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Cholesterol 160:How to lower your Cholesterol
| Course Number |
LWH201
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| Objectives |
At the end of this course, you will
1 evaluate their and other's
cholesterol levels, 2. design physical activity programs, 3. purchase
healthy foods, 4. select healthy restaurant meals, and 5. choose
cholesterol-lowering additives and interventions.
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| Credit Hours and Fee |
3.0 CE Credit Hours with a fee of $24.00 |
| Instructor |
Rudolf Klimes, PhD (Indiana University), MPH
(Johns Hopkins University);
Adjunct Professor at Folsom Lake
College, Folsom CA. |
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Cholesterol Basics
Reports from PathIT Lab Tests show that the incidents of heart disease in the 30-50 age group
increases when individuals have cholesterol levels above 180 mg/dL. Actually,
for every 10 mg/dL increase above the 180 level, the incidents of heart disease
went up 9%. The
American
Heart Association recommends a cholesterol under 200 mg/dL and a HDL (the good
cholesterol) of advises over 35. Dr. T. Colin Campbell reports a 90-170 mg/dL
range in the Cornell-China Project and the ADA reported similar cholesterol
levels in the Chinese population he studied.
On the basis of these and other reports, this course recommends a cholesterol
goal of 160-200 or lower for most adults, averaging 160, and a HDL cholesterol
level of 60 or higher. This gave rise to the course title, Cholesterol 160.
Cholesterol in the blood is a waxy substance produced by the liver and also
supplied by eating animal products. What we call cholesterol are chylomicrons
that consist of cholesterol and triglycerides. As these are digested and its
components enter the bloodstream, they are broken down into what are called bad
LDLs or Low Density :Lipoproteins (8nm in size) that clog the system, and
good HDLs or High Density Lipoproteins (2-3 nm) that dispose of free-floating
cholesterol and thus repair possible damage. Thus a high level of HDLs is
desirable.
The deposit of cholesterol and fat on the inside of blood
vessels is called plaque. Small pieces of that can break off and form clots that
can get stuck to block the flow of blood to the heart and cause a heart attack.
Or that blockage may stop blood flow to the brain and thus cause a stroke.
Heart disease is caused by narrowing of the
coronary arteries that feed the heart. Like any muscle, the heart needs a
constant supply of oxygen and nutrients, which are carried to it by the blood in
the coronary arteries. When the coronary arteries become narrowed or clogged by
cholesterol and fat deposits--a process called atherosclerosis--and cannot
supply enough blood to the heart, the result is coronary heart disease (CHD). If
not enough oxygen-carrying blood reaches the heart, you may experience chest
pain called angina. If the blood supply to a portion of the heart is completely
cut off by total blockage of a coronary artery, the result is a heart attack.
This is usually due to a sudden closure from a blood clot forming on top of a
previous narrowing.
Cholesterol is a waxy substance that occurs naturally in
all parts of the body and that your body needs to function normally. It is
present in cell walls or membranes everywhere in the body, including the brain,
nerves, muscle, skin, liver, intestines, and heart. Your body uses cholesterol
to produce many hormones, vitamin D, and the bile acids that help to digest fat.
It takes only a small amount of cholesterol in the blood to meet these needs. If
you have too much cholesterol in your bloodstream, the excess is deposited in
arteries, including the coronary arteries, where it contributes to the narrowing
and blockages that cause the signs and symptoms of heart disease.
Here
are steps you can take to lower your blood cholesterol: Follow a low saturated
fat, low-cholesterol diet. Be more physically active. Lose weight if you are
overweight.
If after about 6 months of following the above
steps, your cholesterol level remains high enough to increase your risk for CHD,
your doctor may prescribe a cholesterol-lowering medication in addition to the
heart healthy life habits. Take cholesterol lowering medication if prescribed by
your doctor. Even if your doctor starts you on a cholesterol-lowering drug, it
is still important for you to adopt heart-healthy life habits. These will help
to bring a bigger drop in your cholesterol level, and will reduce your risk for
future CHD in other ways as well.
Your body makes all the cholesterol you need. Eating foods high in saturated fat
and cholesterol can raise your blood cholesterol level. The higher your blood
cholesterol level, the greater your risk for heart disease. Too much cholesterol
can lead to clogged arteries. You are then at risk for having a heart attack, a
stroke, or poor circulation. All adults age 20 and older need to have their blood cholesterol
checked at least once every 5 years. Ask your doctor to do a simple test to
measure how much HDL and total cholesterol is in your blood. Source:
www.nih.gov
See also
TopWell, The Top
Wellness Lifestyle
1-2. TEST
IT. What should cholesteral levels be?
Is
the cholesterol below 160?
1. In an autopsy of a murder victim, Bill came
across a lot of a white crystalline substance concentrated in the liver, blood
vessels, blood, and brain that turned out to be a sterol called cholesterol,
C27, H45, OH. In the blood, there were 240 mg/dl. He suspected that the victim
had eaten too much of:
2. Jane has a high-density lipoprotein cholesterol
(HDL) level of 60. She should be
3-4. MOVE IT: How does exercise affect cholesterol levels? Are
you exercising 30 minutes daily? Explore
www.learnwell.org/fitness.htm
3. To get his cholesterol level below 160 and his HDL level above 60 was one of
Mike's ambitions. He knew that regular exercise tends to raise HDL levels and
lower the risk of coronary artery disease. Mike also had to keep his weight in
check. He liked weight-lifting and brisk walking (4 miles/hr). To lower his
cholesterol, he chose an aerobic exercise, namely:
4. There were notes all over Margaret's desk. Some were
from Dr. Kenneth Cooper's book Controlling Cholesterol. Some she had
taken from other sources that proved false. The notes were: 1) Very moderate
exercise may increase HDL. 2) Being sedentary may lower HDL. 3) Alcohol raises
HDL better than exercise. 4) Smoking erases the benefits of exercise. The notes
from Dr. Cooper were:
5-6. BUY IT: What foods affect cholesterol?
Are you purchasing low-fat, low-cholesterol foods?
5. By reading food labels, Henry found that the US government suggests (for
2000-calories-a-day-people) a daily intake of less than 65 grams of fat and less
than 300 milligrams of cholesterol. To get to a low-fat low-cholesterol diet, he
realized that he had to eat a lot less fat than that. Henry ate about 21
servings of food daily. He decided to buy only foods that had less than the
following per serving:
6. Mary decided to divide her shopping into foods and edibles. She spend most of
her money in the pastas, breads, grains, fresh vegetables and fruits, and dried
beans. She carefully read the labels. When possible, she altogether avoided:
Eat mostly foods, few edibles:
A. FOODS: Eat a variety of grain products, vegetables,
fruits & legumes.
B. EDIBLES: Eat sparingly milk & meat products,
fats, sweets, salt, and eggs.
It has been determined that LACK of
physical-&-mental activities & a HIGH fat-&-sugar diet are
detrimental to health.
7-8. SELECT IT:What types of meals affect cholesterol?
Are you eating low-cholesterol restaurant meals?
7. At her restaurant, Billy
had many choices: Today she decided on a:
8. By now, Sally has stayed away from high-cholesterol
foods for a month. She has kept away from meats and dairy products. At her fast
food place, she tries to decide between a turkey sandwich and a pepperoni pizza.
She selects the:
9-10. ADD IT: What additives are helpful? Are
you using oat bran, etc?
9. After some research, Rudy concluded that some agents may reduce cholesterol
levels. Dr. Kenneth Cooper suggested the use of olive oil and oat bran. Sigaly
and Neil have suggested garlic. Rudy concluded that:
10. Jim Dolittle, MD had a choice of drugs to prescribe
for hypercholesterolemia: colestipol or cholestyramine (bile sequesting agents),
lovastitin or pravastatin (liver cholesterol production inhibitor) and Nicotonic
acid ( niacin, a vitamin B). He was reluctant to prescribe any of them because:
If following a low-saturated-fat,
low-cholesterol diet and increasing your physical activity have not lowered your
risk for developing CHD, your doctor may consider prescribing a
cholesterol-lowering medication. If after about 6 months worth of trying to
change life habits, your LDL level is 190 mg/dL or higher and you have less than
2 other risk factors for heart disease, you may need to take medicine. If after
6 months of life habit changes your LDL level is 160 mg/dL or higher and you
have 2 or more other risk factors, your doctor may consider prescribing a
cholesterol-lowering medication. If your doctor prescribes medicine, you also
will need to:
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Follow your cholesterol-lowering diet.
>
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Be more physically active.
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Lose weight if overweight.
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Control all of your other heart disease risk factors,
including smoking, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Taking all these steps together may lessen the
amount of medicine you need or make the medicine work better--and that reduces
your risk for developing heart disease. The following is a description of
cholesterol-lowering medicines:
Statins
Bile Acid Resins
Nicotinic
Acid
11-15. MORE:
Look for the answers to the following
questions in the underlined sources. Click on them. Please read the articles
carefully, since they also provide information that will be tested.
11. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine states that the liver does not produce enough cholesterol
for bodily development and functions and thus we have to eat it in our diet.
12. In Controlling Cholesterol it states that 1% reduction in blood cholesterol
reduces the risk of heart attack by 1%.
13. In Controlling Cholesterol it states that cholesterol is found only in
animal products.
14. Some vegetable oils,
such as coconut, palm and palm kernel oils have low levels of saturated fats
that contribute to high cholesterol levels.
15. The above NIH article states that children from families where the parents'
cholesterol level is above 240 should have their blood cholesterol levels
checked.
Summary Recommendations for Heart Disease
Prevention
To remember LDL, think as "L" standing for "Litter
Bugs". In the same way, in HDL, the "H" stands for "Helper Bugs." In a simple
way, the Litter Bugs (LDL) are the bad guys that clog up the system and you want
less than 100 of them. The Helper Bugs (HDL) are the good guys that clean it out
and you want more than 60 of them.
Much of the world population averages a total
cholesterol level of under 160. High levels of cholesterol are found mainly in
developed nations. In many cases, total cholesterol may be lowered by reducing
or eliminating the eating of animal products. All animal products contain
cholesterol.
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