Cut Out The Trans Fatty Acids
Trans fatty acids;are likely present in many of your favorite prepared foods anything in which the nutrition label reads “partially hydrogenated vegetable oils” so eliminating them from the diet is not a trivial task. But trans fatty acids not only increase LDL cholesterol levels, but they also reduce HDL cholesterol levels. Removing them from your diet will almost certainly result in a measurable increase in HDL levels.;
What Are Hdl Cholesterol Vs Ldl Cholesterol What Do They Do
What is LDL cholesterol or the “bad” cholesterol?
- LDL cholesterol is called “bad” cholesterol because elevated levels of LDL cholesterol are associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease.
- LDL lipoprotein deposits cholesterol along the inside of artery walls, causing the formation of a hard, thick substance called cholesterol plaque. Over time, cholesterol plaque causes thickening of the artery walls and narrowing of the lumen of the arteries, a process called atherosclerosis, which decreases blood flow through the narrowed plaque-filled vessel.
- Narrowing of blood vessels in the heart may lead to angina; or heart attack.
- Narrowing of blood vessels in the brain may cause a transient ischemic attack or stroke.
- Narrowing of the arteries throughout the body can lead to signs and symptoms of pain, including in the intestine and in the legs with walking .
What is HDL cholesterol or “good” cholesterol?
What does “total” cholesterol mean?
- Total cholesterol is the sum of LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, VLDL cholesterol, and IDL cholesterol.
What determines the level of LDL or “bad” cholesterol in the blood?
- Mandatory smoking cessation
The previous goal of maintaining “normal” cholesterol levels has been replaced by an approach that suggests more people may benefit from cholesterol-lowering statin medications, and not just those with high cholesterol levels. These four groups include patients:
Healthy Eating Tips To Lower Cholesterol
As well as sticking to a varied and healthy diet, try these ;tips to help you manage your cholesterol:;
- Limit takeaway foods to once a week .
- Limit salty, fatty and sugary snack foods to once a week .
- Eat plenty of vegetables aim for 5 serves of vegetables every day. .
- Choose wholegrain breads, cereal, pasta, rice and noodles.
- Snack on plain, unsalted nuts and fresh fruit .
- Include legumes such as chickpeas, lentils, split peas), beans into at least two meals a week. Check food labels and choose the lowest sodium products.;
- Use spreads and margarines made from healthy unsaturated fats instead of those made with saturated fat .
- Use healthy oils for cooking some include canola, sunflower, soybean, olive , sesame and peanut oils.
- Use salad dressings and mayonnaise made from oils such as canola, sunflower, soybean, olive , sesame and peanut oils.
- Include 2 or 3 serves of plant-sterol-enriched foods every day .
- Have 2 to 3 portions of oily fish every week. Fish may be fresh, frozen or canned.
- Include up to 7 eggs every week.
- Select lean meat and limit unprocessed red meat to less than 350g per week.
- Choose ;reduced fat, no added sugar milk, yoghurt, or calcium-added non-dairy food and drinks.;
- Limit or avoid processed meats including sausages and deli meats .
If you are having trouble with your cholesterol levels, a dietitian can help you to eat healthily for your specific needs.
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What Is A Healthy Level Of Hdl
According to National Institutes of Health guidelines, HDL levels less than 40 mg/dL put people at risk for heart disease. Aim for 4059 mg/dL, but above 60 is ideal.
Theres no upper limit for HDL, but one study found that people with extremely high or extremely low HDL levels were at a higher risk of death than those with moderate levels. That study identified the optimal levels as 73 mg/dL in men and 93 mg/dL in women.
How Can I Lower Cholesterol With Diet
Heart-healthy lifestyle changes include a diet to lower your cholesterol. The DASH eating plan is one example. Another is the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes diet, which recommends that you
Choose healthier fats.You should limit both total fat and saturated fat. No more than 25 to 35% of your daily calories should come from dietary fats, and less than 7% of your daily calories should come from saturated fat. Depending upon how many calories you eat per day, here are the maximum amounts of fats that you should eat:
| Calories per Day | |
|---|---|
| 69-97 grams | 17 grams |
Saturated fat is a bad fat because it raises your LDL level more than anything else in your diet. It is found in some meats, dairy products, chocolate, baked goods, and deep-fried and processed foods.
Trans fat is another bad fat; it can raise your LDL and lower you HDL . Trans fat is mostly in foods made with hydrogenated oils and fats, such as stick margarine, crackers, and french fries.
Instead of these bad fats, try healthier fats, such as lean meat, nuts, and unsaturated oils like canola, olive, and safflower oils.
Limit foods with cholesterol. If you are trying to lower your cholesterol, you should have less than 200 mg a day of cholesterol. Cholesterol is in foods of animal origin, such as liver and other organ meats, egg yolks, shrimp, and whole milk dairy products.
Eat plenty of soluble fiber. Foods high in soluble fiber help prevent your digestive tract from absorbing cholesterol. These foods include
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Dietary Tips To Avoid Cholesterol
The most important thing you can do to reduce your cholesterol level is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. You should try to:
- Increase the amount and variety of fresh fruit, vegetables and wholegrain foods you have each day.
- Choose low or reduced-fat milk, yoghurt and other dairy products or have added calcium soy drinks.
- Choose lean meat .
- Limit fatty meats, including sausages and salami, and choose leaner sandwich meats like turkey breast or cooked lean chicken.
- Have fish at least twice a week.
- Replace butter and dairy blends with polyunsaturated margarines.
- Include foods in your diet that are rich in soluble fibre and healthy fats, such as nuts, legumes and seeds.
- Limit cheese and ice cream to twice a week.
Other storage fats that are transported in blood lipoproteins include triglycerides. When present in high concentrations in the blood, this fat is also a risk for heart attack. Some foods will affect the cholesterol level or the triglyceride level and some will affect both.
If Lifestyle Changes Are Not Proving To Be Useful
Most time we try our best to maintain the accurate level of cholesterol in our body by changing and improving our daily habits.
However, a good and healthy habit can build up a healthy level of cholesterol up to some extent, but sometimes we need medical concern too.
Though if your cholesterol level is not maintained and your doctors have recommended you some medicine, then be attentive towards it. Try not to skip any of them or alter their times, be very careful about it. Take it as per the scheduled time and as prescribed.
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What Are Triglycerides And Vldl
Triglyceride is a fatty substance that is composed of three fatty acids. Like cholesterol, triglyceride in the blood comes either from the diet or the liver. In addition, like cholesterol, triglyceride cannot dissolve and circulate in the blood without combining with a lipoprotein.
The liver removes triglyceride from the blood and it synthesizes and packages triglyceride into VLDL particles and releases them back into the blood circulation.
Safe Blood Cholesterol Levels
Health authorities recommend that cholesterol levels should be no higher than 5.5 mmol per litre if there are no other risk factors present. If there are other cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking and high blood pressure or pre-existing cardiovascular disease, then the aim for the LDL levels would be less than 2 mmol/l. Approximately half of all adult Australians have a blood cholesterol level above 5 mmol/l. This makes high blood cholesterol a major health concern in Australia.
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What Can You Do To Keep Hdl High
Although medications can increase HDL cholesterol, research has shown that they do not necessarily alter your risk of heart disease, says Dr. Wassif. So we focus on LDL cholesterol reduction and recommend lifestyle changes. The American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association recommend:
A healthy, well-balanced diet. Eat a Mediterranean-style diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, and lean vegetable or animal protein and fish.
Regular exercise, such as walking.;Get at least 150 minutes of;moderate-intensity physical activity per week, or 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity activity.
Maintain a healthy weight, or lose excess pounds if needed. Besides improving your diet and exercise habits, a comprehensive plan may include lifestyle counseling for stress, sleep hygiene and other individual challenges you face.
Dont smoke. If you smoke, individual or social support groups are recommended while trying to quit to increase your chances of success.
Manage your blood sugar. If you have type 2 diabetes, a healthy diet and exercise are crucial, along with any medications your doctor may recommend.
Aim for a blood pressure of < 130/80 mm Hg. Get the proper amount of good-quality sleep, follow a low-sodium diet and meet the recommended exercise guidelines.
Start by taking these small steps to change your lifestyle. Theyll help you boost your HDL, making it easier for your bloodstreams cleaner to do its job.
Interpreting Hdl Cholesterol Levels
HDL levels below 40 mg/dL are associated with an increased risk of CAD, even in people whose;total cholesterol;and;LDL cholesterol levels;are normal. HDL levels between 40 and 60 mg/dL are considered “normal,” and do not very much affect the risk of CAD one way or the other. However, HDL levels greater than 60 mg/dL are actually associated with a reduced;risk of heart disease.
In other words, the dogma has been: the higher the HDL levels, the better.
While this belief is still thought to be almost always true, in recent years a fly has been found in the ointment. Drug companies have spent billions of dollars developing drugs that increase HDL cholesterol levels. However, to the dismay of all, these drugs have failed to reduce cardiac riskdespite the fact that they make HDL levels go up. Development of at least two of these drugs has now been halted. So the HDL story is more complex than scientists originally had hoped.
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Starches Grains And Legumes
Make half of your grains whole grains. The amount you need each day depends on your age, gender and calorie needs.
- Choose low-fat baked goods , brown rice, whole-grain pasta, corn, baked potatoes, dried peas and beans, whole-grain breads and cereals.
- Limit pies, cakes, pastries, muffins, doughnuts, croissants, quick breads, cookies, crackers, granola, chips, fried foods.
How To Increase Your Hdl Cholesterol Levels
High levels of HDL cholesterol, often called “good” cholesterol, are associated with a reduced risk of;coronary artery disease . It appears that HDL particles “scour” the walls of blood vessels, cleaning out excess cholesterol that otherwise might have been used to make the;plaques;that cause CAD. The HDL cholesterol is then carried to the liver, where it is processed into bile, and secreted into the intestines and out of the body.
So, the current theory goes, when we measure a person’s HDL cholesterol level, we are measuring how vigorously his or her blood vessels are being “scrubbed” free of excess cholesterol.
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How Is High Cholesterol Diagnosed
All kids should have their cholesterol checked when they’re between 9 and 11 years old and again when they’re between 17 and 21.
Kids over 2 years old should be tested if they:
- have a parent or other close relative with a total cholesterol higher than 240 mg/dL
- have a family history of cardiovascular disease before age 55 in men and age 65 in women
- have some kinds of medical conditions
- are overweight or obese
- have diabetes, high blood pressure, or smoke cigarettes
Your doctor can order a blood test to check your child’s cholesterol. Your child may have to fast before the test.
According to the National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines, the ranges of total and LDL cholesterol for kids and teens 218 years old are:
| Category |
|---|
mg/dL = milligrams per deciliter
Work With Your Doctor On A Lower Cholesterol Plan
Lowering your cholesterol doesnt mean going it alone. Your primary care doctor is a helpful partner along your journey.
Your doctor can work with you to create an action plan just for you one that combines diet, exercise and other lifestyle changes to help you lower and manage your cholesterol.
For example, losing weight and quitting smoking can be big helpers for lowering cholesterol. Quitting smoking can raise your good HDL cholesterol levels, and losing weight can lower your bad LDL cholesterol levels significantly.
But these two tasks arent easy. Fortunately, your primary care doctor can be a great resource to help you get started and find practical ways to stick with it. Plus, help with quitting smoking and losing weight may already be covered if you have health insurance.
Whether you want to quit smoking, lose weight or just learn more about how your personal health would benefit from lower cholesterol levels, regular check-ins with your doctor are key. They can also perform cholesterol tests the only way to actually measure cholesterol to check your progress and help you make adjustments based on the results.
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What Causes Low Hdl Cholesterol
There are many reasons why some people have low HDL and others have high HDL. Genes appear to play the most important role by determining how much HDL cholesterol your body makes and the proportion of different subtypes.
Lifestyle choices also affect HDL levels. Smoking, carrying too many pounds, and lack of physical activity tend to lower HDL. So does a diet high in refined carbohydrates . Medications such as beta blockers, anabolic steroids, progestins, and benzodiazepines can also depress HDL.
Saturated And Unsaturated Fat
There are 2 main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Eating too many foods high in saturated fat can raise the level of cholesterol in your blood.
Most people in the UK eat too much saturated fat.
Foods high in saturated fat include:
- meat pies
- cakes and biscuits
- foods containing coconut or palm oil
Eating foods that contain unsaturated fat instead of saturated fat can actually help reduce cholesterol levels.
Try to replace foods containing saturated fats with small amounts of;foods high in unsaturated fats, such as:
- oily fish; such as mackerel and salmon
- nuts; such as almonds and cashews
- seeds; such as sunflower and pumpkin seeds
- avocados
- vegetable oils and spreads; such as rapeseed or;vegetable oil,;sunflower, olive, corn and;walnut oils
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Research Evidence On Exercise And Hdl Cholesterol
Experts have known for a long time that exercise helps increase the production and the efficiency of certain enzymes that enhance this “reverse cholesterol transport” process.;But how much exercise is necessary to achieve this effect?
A study conducted by Japanese researchers has shed some light on the question of how exercise type, frequency, and intensity impact HDL cholesterol.
In a meta-analysis, investigators from Tokyo evaluated the effect of exercise on HDL levels. They included data from 35 randomized trials assessing the effect of exercise on HDL levels in adults.
While exercise regimens varied among these studies, on average the subjects in these studies exercised for 40 minutes, three to four times per week. Effect on HDL level was measured after eight to 27 weeks.
Across the studies, participants had increases in HDL cholesterol averaging about 2.5 mg/dL. This increase in HDL cholesterol was modest;but statistically significant.
Perhaps the most interesting finding from this study is the observation that it was the duration of exercise sessionsand not the frequency or intensity of exercisethat best correlated with increased HDL levels. The investigators reported that in research subjects exercising for at least 20 minutes, each additional 10-minute increase in exercise duration was associated with an additional 1.4 mg/dL of HDL.
The Bottom Line To Boost Hdl Cholesterol
HDL cholesterol is just one part of the heart healthy regimen. For a more complete heart healthy plan, follow these steps:
Making these lifelong changes can help boost good cholesterol, lower bad cholesterol, protect your heart and promote overall health!
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Go For A Nice Run Or Jog
If your joints are in good shape and you enjoy jogging, youre in luck, as this is a great exercise for lowering cholesterol and for managing your weight. Dont think you have to race, though. An easy jog for a few miles may be better for lowering cholesterol than a fast sprint around the block.
In a 2013 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers reported that long-distance runners showed significantly better improvements in HDL cholesterol levels than short-distance runners . They also saw better improvements in their blood pressure.
How Is High Cholesterol Treated
If your child has an LDL cholesterol level of 130 mg/dL or higher, your doctor will talk to you about lifestyle changes or refer you to a dietitian. The goals are to:
- reduce fat and cholesterol in the diet
- increase exercise
- lose weight, if needed
Your doctor will probably do a cholesterol check again after 36 months of lifestyle changes.
Medicine might be considered for kids 10 and older whose LDL cholesterol is 190 mg/dL or higher if changes in diet and exercise haven’t worked. Kids with risk factors, such as diabetes or high blood pressure or a family history of high cholesterol or heart disease, may need treatment at lower LDL levels.
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