By Shannin Prather
January 2020 | 2020 Winter Newsletter
February is American Heart Month and is a great time to talk about how cholesterol levels can be kept in balance to prevent heart disease. Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in every cell of your body.
Cholesterol is made in a person’s liver and is used by our bodies to make vitamin D, hormones, and compounds that assist with digestion. Every cell membrane needs cholesterol.
You can get cholesterol from animal-based foods, such as meat, eggs, and dairy items like milk and cheese. Although most human bodies can make cholesterol, many of us consume too much cholesterol and struggle to keep our cholesterol at safe levels.
To reach every cell in your body, cholesterol travels through the bloodstream while attached to two types of lipoprotein: low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). In general, LDL is known as the “bad” cholesterol, while HDL is considered as “good” cholesterol. LDL cholesterol can stick to the walls of your arteries, increasing the risk for heart disease because the heart muscle must work harder to pump blood through narrow veins. Cholesterol can be lowered through diet, exercise, and/or medication.
In the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death.
Follow these tips to help control and lower your cholesterol levels:
- Increase monounsaturated fats in your diet. Monounsaturated fats like those in olive oil, canola oil, tree nuts, and avocados reduce the “bad” LDL, and increase the “good” HDL and reduce the oxidation that contributes to clogged arteries.
- Increase polyunsaturated fats in your diet. All polyunsaturated fats are heart-healthy. Omega-3 fats like those found in fatty fish, such as salmon, albacore tuna, trout, etc. are a type of polyunsaturated fat with extra heart benefits
- Increase soluble fiber in your diet. Soluble fiber nourishes healthy probiotic gut bacteria and removes cholesterol from the body, reducing LDL. Good sources include: beans, peas, lentils, fruit, and whole grains including oats
- Increase physical activity. Exercise reduces harmful LDL and increases beneficial HDL. Any type of exercise improves cholesterol and promotes heart health, whether it be aerobics, walking, leg or arm lifts, or any other physical activity. Thirty minutes of activity a day, five days a week can improve cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease
- Decrease smoking. Immune cells in smokers are unable to return cholesterol from vessel walls to the blood so it can be transported to the liver where it can be stored or broken down, leading to clogged arteries. Quitting smoking quickly improves HDL cholesterol, reversing these effects
If your cholesterol is out of balance, lifestyle changes are the first step in effective treatment. If you are concerned about your cholesterol level, have them checked by your doctor. A simple blood draw after an overnight fast is all that is required.
February is American Heart Month and is a great time to talk about how cholesterol levels can be kept in balance to prevent heart disease. Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in every cell of your body.
Cholesterol is made in a person’s liver and is used by our bodies to make vitamin D, hormones, and compounds that assist with digestion. Every cell membrane needs cholesterol.
You can get cholesterol from animal-based foods, such as meat, eggs, and dairy items like milk and cheese. Although most human bodies can make cholesterol, many of us consume too much cholesterol and struggle to keep our cholesterol at safe levels.
To reach every cell in your body, cholesterol travels through the bloodstream while attached to two types of lipoprotein: low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). In general, LDL is known as the “bad” cholesterol, while HDL is considered as “good” cholesterol. LDL cholesterol can stick to the walls of your arteries, increasing the risk for heart disease because the heart muscle must work harder to pump blood through narrow veins. Cholesterol can be lowered through diet, exercise, and/or medication.
In the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death.
Follow these tips to help control and lower your cholesterol levels:
- Increase monounsaturated fats in your diet. Monounsaturated fats like those in olive oil, canola oil, tree nuts, and avocados reduce the “bad” LDL, and increase the “good” HDL and reduce the oxidation that contributes to clogged arteries.
- Increase polyunsaturated fats in your diet. All polyunsaturated fats are heart-healthy. Omega-3 fats like those found in fatty fish, such as salmon, albacore tuna, trout, etc. are a type of polyunsaturated fat with extra heart benefits
- Increase soluble fiber in your diet. Soluble fiber nourishes healthy probiotic gut bacteria and removes cholesterol from the body, reducing LDL. Good sources include: beans, peas, lentils, fruit, and whole grains including oats
- Increase physical activity. Exercise reduces harmful LDL and increases beneficial HDL. Any type of exercise improves cholesterol and promotes heart health, whether it be aerobics, walking, leg or arm lifts, or any other physical activity. Thirty minutes of activity a day, five days a week can improve cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease
- Decrease smoking. Immune cells in smokers are unable to return cholesterol from vessel walls to the blood so it can be transported to the liver where it can be stored or broken down, leading to clogged arteries. Quitting smoking quickly improves HDL cholesterol, reversing these effects
If your cholesterol is out of balance, lifestyle changes are the first step in effective treatment. If you are concerned about your cholesterol level, have them checked by your doctor. A simple blood draw after an overnight fast is all that is required.