There is a quite a bit of attention paid to cholesterol with regards to health these days and for good reason. Poor cholesterol metabolism can be a good indicator of heart or coronary artery disease. It can also be a predictor of aging as I will explain later.
Basically, there are two main components of the total cholesterol, the high density lipoprotein or HDL and the lowest density lipoprotein or LDL. There is also the triglyceride portion but if it is too high by itself that is a specific disease condition to be addressed individually. The total cholesterol number is determined by adding the HDL and LDL plus the triglyceride level after it has been divided by 5.
The LDL portion of cholesterol is often described by doctors as being the “bad” cholesterol that plugs your arteries and forms plaque that causes heart disease. This is only partly true. The real function of LDL is to act like a glue to fix damage in your circulatory system which includes the arteries and your heart. It really would not be deposited at all if there was not damage in your arteries that needed fixing, so the real problem which is the start of cardiovascular disease is arterial damage. This is caused by high blood pressure, cigarette smoke, poor choices of dietary fat, sugar and other factors. The LDL portion of cholesterol is can be unhealthy for 3 reasons. First if there is too much damage in your arteries then there will be too much LDL expressed to repair the damage. Second, once the LDL cholesterol plugs the damaged arterial blood vessel lining it will start to oxidize or become rancid. This is especially true if your dietary choices of fats is poor. This causes inflammation which sends out signals to the immune system causing white blood cells to migrate to the area of injury/repair. The white blood cells actually then get stuck in the repair containing the sticky LDL and all this is the start of blood vessel plaque or coronary artery disease. So is LDL cholesterol a blessing or a curse? It depends upon another factor which is the counterpart of LDL, the HDL. The HDL’s main function is to remove excess LDL from the arteries. HDL scrapes away the unnecessary LDL from a repair job. So it is beneficial to have high levels of HDL and that is not always the case because many people have low levels of HDL compared to their LDL levels and that is where the problem arises in regards to heart disease.
It turns out that HDL levels are more dependent on lifestyle choices than even LDL.
Lack of exercise, poor dietary choices and being overweight can lower HDL levels.
The key to having healthy cholesterol levels is to have a lower LDL, control oxidation of the LDL and have a higher HDL. So how does one lower LDL levels? There are many ways. Phytosterols, which is a naturally occurring phytochemical found in plants has been so successful in lowering LDL that the FDA allowed a claim on it. Phytosterols are widely available in stores as a supplement and also found in margarines and oils. Losing weight can also lower your LDL. Eating foods that are low in saturated fat and high in fiber such as vegetables of all kinds can dramatically lower you LDL. Weight loss and dietary changes can account for as much as a 20% decrease in LDL. Exercise alone can lower LDL as much as 10%.Drinking one drink a day of alcohol can both raise HDL and lower LDL levels Other supplements which can lower LDL are artichoke extract, Niacin (Vitamin B3), and Policosanol.
How about strategies to raise HDLs? Start with increasing aerobic exercise which also lowers LDL. The same is true for losing weight. Studies show that losing weight increases HDL and lowers LDL. If you smoke cigarettes giving them up will also raise your HDL count. Eliminating trans fatty acids which are also called “partially hydrogenated vegetable oils” and increasing your intake of monounsaturated fats such as canolaoil, olive oil and avocado oil can raise HDL levels. As with LDLs increasing soluble fiber such as oats, fruits vegetables and legumes can raise HDL and lower LDL.
There are also supplements that can help raise HDL. Cranberry juice has been shown to raise HDL. Omega-3 oil has been shown in the past to raise HDL levels. Red Yeast Rice is a supplement that can also raise HDL and lower LDL and Lecithin cal also raise HDL levels. Remember that stain drugs do not raise HDL levels. They only lower LDL levels and they have an extensive side-effect profile. You ratio of total cholesterol to HDL should be no more than 5:1. This means that if your total cholesterol is 200 then your HDL should be no lower than 40.
There is one very interesting strategy one can take if both high blood pressure is also a problem. Taking lycopene, a carotenoid found in tomato product will not only aid in lowering blood pressure but also reduce the oxidation of LDL cholesterol which greatly reduces the risk of coronary artery disease and plaque formation seen in atherosclerosis. Lycopene should be added to any cholesterol protocol.
So cholesterol health is key to preventing cardiovascular problems. The sum of your LDL levels, HDL levels and one-fifth of your triglyceride levels should not exceed 200. LDL levels should not exceed 160 and the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL should not be higher than 5:1.
To control cholesterol levels one should:
- Lose weight
- Quit smoking
- Exercise
- Minimize unhealthy fat consumption
- Consume moderate amounts of healthy fat
- Eat more fiber found in fruits and vegetables
- Use supplements such as phytosterols, lycopene, cranberry juice and others.
More people die of heart disease than any other disease. it is up to you to make the changes necessary, but they are worth it.
