less total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than do meat and poultry. Salmon, mackerel and herring are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help promote heart health.

• Drink alcohol only in moderation. In some studies, moderate use of alcohol has been linked with higher levels of HDL cholesterol — but the benefits aren’t strong enough to recommend alcohol for anyone who doesn’t drink already. If you choose to drink, do so in moderation. This means no more than one drink a day for women, and one to two drinks a day for men.

3. Exercise regularly
Regular exercise can help improve your cholesterol levels. With your doctor’s permission, work up to 30 to 60 minutes of exercise a day. Take a brisk daily walk. Ride your bike. Swim laps. To maintain your motivation, keep it fun. Find an exercise buddy, join an exercise group or hire a personal trainer.

4. Don’t smoke
If you smoke, stop. Quitting can improve your HDL cholesterol level. And the benefits don’t end there. Just 20 minutes after quitting, your blood pressure decreases. Within 24 hours, your risk of a heart attack decreases. Within one year, your risk of heart disease is half that of a smoker’s. Within 15 years, your risk of heart disease is similar to that of someone who’s never smoked.

Amber O’Neal is a fitness & nutrition expert and owner of Cafe Physique. Her business specializes in nutrition & wellness coaching, personal training, and yoga/pilates training. Cafe Physique is headquartered in Atlanta and offers coaching services nationally via phone and email. Visit www.CafePhysique.com for more information.

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High Cholesterol – Causes of High Cholesterol

May 28, 2010 · Posted in cholesterol · Comment 

Cholesterol is a waxy, fatlike substance that your body needs to function normally. Cholesterol is naturally present in cell walls or membranes everywhere in the body, including the brain, nerves, muscles, skin, liver, intestines, and heart.

Your body uses cholesterol to produce many hormones, vitamin D, and the bile acids that help to digest fat. It takes only a small amount of cholesterol in the blood to meet these needs. If you have too much cholesterol in your bloodstream, the excess may be deposited in arteries, including the coronary (heart) arteries, where it contributes to the narrowing and blockages that cause the signs and symptoms of heart disease.

At normal levels, cholesterol is not a bad thing. On the contrary, it’s an essential raw material used by the body to build cell walls and produce hormones such as estrogen and testosterone. The body produces its own supply of cholesterol in the liver, and it’s found naturally in all animal products (such as meats, eggs, milk, and cheese). It poses a problem only when the body is unable to use or eliminate excessive supplies.

Cholesterol levels begin increasing for both men and women as age goes up. Women generally have a lower level than men do between the age of 50 and 55. However, once a woman starts into menopause, the natural occurrence is that the cholesterol level starts to increase.

Causes of High Cholesterol

The tendency to build up high cholesterol may run in families, but excessively high levels are usually the result of a poor diet high in saturated fats and calories, combined with little or no exercise. In some cases, an elevated cholesterol level may be associated with an undiagnosed medical condition, such as hypothyroidism (low thyroid function) or diabetes.

Excess weight tends to increase you LDL (bad) cholesterol level. If you are overweight and have high cholesterol levels, losing weight may help you lower it. Weight loss also helps to lower triglyceride levels as well as raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels.

High cholesterol rarely causes symptoms. It is usually detected during a routine blood test that measures cholesterol levels (see the Exams and Tests section). You may first discover it when you are diagnosed with a condition that is caused in part by high cholesterol, such as coronary artery disease, stroke, or peripheral vascular disease.

Alcohol is “good” because it increases HDL cholesterol (the good one). However, it does not decrease the bad or HDL cholesterol. Plus, drinking too much alcohol damages the liver and heart muscle, leads to high blood pressure and raises triglyceride levels.

Drinking more than the recommended amount of alcohol (ie more than three to four units per day for men and two to three units per day for women).

Women get a natural boost in their HDL cholesterol (the good kind of cholesterol) from their hormones until they reach menopause. After menopause, taking estrogen can help maintain higher HDL cholesterol levels.

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL): LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol transports cholesterol throughout your body. LDL cholesterol builds up in the walls of your arteries, making them hard and narrow.

Your chances of a heart attack rise dramatically when your cholesterol gets even moderately out of line. Generally speaking, a man with a total blood cholesterol level of 240 is twice as likely to suffer a heart attack as a man with a level of 200, all other factors being equal. A level of 300 carries five times the risk.

Age and gender–Cholesterol levels begin to increase in both men and women beginning around 20 years of age. Premenopausal women usually have lower levels of cholesterol when compared with men of the same age. After menopause, a woman’s LDL cholesterol level typically goes up, as does her risk for heart disease.

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