Mysteries of Cholesterol (Part 3)

In Part Two of the Mysteries of Cholesterol, we discovered that the actual culprit of heart disease and many other major illnesses is chronic inflammation. Inflammation is our bodies’ protective mechanism that is activated anytime any tissue sustains any type of damage.

What causes inflammation and how do we treat it/diminish it?


Causes of inflammation include:

Food allergies and sensitivities that may not present with heavy symptoms.

Having bacterial, viral, fungal infections.

Stress is a major contributor of inflammation;

Mental, psychological, chemical, and environmental.

Physical stress- too little exercise: such as lack of movement, or too much exercise: overtraining.

Exercise always leads to a mild case of inflammation because you break down and tear your muscles while exercising, and then repair to make the muscle bigger and stronger. That is why overtraining is extremely counterproductive. When there is too much inflammation, the muscle tissue is not repaired and the organism stops progressing, usually leading to illness or injury.

Nutrition- Too little good sugar, protein and fat and too much of bad sugar, fat and protein.

Let’s not forget all the processed foods/grains and sugars.

Lifestyle- drinking, smoking, too much consumption of sodas and other caffeinated drinks, too much caffeine.

Most if not all the inflammation processes is from the choices that we make. Which is great news means that we have the power to lower the inflammation ourselves without any help from drugs.

Now a couple of ways to lower inflammation the natural way:

Get good quality sleep!

If you do not exercise, start to do so, preferably strength training. If you currently exercise, then take a look at your training regiment and make sure you are not over training.

(Signs of overtraining: lack of energy throughout the day, not enough sleep, training 7 days a week unless you are a professional athlete is way too much, getting ill all the time, not making progress in the gym etc...)

Start making healthy lifestyle choices: cutting down on alcohol consumption, smoking etc… Tackle one lifestyle choice at a time because too much change is a huge stress on the body. Start with adding whole foods back into your diet; such as vegetables, fruits and meat. Increase your intake of good quality fats. Lower the consumption of processed grains and sugars. And learn to deal with life stresses by either meditating, breathing techniques, massages, etc...

What happens when cholesterol levels are lowered to low? Lots of body functions cannot proceed the way they are supposed to, since cholesterol is needed for every cell in the body. There are also numerous cases that show that with a cholesterol level that’s too low, there are more incidences of cancer. So do not be afraid of the yolk in the egg, or red meat, and coconut oil. This food has helped us survive for thousands of years before the chemists decided to make our food "better" by processing everything.

Finally, let’s discuss what to get tested for when getting your blood work done.

Obviously they will look at your total Cholesterol and your LDL and your HDL. If the number is above three hundred, that is a definite indication of severe inflammation in the body and time to make lifestyle changes to fix that. The other thing that will be tested is the triglycerides. That is a great test because if triglycerides are too high, anything above 200, and that number is not the best approximation, that means that you are consuming way too much processed food in your diet and it’s time to start limiting it or taking it out of your diet altogether. High Triglycerides have been shown to increase the risk of heart issues, which is definitely something to look at. And a great test that many physicians neglect to test for is the actual test for inflammation in the body. The test usually used to determine if you have chronic inflammation is a C-reactive protein (CRP) blood test. Your CRP level is used as a marker of inflammation in your arteries.

Generally speaking:

A CRP level less than 1 milligram per liter of blood means you have a low risk for cardiovascular disease; 1 to 3 milligrams means your risk is intermediate; and more than 3 milligrams is high risk. There are a couple of things that can raise this test level, such as being pregnant and birth control pills. This is a great test, but again all it will tell you is whether or not you have huge amount of inflammation in the body. It will not tell you where and what is inflamed. This test needs to be asked for, since most of the time it is not offered unless the physician suspects tissue damage or bacterial infections.

To sum up: When getting tested, take a look at your Triglyceride levels and get the CRP blood test. These will be an indication of the inflammation in your body. When the physician decides to prescribe you a cholesterol lowering drug, remember whether the risk is worth the reward, and whether this drug will help in lowering the inflammation in the body. Begin with making positive lifestyle changes and start lowering the stress in your life, or learn how to deal with the stress.

If you know of anyone who is on cholesterol medication, please share these articles with them:


Mysteries of Cholesterol Part 1 Click Here
Mysteries of Cholesterol Part 2 Click Here


Resources

http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/crp/tab/test

http://bodyecology.com/articles/inflammation_cause_of_disease_how_to_prevent.php

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/10/making-sense-of-your-cholesterol-numbers.aspx

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_04/b4068052092994_page_2.htm



Comments or questions contact me at yuri@absolutefitnj.com

Mysteries Of Cholesterol (Part 2)

Now that we know what cholesterol is from Part One of my cholesterol article, lets discuss why it’s so important and how we should treat it, if at all.


Unlike the popular belief of modern medicine, cholesterol is not the bad guy. As mentioned before, cholesterol is part of every cell. We need it for our survival.

A prime example of how important cholesterol is; breast milk. From the first day that babies are born, they start consuming their mother’s breast milk. That is their sole food source for the first 4-5 months of their life, until they can start eating baby foods. So what is actually in breast milk? Water, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals, and more than half of it is fat. Fat that is loaded with cholesterol. This cholesterol is needed for proper brain development and for all the other cells in the body. As you can see, in the evolutionary process, we as humans have adapted the highest possible way to survive. Everything that is provided in a mother’s breast milk is there in order to make sure that infants grow into a big strong babies or toddlers ready to consume regular food.

Question: Why is cholesterol viewed as the enemy and often lowered with medication?

There are a couple of answers to that question. The first being that it is a great scapegoat for physicians and a great profit making machine for drug companies. Why is it such a profitable market? Because we all produce cholesterol, and since we all have it, it is extremely easy to test for it in our blood and set a "norm" for what the total cholesterol should be, then start lowering it with medication.

Here is a history of normal cholesterol levels and how they were established:

As stated by medical world, the normal cholesterol levels should be lower than 200; With LDL "bad" levels being lower than 100 and HDL "good" being higher than 60. These are the new stats after they changed them in 2004, when the LDL level was 130. This change was voted on by a board or doctors to lower the standard, with 8 out of 9 of those doctors also making money from the drug companies that were making statin cholesterol-lowering drugs. This brings us to our current state: Our war on cholesterol. Let's lower this evil substance until there is nothing left. Now let's see if the cholesterol lowering drugs help in preventing heart attacks.

"The second crucial point is hiding in plain sight in Pfizer's own Lipitor newspaper ad. The dramatic 36% figure has an asterisk. Read the smaller type. It says: "That means in a large clinical study, 3% of patients taking a sugar pill or placebo had a heart attack compared to 2% of patients taking Lipitor.

The numbers in that sentence mean that for every 100 people in the trial, which lasted 3 1/3 years, three people on placebos and two people on Lipitor had heart attacks. The difference credited to the drug? There was one less heart attack per 100 people. So to spare one person a heart attack, 100 people had to take Lipitor for more than three years. The other 99 got no measurable benefit. Or to put it in terms of a little-known but useful statistic, the number needed to treat (or NNT) for one person to benefit is 100.

Compare that with say, today's standard antibiotic therapy to eradicate ulcer-causing H. pylori stomach bacteria. The NNT is 1.1. Give the drugs to 11 people, and 10 will be cured." One out of 100 people is helped by taking this drug! And the commercial on tv claims that it is 36% effective? Wow that is something.

A great question comes to mind. "Is the risk worth the reward"? In this instance, no it is not.

What is the connection of High Cholesterol and inflammation of the body?
Definition of inflammation - the reaction of living tissue to injury or infection characterized by heat, redness, swelling, and pain.

Chronic levels of Inflammation are now being recognized as one of the leading causes of heart disease. Cholesterol is being blamed for this.

An example that best describes inflammation is when you get a cut. The inflammation process is activated, and that is what helps us heal.

Specifically during inflammation:

-- Your blood vessels constrict to keep you from bleeding to death.

-- Your blood becomes thicker so it can clot.

-- Your immune system sends cells and chemicals to fight viruses, bacteria and other "bad guys" that could infect the area.

-- Cells multiply to repair the damage.


Ultimately, the cut is healed and a protective scar may form over the area.

The image below shows how inflammation is the first and second step of the healing process.

The process of inflammation is activated when our arteries sustain damage, forming scar tissue called plague. The reason why cholesterol is called upon is to repair the damaged cells. Remember that without cholesterol no repairing can be done.

Finally we get to the root of the problem; inflammation. It would be a better idea to lower the inflammation, since that is the cause of high cholesterol, instead of taking medication to lower cholesterol which is causing more inflammation in the body.

In my next article, I will discuss how to lower the inflammation of the body and what to test for when getting blood drawn.

For those who missed Mysteries of Cholesterol (Part 1) CLICK HERE.

Resources.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_04/b4068052092994_page_2.htm

Sally Fallon. Nourishing Traditions

http://www.crestor.com/c/your-arteries/manage-cholesterol.aspx?WT.mc_id=CRTCC13181&source=CRTCC13181&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&umedium=cpc&uadpub=google&utm_campaign=U_Cholesterol&ucampaign=U_Cholesterol&utm_content=Levels/Numbers&ucreative=Levels/Numbers&utm_term=cholesterol%20levels_Phrase&pkw=cholesterol%20levels_Phrase

www.articles.mercola.com


Questions or comments email me at yuri@absolutefitnj.com

Mysteries Of Cholesterol (Part 1)

The topic of cholesterol is widely misunderstood but is a major concern for people. Since it’s such a huge topic, I’m going to discuss it in a series of articles. I want everyone to understand the information, but don’t want to overload you with it all at once. I will keep these articles short and to the point so that they are less confusing.


What is cholesterol? And why is it around if it’s so bad for us? As modern medicine will tell you, there are 2 types of cholesterol:

High-density lipoprotein, or HDL: This is the "good" cholesterol that helps to keep cholesterol away from your arteries and remove any excess arterial plaque, which may help to prevent heart disease.

Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL: This "bad" cholesterol circulates in your blood and, according to conventional thinking, may build up in your arteries, forming plaque that makes your arteries narrow and less flexible (a condition called atherosclerosis).

Triglycerides and lipoproteins also make up the total count of your cholesterol.

Triglycerides: Elevated levels of this dangerous fat have been linked to heart disease and diabetes. Triglyceride levels are known to rise from eating too many grains and sugars, being physically inactive, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol excessively and being overweight or obese. (Do any of these symptoms sound familiar in this day and age?)

Lipoprotein (a), or Lp(a): Lp(a): is a substance that is made up of an LDL "bad cholesterol" part plus a protein. Elevated Lp(a) levels are a very strong risk factor for heart disease. This has been well established, yet very few physicians check for it in their patients.

So now that you know the definitions, where does cholesterol come from? Well 75% of cholesterol is made in the liver. It's found in the bloodstream and is responsible for every hormonal change in our body. Cholesterol is also part of any cell membrane repair, and is extremely important for neurons.

So then when more then 3/4 of our cholesterol is produced in our own body, why do most physicians tell you to limit eggs? Is there more cholesterol in that egg than we produce in our bodies? Instead they would recommend eating processed cereal that will magically lower your cholesterol levels (we will discuss why we may not want to lower the cholesterol in the first place, most likely in the next blog).

Myth number one, BUSTED! According to the way conventional medicine defines it, there is no good or bad cholesterol.

Ron Rosedale, MD, who is widely considered to be one of the leading anti-aging doctors in the United States, does an excellent job of explaining how the cholesterol differs.

"Notice please that LDL and HDL are lipoproteins -- fats combined with proteins. There is only one cholesterol. There is no such thing as 'good' or 'bad' cholesterol.
Cholesterol is just cholesterol.
It combines with other fats and proteins, to be carried through the bloodstream, since fat and our watery blood do not mix very well.
Fatty substances therefore must be shuttled to and from our tissues and cells using proteins. LDL and HDL are forms of proteins and are far from being just cholesterol.
In fact we now know there are many types of these fat and protein particles. LDL particles come in many sizes and large LDL particles are not a problem. Only the so-called small dense LDL particles can potentially be a problem, because they can squeeze through the lining of the arteries and if they oxidize, which means they turn rancid, they can cause damage and inflammation.
Thus, you might say that there is 'good LDL' and 'bad LDL.'
Also, some HDL particles are better than others. Knowing just your total cholesterol tells you very little. Even knowing your LDL and HDL levels will not tell you very much."

So the total score of your cholesterol levels and your LDL and HDL do not tell you the whole story. In my next blog, I will discuss how to read your medical test and what to get tested for.


Questions or comments email at yuri@absolutefitnj.com