Atherosclerosis Control: Lowering LDL-Bad Cholesterol

Nutritional Atherosclerosis Control: Lowering High LDL-"Bad" Cholesterol

In short, cholesterol is a group of lipids (fats) vital to cell membranes, nerve fibers and bile salts, and a necessary precursor for the sex hormones.

LDL-"bad cholesterol" carries cholesterol for cell building needs, but leaves behind any excess on artery walls and in tissues.

HDL-"good cholesterol" helps to prevent narrowing of the artery walls by removing the excess cholesterol and transporting it to the liver for excretion.

High LDL and low HDL levels indicate diets high in refined carbohydrates and/or carbohydrate sensitivity.

Sources of Cholesterol

Cholesterol is so vital to our body that it cannot rely on food sources alone for it. Therefore, less than 20 percent of total cholesterol comes from diet; the balance is being manufactured by the body.

Thus, trying to reduce our consumption of traditional cholesterol-laden foods, including butter, cream, cheese, eggs, and meat, may be an exercise in futility.

The less of total cholesterol we consume, the more our bodies produce it.

It has been known for many years that very large doses of cholesterol lead to... a decreased percentage of its absorption. However, considerable variation is seen in absorption from person to person, and the ranges vary five-fold.

Unfortunately, there are no lab tests to predict if you absorb a lot or very little cholesterol. The fact is that the average absorption is clearly decreased at usual cholesterol intake. This could explain why studies with feeding eggs every day to volunteers have shown almost no effect on serum cholesterol levels (Journal of Lipid Research, August 1999).

Elevated cholesterol levels may be also due to other contributing factors, such as... gallstones. Three out of four gallstones are made of cholesterol and their presence can cause oversecretion of cholesterol by the liver!

Signs of Elevated Cholesterol

Fairly common on the eyelids, xanthomas are yellow, soft and slightly raised non-contagious bumps made of cholesterol deposits. They occur both in men (33 per cent) and women (40 per cent) who have elevated cholesterol levels.

Another sign of high cholesterol levels in the blood are xanthelasma - yellow patches on the eyelids, common in diabetics.

Classification of Cholesterol Levels

In medicine cholesterol is measured in metric units - either:

in milligrams per deciliter of blood, abbreviated as mg/dL (used in U.S.), or

in millimoles per liter of blood, abbreviated as mmol/L (used in Canada and Europe).

A deciliter (dL) is 1/10 of a liter or about 1/4 of a pint. A mole is an amount of a substance (in this case, cholesterol) that contains a certain number of molecules or atoms. A millimole (mmol) is 1/1,000 of a mole.

Total cholesterol levels:

less than 200 mg/dL (5.17 mmol/L) is considered desirable
200 mg/dL - 239 mg/dL (5.17 mmol/L - 6.18 mmol/L) - borderline-high
240 mg/dL and above (6.21 mmol/L and higher) is considered high.

LDL-"bad" cholesterol levels:

less than 100 mg/dL (less than 2.6 mmol/L) is considered optimal
100 mg/dL - 129 mg/dL (2.6 mmol/L - 3.35 mmol/L) - near optimal or above optimal
130 mg/dL - 159 mg/dL (3.35 mmol/L - 4.10 mmol/L) - borderline high
160 mg/dL - 189 mg/dL (4.12 mmol/L - 4.88 mmol/L) - high
190 and above (4.90 mmol/L and greater) is considered very high.

HDL-"good" cholesterol levels:

60 mg/dL (1.56 mmol/L) or higher is considered desirable (it reduces the risk of heart disease, even if total or LDL cholesterol is high)
40 mg/dL - 60 mg/dL (1.04 mmol/L - 1.56 mmol/L) - acceptable
below 40 mg/dL (1.04 mmol/L) is considered low (it increases the risk for coronary artery disease in people who also have high total cholesterol levels).

The Ideal Cholesterol Ratios

The published evidence is quite clear in documenting that the actual cholesterol level itself is not the most important risk factor of cardiovascular disease. It is the ratio between the level of HDL-good cholesterol and total cholesterol.

HDL-"good" cholesterol/total cholesterol ratio:

in adults, it should be higher than 24 per cent (just divide your HDL level by your cholesterol). And, generally speaking, the higher the ration, the better.

Triglyceride/HDL-"good" cholesterol ratio:

in adults, it should be below 2 (just divide your triglycerides level by your HDL). And, generally speaking, the lower the ratio, the better.

Too Low HDL-"Good" Cholesterol Levels

Low levels of HDL-"good" cholesterol are a strong indicator of insulin resistance. An HDL cholesterol level of under 35 is another risk factor for heart disease and is part of the insulin resistance syndrome, especially if found in conjunction with

high triglycerides and

other correlates of insulin resistance, such as belly weight and diabetes or a family history of diabetes.

The percentage of Americans with pre-diabetes - insuling resistance syndrome - is closer to ¾ of U.S. population.

Insulin Resistance Syndrome

In pre-diabetes syndrome, a person loses his ability to manage insulin effectively. If not controlled properly, the syndrome can lead to:

heart disease

non-alcoholic fatty liver

colon or ovarian cancer.

How do you know if you might have pre-diabetes syndrome? You are at risk for this syndrome if you have these symptoms:

increased weight
high blood pressure
high blood cholesterol.

You are considered pre-diabetic if

your fasting blood sugar level is between 110 mg/dl and 125 mg/dl (diabetes is formally diagnosed at 126 mg/dl).

Some clinics use a fasting blood sugar of 90 mg/dl or higher as a biomarker of coronary heart disease risk. (A fasting blood sugar level test is the simplest and least expensive).

Too Low Total Cholesterol Levels

The view that 'the lower the total cholesterol, the better' is not always true!

At level under 150, you can be at a risk of... too low cholesterol. This condition may cause suboptimal function of such steroid hormones as pregnenolone, DHEA, testosterone, progesterone and estrogen - and result in ... depression and other health problems.

However, some doctors - in order to slower the progression of atherosclerosis in bypass grafts - advise their bypass patients to lower their LDL-cholesterol levels to... 100mg/dL or even below! (The New England Journal of Medicine, January 16, 1997).

The "Cholesterol-As-Cause" Hypothesis

Since the mid-1960s, cholesterol has been the basis of the lipid hypothesis of atherosclerosis.

According to this theory, dietary saturated fat and cholesterol lead to elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood -- and these elevated levels of cholesterol cause the pathogenic atheromas that block blood vessels.

Unfortunately, the "cholesterol-as-cause" hypothesis doesn't explain many observations and lacks clear-cut scientific evidence; however, it's still a popular theory that clouds the picture of atherosclerosis.

It's commonly known that the cholesterol-lowering prescription drugs:

do not improve the heart's blood flow
only partially reduce the incidence of heart disease or stroke
only reduce the degree of arterial narrowing by a mere two percent or less, and
inhibit, actually shut off - particularly statins - the production of CoQ10 by the liver what may cause serious complications (for example, as CoQ10 is involved in the energy production and protection of little energy furnaces in every cell, including the heart muscle, energy production goes way down).

If you choose to take a pill to solve the underlying reason as to why your body is making too much cholesterol, than well over 95 per cent of the time you will be making a choice that will promote disease rather than promote your health.

Oxidized Cholesterol As A Risk Factor

The key factor in atherogenesis is NOT total cholesterol, but oxidized cholesterol - the cholesterol, which has been damaged by reactive oxygen molecules called free radicals.

The cardiovascular system is highly susceptible to free radical attack. As a matter of fact, the oxidation from free radicals seems to be much more important than cholesterol as a risk factor for atherosclerosis (cholesterol has to be oxidized before it becomes a problem).

For some reason, the lining of our blood vessels appears to have no receptors for normal cholesterol, only for -- oxidized, damaged cholesterol.

oxidized

initiate

Medical establishments tend to overlook the fact that total cholesterol plays an important role in the body as a potent antioxidant. It scavenges and, therefore, protects the body against free radicals - harmful oxidative agents known to cause the arterial plaque formation.

Contrary to popular opinion, cholesterol may even be a natural defense against arterial damage, as it helps maintain the integrity of the blood vessel walls, by making them less "leaky."

Sources of Oxidized Cholesterol

Cholesterol oxidation can be caused by numerous, seemingly unrelated factors, such as:

high temperature

exposure to air

stress (under stress conditions our internal antioxidant mechanisms are compromised)

lack of sleep

too little or -- too much exercise.

However, most of oxidized cholesterol comes directly from consumption of devitalized, processed, fabricated 'food items,' including:

sugar and fructose, mainly in the form of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)

pasteurized, heated milk protein

soft drinks

fortified white flour

miller and egg powders

caffeine

imitation broth products

commercial vegetable oils, especially made from corn, soy, safflower and canola, and

hydrogenated fats - in the form of margarine and shortening.

Eating Plan For Arterial Health

As blood fats (triglycerides, cholesterol, etc.), to a great extent, is intimately related to what you eat, your diet has a strong impact on the levels of LDL-bad cholesterol in the blood. Therefore, your food choices should be given serious consideration.