Low Density Lipoproteins : The Ones To Watch Out For
LDL particles deliver nutrients and energy to your cells. The only problem is that unlike HDL, LDL particles move at a snails pace and have a tendency to get stuck in your bloodstream. When this happens, the vulnerable LDL gets attacked by free radicals and start to oxidize, or break down.
Oxidized LDL is much easier to sneak inside your artery walls.
This then triggers your immune system to go into a full-on inflammatory response, which sends white blood cells to capture all the dangerous oxidized LDL running amok.
Whatever doesnt get wrangled by good HDL enters your arteries and starts the process of plaque buildup .
So does that mean the higher your LDL cholesterol levels, the higher your risks for cardiovascular disease?
Not exactly.
A standard lipid blood test will show you how much cholesterol lives inside the LDL particle, or the concentration, but thats no longer the best marker for cholesterol health.
Scientists now know its not how much cholesterol you have, but your LDL particle number that makes the difference. This number measures how many LDL particles are floating in your bloodstream and how big they are.
Small LDL particles carry a greater risk factor for heart disease as they can easily penetrate the artery walls and lead to buildup. However, if you have mostly large LDL particles, your risks are pretty low because the chances of this happening are much slimmer.
Is It Safe To Be On The Keto Diet With High Cholesterol
Bob Harper will be the first to tell you its best to talk to your doctor before attempting something like the keto diet.
Some people, particularly those with familial hypercholesterolemia , kidney disease, and liver disease, are not good candidates for keto because it can often make these conditions worse.
Some may find their bodies cant handle taking in that much fat on the daily.
Even for otherwise healthy people, a keto diet filled with saturated fats from red meat and full fat dairy thats also low in fruits and vegetables wont lead to improved cardiovascular health in the long term and may actually do some damage.
In fact, a 2011 study found that otherwise healthy men had an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes after eating a low carb diet rich in saturated fat.
Does Eating Cholesterol Clog Your Arteries
You can get cholesterol from eating animal foods like eggs, cheese, meat, and dairy but your body can also produce its own. An average 150 lb weighing male can synthesize 1000 mg of cholesterol a day. One single egg has 200 mg of cholesterol. The typical US dietary intake of cholesterol is about 307 mg. In that case, about 75% of your bodys cholesterol gets produced by the body internally and 25% gets ingested externally.
Most of the cholesterol you eat gets esterified and is poorly absorbed. In the short term, cholesterol levels will rise as fats are being distributed around. The body also reduces its own cholesterol synthesis when you consume it from food. Therefore, eating more cholesterol will not raise your cholesterol in the long run.
When you look at the mechanism of cholesterol transportation, then higher cholesterol in your blood also means that youre burning more fat for fuel as well.
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Cutting Through The Fat: What Are Lipids And Cholesterol
Before we can examine the research, we need to understand the roles fat, cholesterol, and carrier molecules called lipoproteins play in the body.
Fats, also known as lipids, are a diverse group of molecules with a non-polar characteristic that repels water. This means that you if you put a fat in water, they will not mix.
In the human body, fats are most commonly found in the bloodstream in one of two forms. The first is triglycerides, a fatty acid that stores energy for later use.
These long molecules can be broken down into other fatty acids and glycerol to create fuel for the body. Glycerol can further be broken down and converted into glucose. Elevated levels of triglycerides in your blood can increase your risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular illnesses, and other life-threatening diseases.
The other important class of lipids in the body is a waxy substance called cholesterol. These molecules have a variety of functions in your body such as building hormones including estrogen and testosterone, maintaining the integrity of cell membranes, and aiding in the absorption of vitamins.
Your body produces all the cholesterol you need in the liver and other cells throughout the body. Cholesterol is also obtained by consuming animal-based foods such as poultry, dairy, and red meat. Typically, 75% of the bodys cholesterol is produced endogenously while the other 25% is ingested from external sources.
Is A Ketogenic Diet Healthy
We have solid evidence showing that a ketogenic diet reduces seizures in children, sometimes as effectively as medication. Because of these neuroprotective effects, questions have been raised about the possible benefits for other brain disorders such as Parkinsons, Alzheimers, multiple sclerosis, sleep disorders, autism, and even brain cancer. However, there are no human studies to support recommending ketosis to treat these conditions.
Weight loss is the primary reason my patients use the ketogenic diet. Previous research shows good evidence of a faster weight loss when patients go on a ketogenic or very low carbohydrate diet compared to participants on a more traditional low-fat diet, or even a Mediterranean diet. However, that difference in weight loss seems to disappear over time.
A ketogenic diet also has been shown to improve blood sugar control for patients with type 2 diabetes, at least in the short term. There is even more controversy when we consider the effect on cholesterol levels. A few studies show some patients have increase in cholesterol levels in the beginning, only to see cholesterol fall a few months later. However, there is no long-term research analyzing its effects over time on diabetes and high cholesterol.
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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.
Keto And Cholesterol Relationship Advice
The keto diet has the potential to raise your LDL cholesterol because it tends to center on animal products and byproducts, which are high in saturated fats that are known to cling to LDL molecules and raise cholesterol when consumed in excess.
When embarking on any new diet, its important to monitor your health, including your cholesterol levels. You can keep LDL cholesterol levels down while increasing HDL cholesterol by reducing consumption of keto-approved foods high in saturated fat, such as red meat, and boosting your intake of high-fat foods made up of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, like avocados and olive oil.
Theres no rule that going keto means going heavy on animal products. Check out our tips for following a vegan keto diet.
You can also help lower cholesterol by increasing your fiber intake. Fiber can sometimes take a hard hit on the keto diet. After all, youre cutting out high-fiber foods like grains and certain fruits and vegetables. Still, its possible to get all the fiber you need on the keto diet, so long as you meal plan with diligence.
High-fiber foods to fill up on include:
- Avocados
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The Good And Bad Cholesterol Myth
Youve probably heard of the so-called good cholesterol and bad cholesterol types, but these references arent entirely accurate.
Unlike sugar and salt, which can mingle in your bloodstream, cholesterol is a fat that doesnt mesh well with the watery nature of your blood. For cholesterol to work through your body, it needs to pass through vessels known as lipoproteins.
As their name implies, theyre part fat and part protein. Their sole job is transporting cholesterol to the cells and organs that need it most.
There are five different types of lipoproteins, but the ones you always hear about are low-density lipoprotein , frequently referred to as bad cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein , which has been labeled as good cholesterol.
To be clear, HDL and LDL are not actual types of cholesterol only what transports cholesterol.
Whats the difference between these two?
Heart Risk Factors Improved
During the first six months of the study, the low-fat dieters had greater reductions in LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol, but the differences did not persist over time.
The study is not the first to suggest that low-carb weight loss programs like the Atkins diet are safe and may be slightly better than low-fat diets for reducing risk factors for heart disease.
But it is one of the longest to show this, says lead researcher Gary D. Foster, PhD, of Temple Universityâs Center for Obesity Research and Education.
Roughly three-fifths of the low-carb dieters and two-thirds of the low-fat dieters stayed on the respective diets for two years.
The study appears in the September issue of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
âFor many years there have been concerns that the low-carbohydrate approach to weight loss was bad for the heart,â he says. âThis study would suggest those concerns are largely unfounded.â
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Chronic Inflammation And Stress
Both Inflammation and stress elicit similar mechanisms one of which is an increase in cholesterol levels to bring the necessary nutrients to our tissues to help them heal and recover.
If you have chronic inflammation and/or stress, you may also have persisting high cholesterol levels which, in most cases, isnt doing anything but causing more problems. The preponderance of this chronic inflammation and stress is typically caused by a variety of lifestyle factors, from eating foods that trigger inflammation to sleeping poorly.
Fortunately, the keto diet has been found to decrease inflammation . However, if you still have high levels of inflammation after following the keto diet, then you may have to address other important variables like your stress levels, sleep quality, and food allergies/sensitivities before your cholesterol levels can rest at healthier levels.
One way to find out if the keto diet is helping quell your chronic inflammation is by seeing how your C-reactive protein levels change over time on your routine blood test. If CRP levels decrease after youve made your lifestyle and dietary changes, then you are on the right track. The ideal result is if your cholesterol levels are optimized along with that.
However, for those of you who see a drop in inflammation and a worsening of your cholesterol levels, you may have one of the two issues that we explored earlier.
Ketogenic Diet: Is The Ultimate Low
- By , Contributor
Recently, many of my patients have been asking about a ketogenic diet. Is a ketogenic diet safe? Would you recommend it? Despite the recent hype, a ketogenic diet is not something new. In medicine, we have been using it for almost 100 years to treat drug-resistant epilepsy, especially in children. In the 1970s, Dr. Atkins popularized his very-low-carbohydrate diet for weight loss that began with a very strict two-week ketogenic phase. Over the years, other fad diets incorporated a similar approach for weight loss.
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What Is The Least Amount Of Fat I Can Eat While On Keto
My blood sugars are not going down, although my oral monitor often has me at 0.1 . Typically 20-25 carbs, 120 g fat and 80 g protein. I am 71 years, old take no medications, moderately active, tried IF but dont think you can get all the macros I need in one meal. I would like to know the LEAST amount of fat I can consume and be healthy. I am a retired RN and all that fat makes me nervous. The only processed food I eat is keto bars. No sugar, flour or grains since October 4th. I want my blood sugars below 95 .
Thanks,
Hi Richelle!
If you have excess body fat stores, you dont necessarily need fat energy from food, as long as you can live off your fat stores.
However, you do need some essential fatty acids, omega 3 and omega 6. Its also wise to eat some fat every day to avoid getting gall stones.
Finally, eating too little fat might result in hunger and fatigue. But again, you dont necessarily NEED much.
Best,
What Happens To Hdl Levels On A Keto Diet
Though eating fat doesnt affect blood cholesterol levels in a standard carb-heavy diet, when carbs are restricted and fat becomes the basis of your diet, HDL levels ultimately improve.
So on a keto diet eating fat does affect your cholesterol levels, just in the opposite way weve been told!
Supporting these observations, A 2017 review of human and animal studies found keto diets to be generally associated with reductions in total cholesterol, increases in HDL decreases in triglycerides, and reductions in LDL .
A 2020 high quality randomized control study of 34 older adults with obesity found that over 8 weeks participants on the keto diet lost three times the body fat compared with a group eating a low-fat diet. The keto group also had greater improvement in insulin sensitivity, triglyceride levels, and HDL cholesterol
A 2013 meta-analysis of 12 high quality studies involving more than 1200 participants investigating the impact of very-low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets vs. low fat diets, found that the average increase in HDL particles in the low carb group was double that of the low fat group .
Taken together these findings all affirm that differences in HDL are due to carbohydrate intake, not fat intake.
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Remind Me: How Does Keto Work
The ketogenic diet is a very low carbohydrate, high fat diet that was developed to help children and adults experiencing epileptic seizures. Its now used to help people reach a number of health goals, including weight loss.
The diet requires getting roughly 5 to 10 percent of your daily calories from carbohydrates, 15 to 20 percent from protein, and a whopping 70 percent from fat. Severely restricting carbohydrates forces your body to burn fat for energy instead.
Research has shown that the keto diet has several health benefits, at least in the short term. Most notably, folks on the diet have experienced significant weight loss, improved blood sugar, and improved cardiovascular health .
What Happens To Ldl On Keto Diet
A ketogenic diet typically leads to improvements in a range of blood lipids and other markers for cardiovascular health like blood pressure, inflammation, and triglycerides. But the changes to LDL are less predictable and can sometimes go up.
However, studies show that on keto we typically see that even when the total LDL increases, there is a reduction in the small bad LDL, referred to as VLDL or, very low density lipoprotein. This means that most of the increase is in the larger, heart friendlier LDL particles .
Its important to note here that for most people on keto LDL either stays the same or goes down. This finding is reflected in a 2006 study looking at the effects of carbohydrate restriction on LDL cholesterol in a group of 29 men for a 12 week weight-loss intervention found that LDL particle concentrations decreased by 9.6% .
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Consult Your Doctor Before Starting A Keto Diet
Regardless of their health status, all patients should consult their doctor before going on the keto diet.
The reason: to rule out any existing concerns or ailments that could make the approach harmful to their heart or the rest of their body.
A small subset of people appears to experience increased cholesterol levels on a low-carb diet, so a family history of heart disease should be discussed.
If You Have High Cholesterol Should You Avoid Keto
Having high cholesterol doesnt automatically disqualify you from keto. Were seeing really good cardiovascular results from a keto diet, says Susan Ryskamp, RDN, clinical dietitian at Michigan Medicines Frankel Cardiovascular Center in Ann Arbor.
Doctors will want to look at the overall picture with the goal of improving biomarkers like triglycerides, A1C, blood pressure, and body mass index . On keto, if patients lose weight, get their BMI closer to, if not under 30 , and these biomarkers improve, we feel theyre at less of a cardiovascular risk, says Ryskamp.
If a patient has severely elevated triglyceride levels upwards of 1,000 mg/dL then Ryskamp would likely suggest another diet first. But a triglyceride level of 300 may still be a go, with close monitoring and frequent lipid checks. Most of the patients I see can safely go on keto, she says.
The fact is, says Ryskamp, people start down the road to heart disease in different ways , and cardiovascular patients respond uniquely to treatment. Not everyone will want to go on keto, but it may be recommended for some, she says. As a Clinical and Scientific Debates on Atherosclerosis points out, keto is not the only option. Other diets are as effective, more sustainable and safer, the authors write. The AHA still recommends a plant-based diet high in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and lean vegetable or animal protein.
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What Foods Are High In Cholesterol
Certain foods are high in cholesterol. If cholesterol is a health concern for you, it is important to understand which foods increase good cholesterol and which foods increase bad cholesterol. Saturated fat, which is found in fatty meats, poultry with skin, and whole milk product, contributes to bad cholesterol. Trans fat, which can be found in shortening and margarine, also contributes to bad cholesterol.
While small amounts of saturated fat and trans fat are okay, too much can lead to increased bad cholesterol and an increased risk of heart disease. Cholesterol can also be found directly in certain foods, such as egg yolk, whole milk products, and certain meat products.