Life Matters | summer 2005



 

Cholesterol: Down with the Bad and Up with the Good

Talk about a love-hate relationship. Your body needs cholesterol to make essential hormones, cell membranes, and brain and nerve tissues. To transport this fat through your bloodstream, your body turns cholesterol into good, high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), and bad, low-density lipoproteins (LDLs). HDLs get rid of excess cholesterol, and LDLs promote fatty buildup in your arteries.

Even so, your liver manufactures all the cholesterol your body needs. The cholesterol from your diet is all excess. High blood levels of cholesterol can clog blood vessels and cause heart disease, America’s number-one killer. Thirty-seven million American adults have high LDL levels, and 105 million Americans have LDL levels that are higher than desirable—called hypercholesterolemia. If you’re someone with high LDL cholesterol, you may be on your way to heart disease.

According to Mark DeLoach, MD, with Jones Family Medicine Clinic, “When the levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides, a blood fat, in your bloodstream become too high, your likelihood of developing cholesterol-containing fatty deposits in your blood vessels increases. Over time, plaque causes your arteries to narrow, which impedes blood flow and creates a condition called atherosclerosis. Narrowing of the arteries that supply your heart with blood—coronary artery disease—can prevent your heart from getting as much oxygen- rich blood as it needs. This means an increased risk for heart attack. Decreased blood flow to your brain can cause a stroke. Less blood flowing to your lower limbs may result in exercise-related pain or even gangrene.”

The good news is that with the help of lifestyle changes and possibly medications, you may be able to lower your high blood cholesterol. Experts say that a 10% reduction in cholesterol levels throughout the U.S. population would reduce the rate of heart disease by 30%. Your cholesterol profile results partly from heredity and age. However, physical activity and diet count also. Here’s how to lower your total cholesterol and LDL levels, and raise your HDL levels:
  • Compare labels to choose foods with less cholesterol and saturated fat. Saturated fat is an even worse culprit than dietary cholesterol in raising blood cholesterol levels. Less than 10% of your daily calories should be from saturated fat.
  • If you are overweight, your diet should consist mainly of fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains. Choose lean cuts of meat with the fat trimmed. If you are not overweight, you may add monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil, canola oil, avocados, and nuts, to your diet.
  • Choose a tub margarine with liquid vegetable oil as the first ingredient in place of butter or stick margarine. High levels of trans fatty acids in hydrogenated oils found in stick margarine, baked goods, fried foods, and snack foods lower healthy HDLs.
  • Maintain a healthy weight. Excess weight can increase LDLs and lower HDLs.
  • Exercise for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. A recent study showed that exercising longer boosted HDL levels more than did exercising harder.

For more information, call Jones Family Medicine Clinic at 601-425-0092.



The editorial content of this online publication is taken from the print version of Life Matters published by South Central Regional Medical Center.

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