Download Cholesterol and Heart Disease

Cholesterol and Heart Disease
Cholesterol is a fat like substance that
comes from eating animal products such
as meat, dairy products, and eggs. Cholesterol is essential in the proper function
of the human body, but too much can
cause serious problems that lead to heart
disease.
•
Total: Desirable = less than 200 mg/dl
Borderline = 200-239 mg/dl
High = 240 mg/dl and above
LDL:
less than 100 mg/dl
HDL:
35-59 mg/dl
Triglycerides: less than 150 mg/dl
LDL—(Low Density Lipoproteins) This
type of cholesterol is harmful to your body as it sticks to the walls of your arteries
and forms a hard substance known as plaque. This plaque formation over time can
build (called atherosclerosis), dislodge and cause a stroke.
•
HDL—(High Density Lipoproteins) This form of cholesterol is healthy, as it acts to
prevent LDL cholesterol from attaching to the walls of your arteries. Exercise has
been shown to increase your HDL and decrease your LDL.
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Triglycerides—the form in which fat is stored in the body for use as energy. Excess
amounts of triglycerides can cause fatty deposits around vital organs such as the
heart, kidneys and liver and impair their function. A “fatty” liver can effect the way
it functions as a waste purification system and in turn interfere with how it processes
cholesterol (www.forbesmedi.com). High triglycerides can be caused by excesses of
fat intake, high carbohydrate diets or excess calories (www.americanheart.org).
WHAT
YOU
CAN
DO
ABOUT
IT
Ever heard the saying “you are what you eat”, well that’s true to a certain extent. What
you eat can determine what condition your body is on the inside. The first step to combating high cholesterol is to monitor the foods that you eat, and to be active on a regular
basis. Here we will discuss which foods to include, avoid and the importance of exercise in
the prevention and management of high cholesterol.
HOW
TO
CONTROL
WITH
DIET
Major Dietary concerns:
•
Cholesterol: Limit daily consumption to no more than 200 mg/day if you have high cholesterol. If you don’t have high cholesterol, then eat no more than 300 mg/day.
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Saturated Fat: These fats are solids at room temperature and act to increase your
cholesterol levels. Examples are Crisco, lard, bacon grease, butter, etc. When looking
at the total fat, compare it to the amount of saturated fat. If the saturated fat is
half the amount of the total fat, then it’s not a good choice. Try and choose items
that have no more than 1-2 grams of saturated fat. The other fats that make up the
total fat are unsaturated fats that do not increase cholesterol.
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Trans Fat—these items are also bad for you, as they increase bad cholesterol and decease good cholesterol. Examples of things that have trans fats are potato chips and
donuts.
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Hydrogenated oils—Foods that have hydrogenated oils will also increase your cholesterol because the process of hydrogenation turns the healthy vegetable oils into unhealthy saturated fats, and you know what saturated fats will do. Examples of hydrogenated oils are stick margarines and Crisco. Fried snack foods can also have hydrogenated oils.
LIFESTYLE
CHANGES
•
Lose weight—excess weight can increase cholesterol so this in itself helps to decrease
your total cholesterol, even with a weight loss of only 5 to 10 pounds.
•
Exercise—helps to maintain weight, increase the good cholesterol and decrease the
bad cholesterol when done on a regular basis. It also increases bone density!
THINGS
TO
INCLUDE
IN
YOUR
DIET
TO
COMBAT
HIGH
CHOLESTEROL:
5 a day for better health—increase your servings of fruits and
vegetables to increase your intake of fiber and phytosterols.
•
Fiber—is essential in the management of high cholesterol. It helps to decrease the
amount of cholesterol that gets into the bloodstream by binding bile acids and preventing them from being converted into cholesterol by the body. Choose more fruits,
vegetables and whole grains, and try to get 20-35 grams of fiber per day.
•
Phytosterols—these are substances found in plants that have similar chemical structures to cholesterol. These phytosterols act to interfere with the absorption of animal cholesterol into the bloodstream, but are not actually absorbed themselves
(www.forbesmedi.com). Research has shown that phytosterols can decrease total cholesterol by 10% and decrease LDL cholesterol by 13% (www.pdrhealth.com). Currently
there are commercial spreads, margarines and salad dressings like Benecol® and
Take Control® that have phytosterols in them, and as part of a healthy diet, can
help to reduce your cholesterol, or you can just up your fruit and vegetable intake to increase your phytosterols (www.americanheart.org).
Eat more Omega 3 Fatty Acids—such as fish (salmon, halibut, tuna etc.), flax seed/
flax seed oil, or spreads such as Smart Balance® that contain Omega 3’s as they act
to decrease triglycerides, blood pressure, and the risk of abnormal heart rhythms
that can cause sudden cardiac death. (www.mayoclinic.com)
Alcohol—decreasing your alcohol intake can significantly reduce your triglyceride levels (www.americanheart.org).
acb 2/2007
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Remember, All things in Moderation