Keeping Cholesterol at Bay
Estimates are that 97.2
million American and 8 million Canadian adults have "at risk"
cholesterol levels, and 38.3 million American and 3 million
Canadian adults have "high risk" cholesterol
levels.
Cholesterol - a word that strikes fear
into the hearts of many. A cholesterol test comes back high
and you break out in a cold sweat. Your doctor mentions it and
you begin to shake. "Cholesterol-free" shouts out at you from
many food labels, reminding you that it is a health faux
pas to eat anything but "cholesterol-free."
And is it any wonder? High levels of blood cholesterol are
linked to the No. 1 killer in North America: heart disease.
But cholesterol also is important to your health. Without
cholesterol, steroid hormones such as estrogen, progesterone,
and testosterone could not be formed (imagine life without
these!). Cholesterol is part of the digestive process, and it
is an important part of the cell - indeed, cholesterol is used
in building cell membranes and cell walls. Cholesterol is
found naturally in the brain, nerves, liver, blood, and bile.
| Recommended Cholesterol Levels |
| Lipid Type |
Desirable |
Borderline Risk |
High Risk |
| Total cholesterol |
< 200 |
200 - 239 |
> 240 |
| LDL cholesterol |
< 130 |
130 - 159 |
> 160 |
| HDL cholesterol |
> 45 |
35 - 45 |
< 35 |
| Total/HDL ratio |
< 3.5 |
3 - 4.5 |
>4.5
|
So What Gives?
As in so
much of life, it is excess that causes problems. We all have
and need cholesterol; what we don't need is too much
cholesterol.
This is because the more cholesterol you have in your
blood, the more likely it is that the fatty streaks along the
inner walls of the arteries will harden, turn to plaque, and
build up, resulting in atherosclerosis, heart attacks,
strokes, and death.
| A Few High Cholesterol Foods |
| Food |
Amount |
Cholesterol
(mg) |
| Liver, beef |
3 oz (85 g) |
372 |
| Kidney, beef |
3 oz (85g) |
315 |
| Eggs(whole or yolk only) |
1 large |
252 |
| Sponge Cake |
1/12 of 10 inch
cake |
162 |
| Shrimp, canned |
3 oz (85g) |
128 |
| Frankfurter |
2 (4 oz)(113g) |
112 |
| Lemon Meringue Pie |
1/8 of 9 inch
pie |
98 |
| Crab, canned |
3 oz (85g) |
85 |
| Veal (lean) |
3 oz (85g) |
84 |
| Beef (lean) |
3 oz (85g) |
77 |
| Chicken, dark (no skin) |
3 oz (85g) |
77 |
| Pork, lean |
3 oz (85g) |
75 |
| Butter |
1 T |
35 |
What To Do
Health practitioners all agree that
cholesterol levels should be checked and should be kept at
certain levels. How do you do this?
It is important to remember that our bodies manufacture
most of our cholesterol - 80 percent - and that we get a mere
20 percent of our cholesterol from our diets. This means we
must consider both cholesterol and other food components that
influence cholesterol in our diet.
- Eat foods low in cholesterol
- This means avoiding meat in general, and especially
kidney and liver. Eggs, sardines, shrimp, and sponge cake
are also high in cholesterol.
- Avoid non-cholesterol foods that raise cholesterol
levels
- According to James F. Balch, M.D., in Prescription
for Nutritional Healing, saturated fats have been shown
to raise cholesterol levels higher than dietary cholesterol
does. Sugar, trans-fatty acids (margarine), coffee, and
alcohol also have been shown to raise cholesterol levels.
The obvious thing to do is limit your consumption of these
substances.
- Eat more fiber
- Foods high in soluble fiber lower LDL (bad) cholesterol
levels. Soluble fiber is found in fruits, some beans, oats,
barley, and psyllium.
- Eat foods that combat cholesterol
- There are "everyday" foods that can help lower
cholesterol levels. These include garlic, apples, bananas,
carrots, cold-water fish, dried beans, grapefruit, and olive
oil. Drinking fresh juice also helps, especially carrot and
beet juices.
- Exercise and lose weight
- Regular exercise can raise levels of HDL (good)
cholesterol and lower levels of LDL cholesterol. Losing
weight does the same, and, of course, exercise is one way to
lose weight.
- Keep stress at bay
- Stress affects cholesterol levels negatively.
- Supplement
- A number of supplements help with cholesterol and heart
disease risk. Because free radicals play a role in
atherosclerosis, antioxidants, which combat free radicals,
are worth taking. Vitamin E is an especially powerful
antioxidant, as are the catechins found in green tea.
Studies have shown that green tea catechins may cut
cholesterol levels.
A new substance that may help
maintain healthy cholesterol levels is tocotrienols.
Tocotrienols are a form of vitamin E, and many studies
indicate that their antioxidant properties may be responsible
for their positive effect on cholesterol levels.
| Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12 and Folic
Acid |
| Food |
Vitamin B6
(mcg) |
Vitamin B12
(mcg) |
Folic Acid
(mcg) |
| Asparagus, fresh, 8 spears |
0.09 |
0 |
38 |
| Banana, medium |
0.51 |
0 |
20 |
| Beans, navy |
0.56 |
0 |
40 |
| Beans, lima |
0.58 |
0 |
37 |
| Bread, wheat, 2 slices |
0.11 |
0 |
32 |
| Broccoli, 1 lg stalk |
0.27 |
0 |
76 |
| Cabbage, 1 cup |
0.22 |
0 |
42 |
| Cantaloupe, 1/4 |
0.10 |
0 |
50 |
| Cauliflower, 1 cup |
0.32 |
0 |
76 |
| Chicken, white meat |
0.82 |
0.5 |
18 |
| Kale, 4 lg leaves |
0.33 |
0 |
49 |
| Lentils, 1/2 cup |
0.60 |
0 |
23 |
| Liver, beef |
1.00 |
9.6 |
174 |
| Potato, 1 large |
0.30 |
0 |
31 |
| Rice, brown, 1 cup |
0.83 |
0 |
36 |
| Salmon, fresh fillet |
0.84 |
19 |
20 |
| Spinach, 4 large leaves |
0.28 |
0 |
33 |
| Tuna, fresh fillet |
1.08 |
16 |
7 |
| Recommended daily
intake |
3-3.5 |
5-15 |
350-400 |
Homocysteine: Is it, and not cholesterol, the bad guy?
One drawback to the "cholesterol as king" theory of cardiovascular disease
(CVD) is that many people with no risk factors suffer from
heart problems. Indeed, an article in the June 26, 1996, issue
of the Journal of the American Medical Association
notes that the traditional CVD risk factors (age, genetics,
gender, smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, sedentary life,
diabetes, weight, stress) only explain about 50 percent of all
CVD. The amino acid homocysteine may be the reason.
Back in 1968, Kilmer McCully, a pathologist, came across
evidence that indicated that high levels of homocysteine might
be linked to heart disease. This went against the "cholesterol
risk factor" tidal wave, and McCully was ignored; he was
actually forced out of his position due to this radical
theory.
Today, McCully is being vindicated. Recent tests have
linked high homocysteine levels with a risk of heart attack
more than three time greater than normal - putting
homocysteine in the same risk-factor category as smoking and
high cholesterol levels.
Homocysteine is formed when the body breaks down protein,
especially the protein found in meat. Meat protein contains
the essential amino acid methionine, and when methionine is
digested, it produces homocysteine. According to McCully's
theory, if homocysteine levels increase, the result is the
buildup of plaque, which, of course, may lead to
atherosclerosis, heart attacks, strokes, and death.
Homocysteine builds up if we eat too much meat or do not
get sufficient amounts of vitamins B6 and B12 and folic acid.
These three vitamins are integral in the process of recycling
and excreting homocysteine. If we do not have sufficient
amounts of these vitamins, homocysteine levels
rise. |
