Maintain Good Cholesterol Levels for Heart Health
By Jamie L. Willmott, RD LD
Clinical Dietitian at Samaritan Regional Health System
The current number one cause of death in the United States is coronary heart disease, as nearly 2,300 Americans die of this disease each day. Elevated cholesterol is one of the primary controllable risk factors for heart disease, heart attack and stroke. But you don’t have to suffer from elevated cholesterol.
You can lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.
Cholesterol itself is not bad. Cholesterol is used by the body to perform certain functions such as producing hormones, vitamin D, and bile acid. Cholesterol comes from two sources, the body and certain foods. Nearly 75% of the cholesterol is produced naturally by the liver and other cells in the body while the other 25% comes from our consumption of animal products.
Routine cholesterol checks should start by the age of 20. If there is a family history of cardiovascular disease, putting your child at a higher risk, you may want to have cholesterol checked sooner. Although elevated cholesterol is more likely to affect people who are overweight, people who have a harder time gaining weight should also have their cholesterol checked regularly. This is because thin people are sometimes less concerned about the amount of saturated and Trans fat they consume, which can actually put them at greater risk, especially if there is a family history of heart disease.
Cholesterol tests, which are referred to as a complete lipid profile, are taken after an overnight fast. There are two types of cholesterol. The “good” cholesterol is your HDL. HDL is like garbage trucks; they pick up the “bad” cholesterol from the blood and take it for removal to the dump (also called the liver). You want your HDL number to be high. The “bad” cholesterol is your LDL. LDL is like delivery trucks; they deliver cholesterol to the arteries and keep it circulating in your bloodstream. This is the number you want to keep low.
For people with normal LDL levels, the recommendation is to limit cholesterol to less than 300 mg/day. For people with elevated cholesterol or those who are already taking medication to control their cholesterol, the recommendation is to limit cholesterol intake to less than 200 mg/day.
The primary dietary cause of elevated blood cholesterol is related to the intake of saturated fat. The main source of saturated fat is from animals. Foods from animals include beef, beef fat, veal, lamb, pork, lard, poultry fat, butter, cream, milk, cheeses and other dairy products made from whole and two percent milk. All of these foods also contain dietary cholesterol.
Foods from plants that contain saturated fat include coconut, coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil (often called tropical oils), and cocoa butter. You can significantly decrease your amount of saturated fat and cholesterol by substituting plant based foods for animal foods. If you’re not willing to go all plant based foods, try substituting the plant based diet 3 or 4 nights a week. For more information and great recipes on an all plant based diet, go to www.fatfreevegan.com.
Other changes you can make to help reduce your elevated cholesterol are to choose lean meats such a lean chicken, turkey, pork and beef. Consume no more than 4 egg yolks per week, and limit your consumption of cheese to less than 2 ounces per week. Most importantly, increase your daily intake of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables not only contain lots of vitamins and minerals, but they are also a good source of fiber. Speaking of fiber, consume 6-8 servings of whole grains to get an adequate amount of fiber. Aim for about 25-30 grams per day.
In addition to adopting a healthy diet, lifestyle changes can help you reduce your cholesterol as well. This includes losing excess weight, reducing tobacco exposure, and increasing activity level.
Unfortunately for some people, lifestyle changes alone aren't enough to reduce elevated cholesterol to healthy levels. Your doctor may prescribe medication. However, even when taking medications, you should still be doing your part. Follow a healthy, balanced diet and most importantly, stay active!
Some of the content found in this article was gathered from the American Heart Association. For more information, please visit www.heart.org/HEARTORG.
