Is Cholesterol Good For You

Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet With Phytoextracts

An Italian study in 2019 looked at 106 overweight or obese people who ate a diet known as the ketogenic Mediterranean diet with phytoextracts and took a daily multivitamin supplement over six weeks. Subjects were allowed to consume unlimited calories in a diet made up of green vegetables, olive oil, fish, meat, and other high-quality proteins, along with specific food supplements and herbal extracts.

The results showed a significant decrease in body mass index , total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood glucose levels. There was also a significant increase in HDL cholesterol levels.

Yellow Rashes On The Eyelids

These yellow rashes are similar to the yellow cholesterol bubbles on your body, but smaller and on this time on your eyelids. The condition is known as xanthelasma. Luckily, it doesnt have any negative effects on your eyesight. Laser and acid treatments are available to get rid of these rash bubbles, but the more effective and permanent solution is just to lower your cholesterol levels altogether.

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Why Cholesterol Is Important

As mentioned earlier, your body needs cholesterol to support and maintain good health. According to Natural News, cholesterol is essential to protect your body against heart disease and cancer. Reasons why your body needs cholesterol:

• Cholesterol gives structure to your cells
• It operates as an antioxidant, helping to protect against the damage from free radicals
• The brain needs cholesterol! The serotonin receptors in the brain need cholesterol to function properly
• Cholesterol helps to heal damage in the arteries

Its also suggested that cholesterol thats damaged causes plaque to accumulate in the arteries. Cholesterol becomes damaged through exposure to heat and oxygen. For example, this happens when meat is fried .

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Effect Of Saturated Fat

A review of low-fat diets versus low-carb, high-fat diets greater than 12 months long looked at the effects on cholesterol levels in overweight or obese people.

Researchers found that decreases in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels were significantly more noticeable in those following low-fat diets. In contrast, an increase in HDL cholesterol and a reduction in triglyceride levels were more apparent in high-fat-diet participants.

Whether cholesterol increases or decreases largely depends on how the very-low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet is followedparticularly with the types of fats consumed.

The study authors further found that in high-fat diets, decreased total cholesterol levels were associated with lower intake of saturated fat and higher polyunsaturated fat intake. In comparison, increased HDL cholesterol was related to a higher intake of monounsaturated fat.

Lower saturated fat intake was marginally related to lower LDL cholesterol levels. Additionally, increased triglyceride levels were associated with higher intakes of carbohydrates.

Plant Sterols Can Lower Cholesterol Levels

Plant sterols are found naturally in plant foods including sunflower and canola seeds, vegetable oils and in nuts, legumes, cereals, fruit and vegetables. Some margarine and milks have concentrated plant sterols added to them. Margarines enriched with plant sterolslower LDL cholesterol in most people if the correct amount is eaten .

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Learn The Warning Signs Of Serious Complications And Have A Plan

High blood cholesterol can lead to serious cardiovascular complications, such as heart attack or stroke. If you think that you are or someone else is having the following symptoms, Every minute matters.

Heart attack

Heart attack symptoms include mild or severe chest pain or discomfort in the center of the chest or upper abdomen that lasts for more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back. This discomfort can feel like pressure, squeezing, fullness, heartburn, or indigestion. There also may be pain down the left arm or in the neck. Although both men and women can experience these symptoms, women are more likely to have other, less typical symptoms, such as shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, unusual tiredness, and pain in the back, shoulders, or jaw. Read more about the signs and symptoms of a heart attack.

Stroke

If you think someone may be having a stroke, act F.A.S.T. and perform the following simple test.

FFace: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?

AArms: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

SSpeech: Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Is their speech slurred or strange?

TTime: If you observe any of these signs, . Early treatment is essential.

Cholesterol can be confusing! Learn answers to common questions about blood cholesterol.

What do your cholesterol numbers mean? Can the foods you eat change your cholesterol levels?

Substitute Healthy Oils In Place Of Butter And Margarine

Of course, its not always realistic to avoid fats when youre whipping up a tasty meal.

When you do need to add fat for cooking, baking or pan frying, use healthy oils instead of solid fats like butter, margarine, shortening and lard. Solid fats are high in saturated fats, but oils are high in unsaturated fats, which remember are better for you. The American Heart Association recommends using oils that have less than 4 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon .

Many times, its easy to swap a solid fat to a healthier one. Try using olive oil, sunflower oil or grapeseed oil in place of a solid fat.

For example, if youd rather use olive oil than butter, substitute ¾ the amount of butter in a recipe with olive oil. You might also bring out some new, surprising, subtle flavors, too.

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What Is High Cholesterol

When people talk about high cholesterol, they’re usually referring to the levels of LDL cholesterol in your blood. You can find out your blood cholesterol levels through a lipid panel blood test. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians :

• A “normal” lipid panel total cholesterol is 180 to 200 milligrams per deciliter or less.
• A “borderline” lipid panel total cholesterol is between 201 and 240 mg/dL.
• A “high” lipid panel total cholesterol is greater than 240 mg/dL.

In terms of specific cholesterol readings, the AAFP says that you should aim for HDL levels of 40 to 60 mg/dL and LDL levels of 100 mg/dL or less. “Between 100 and 129 mg/dL is near normal, 130 to 159 mg/dL is borderline high, and above 190 mg/dL is considered high,” the site says.

A lipid test will also evaluate the level of triglycerides in your blood. Triglycerides are the most common type of fat in your body, and they store any excess energy you get from your diet. According to the AHA, a high triglyceride level combined with a high level of LDL cholesterol or a low level of HDL cholesterol is associated with plaque buildup in your artery walls, thus increasing your risk of a stroke or heart attack.

Because triglycerides are usually highest in your blood right after eating, you should fast for 12 hours before a blood test for your triglyceride levels. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the triglyceride level guidelines for healthy, fasting adults are:

Myth: Eating Foods With A Lot Of Cholesterol Will Not Make My Cholesterol Levels Go Up

Fact: It can be complicated. We know that foods with a lot of cholesterol usually also have a lot of saturated fat. Saturated fats can make your cholesterol numbers higher, so its best to choose foods that are lower in saturated fats. Foods made from animals, including red meat, butter, and cheese, have a lot of saturated fats.

Instead, aim to eat foods with plenty of fiber, such as oatmeal and beans, and healthy unsaturated fats, such as avocados, olive oil, and nuts. Learn more about healthy diets and nutrition at CDCs nutrition, physical activity, and obesity website.

Talk with your health care provider about ways to manage your cholesterol. Learn more about medicines to lower cholesterol.

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Everything You Know About Cholesterol Is Wrong

By Spencer Brooks

• The traditional view of cholesterol and heart disease is backwards. New research shows that cholesterol seems to be a symptom of heart disease, not a cause.
• Inflammation is what damages arterial walls and contributes to cardiovascular problems. Cholesterol is the repair molecule that comes in and tries to fix the damage. You should be more concerned about inflammation, not high cholesterol.
• Read on for 5 ways to decrease your inflammation, improve your arteries, and boost your performance.

The more I reviewed the literature, the more I realized, You know what? It seems like everything they teach us in nursing school, in medical school, in pharmacy school about lipids, about LDL, about VLDL, and HDL, the good cholesterol, the bad cholesterol, and how the stuff works its probably wrong, or at least incomplete.

Thats Zubin Damania, a primary care clinical director and internal medicine doctor at Stanford. Dr. Damania recently sat down with Dave Feldman, an engineer turned cholesterol expert, to talk about why your cholesterol numbers dont mean what youve been told they do.

Feldman started a ketogenic diet and his cholesterol went up to over 300 mmol/L, with his LDL number around 260. For reference, traditional guidelines say your LDL should be under 100, and total cholesterol, below 200.

What Specific Foods Should I Eat On Keto To Also Maintain Good Cholesterol

Consuming mostly unsaturated fats, compared to saturated fats, while on a keto diet may improve cholesterol levels, especially LDL cholesterol levels. Unsaturated fats are found in foods such as:

• Plant oils like olive, avocado, sunflower, corn, and canola oils
• Avocados
• Fatty fish, including salmon, sardines, tuna, and mackerel
• Nuts and nut butters, including peanuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, and walnuts
• Seeds, such as flax, sesame, sunflower, and chia

The keto diet is also typically lower in fiber, so maximizing the small number of carbohydrates allowed while following keto can benefit not only cholesterol levels but also gut health. Choosing non-starchy fruits and vegetables like avocados, tomatoes, asparagus, broccoli, and spinach can help.

Additionally, many people cannot follow the keto diet in the long term, so having a clear and defined plan for how to transition off the keto diet is important to help retain any positive health benefits acquired.

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When To Speak With A Doctor

There are few noticeable symptoms of high cholesterol. Emergency symptoms such as a stroke or heart attack may be the only indicator of damage from high cholesterol. This means that regular monitoring by a doctor is essential.

Most people should get their cholesterol checked with a blood test every 4 to 6 years. Your doctor may recommend more frequent screening if you live with any of the following:

• a history of heart conditions
• family history of high cholesterol
• high blood pressure

Cholesterol: The Good The Bad And The Unhealthy

Cholesterol is a type of fat in our bodies. It helps us do a lot of things: build cells, digest food, and make hormones.

While cholesterol is needed for our body to function properly, too much of it can be bad. High cholesterol can cause serious problems in our blood, like clots, plus heart and brain issues.

MedlinePlus has released new health topic pages on cholesterol, such as “How to Lower Cholesterol with Diet,” to help you better understand and control your cholesterol.

This Q and A features tips from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and MedlinePlus.

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Inflammation Is The Root Of The Problem

Elevated serum levels of cholesterol are a symptom of the underlying problem in your body, not the cause of the problem, which is inflammation. Cholesterol is sent to the artery to heal the inflammation. If it is successful, everything returns to normal. If the inflammation doesnt subside, more cholesterol is sent and starts to accumulate around the artery as a band aid. This is how plaque starts to form.

The real cause of inflammation is high levels of insulin, a reaction to excess carbohydrate/refined sugar consumption that creates blood sugar spikes. Trans-fats and industrially processed vegetable seed oils also cause inflammation. We only really see any negative effects of LDL when it becomes oxidized by free radicals. A diet high in antioxidants and low in carbohydrates will reduce factors of oxidation in the body.

Do You Have High Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that is a natural and essential part of all cells in your body. It helps produce hormones, make vitamin D, provide cells with structure, and plays a role in the process of digesting fats. The liver creates all of the cholesterol that your body needs, so it is not required that you get it from foods. Foods that come from animals such as meat, cheese, and eggs all provide dietary cholesterol to the body.

There are two types of cholesterol: high-density lipoproteins and low-density lipoproteins . HDL is thought of as the good type of cholesterol because it carries cholesterol from your blood to your liver to be removed. This is helpful to the heart. LDL is the bad type of cholesterol: It causes a buildup of cholesterol in the blood, which leads to furring up of the arteries. This is called atherosclerosis and is a direct cause of heart attacks, strokes, and peripheral artery disease.

Triglycerides are a type of fat in the blood. They are separate to and different from cholesterol, but they are nearly always included in the cholesterol lab panel since they have a similar effect on your heart and overall health. Triglycerides come from eating too many calories . These extra calories are stored in the blood as triglycerides. High triglyceride levels can lead to heart disease and problems in your pancreas and liver, including fatty liver disease.

Here are the normal ranges for cholesterol and triglyceride levels in adults :

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How Does The Body Make Cholesterol

All cells can make their own cholesterol, but liver cells are especially good at it. Only liver cells are capable of making more than they need for themselvesand shipping it out to other parts of the body.

Remember how it takes more than 30 chemical reactions to build one molecule of cholesterol? The most important of all of these steps is step #3. In this step, a critical enzyme called HMG-CoA reductase converts a molecule called HMG-CoA into another molecule called mevalonate. Once this step occurs, theres no turning back, so its a big commitment. This reaction is the one that determines whether or not cholesterol gets made. Therefore, the enzyme that runs this reaction, HMG-CoA reductase, is very importantits like the foreman in charge of the cholesterol assembly line. This enzyme needs to be carefully controlled, because we dont want cells wasting their time and energy building expensive cholesterol molecules willy-nilly.

The activity of this critical enzyme HMG-CoA reductase is controlled primarily by two things:

cholesterol levels inside the cell

insulin levels in the blood.

This is where things get really interesting. It makes sense that HMG-CoA reductase would respond to the cells cholesterol levelsif the cells levels are low, you want to turn that enzyme on, so you can make more cholesterol, and if the cell has enough cholesterol, you want to turn that enzyme off and stop making cholesterol. But what is insulin doing in the mix?

You Dont Need To Avoid Eggs And Seafood

Some foods are high in cholesterol but are fine to eat in moderation, as long as your overall diet is low in saturated fats. For example:

• Egg yolks a single egg yolk contains 200250 mg of cholesterol, which is almost the uppermost recommended daily intake . However, reducing egg intake is probably not important for healthy people with normal blood cholesterol levels.
• Seafood prawns and seafood contain some cholesterol, but they are low in saturated fat and also contain healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Seafood is a healthy food and should not be avoided just because it contains cholesterol. However, avoid fried and battered seafood.

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What Are The Different Types Of Cholesterol

There are two types: high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein . As a general rule, HDL is considered good cholesterol, while LDL is considered bad. This is because HDL carries cholesterol to your liver, where it can be removed from your bloodstream before it builds up in your arteries. LDL, on the other hand, takes cholesterol directly to your arteries. This can result in atherosclerosis, a plaque buildup that can even cause heart attack and stroke.

Why Would The Body Make More Cholesterol Than It Needs

Now heres the problem: when people eat too many sugars and starches, especially refined and high glycemic index foods, blood insulin levels can spike. When insulin spikes, it turns on HMGCoA reductase, which tells all of the bodys cells to make more cholesterol, even if they dont need any more. This is probably the most important reason why some people have too much cholesterol in their bloodstream. Sugars and starches can raise insulin levels, which fools the body into thinking it should grow when it doesnt need to. This is how low glycemic index diets and low-carbohydrate diets normalize cholesterol patternsthese diets reduce insulin levels, which in turn lower HMG-CoA reductase activity.

Statin drugs, such as Lipitor®, which are prescribed to lower cholesterol levels, work partly by interfering with the activity of HMG-CoA reductase. If your cells happen to need more cholesterol under certain circumstances, but the statin drug is blocking this critical enzyme, your cells may not be able to make cholesterol when needed. And whats worse is that the cholesterol synthesis pathway doesnt just make cholesterol branches of this same pathway are responsible for synthesizing a wide variety of other important molecules, including: Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, and Coenzyme Q. So, you may want to think twice before you artificially interfere with this pathway by taking a statin drug.

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