Exercise and HDL

One of the things that I have recommended to my patients for a long time is that exerecise can actually help increase your good cholesterol. For those of you who are concerned about cholesterol levels, look at your HDL - that is the most protective lipid in the body.

And yes exercise does help raise the HDL levels. The higher these levels the better.

Omega 3 Protects Us Part 3

I will mention this, although if you have read this blog much you will know that I do not believe that cholesterol is our problem. The problem is inflammation.

But to be specific about cholesterol since it has been beaten into our heads, omega 3 has been studied a great deal in relation to cholesterol. While the omega 3s don't work specifically on cholesterol, they have shown a reduction in tryglycerides which is a fat related to cholesterol and heart disease.

Shellfish

Yes, shellfish are good for you. Shellfish have gotten a bad rap because they are said to contain too much cholesterol. If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you will know what I think of the cholesterol myth. While they do contain cholesterol, shellfish also contain lots of omega 3 fatty acids and are actually low in fat.

My husband was ecstatic when I told him he could really eat shrimp and not worry about the fat or the cholesterol. He wasn't so ecstatic when I told him, that was the sauces and butter that he had to watch a little more carefully. He's happy with the boiled shrimp and low cal cocktail sauce.

Other shellfish that are great for the same reasons are mussels, scallops and oysters.

Prescription Medications - Questions To Ask #3

The next question to ask is are there any side effects to this medication? I was always a bit hesitant to answer this question because I knew that some patients would automatically develop any side effects that I mentioned. But you do need to know.

For example, if you are taking an anti-cholesterol medication, you should know that it can cause muscle weakness and that this is not an OK side effect. This is something that warrants stopping the medication immediately no matter what.

You should also know whether any tests are required to monitor the drug. The best example of this is the statin drugs (anti-cholesterol medications) which can cause problems in the liver. Liver function tests should be checked to be sure that your liver, which you won't sense, isn't getting into trouble.

Any drug that may effect the liver, the kidneys or any other major organ system must be checked to be sure that you are not developing a side effect.

Heart Disease On The Rise

I saw this question in the paper and I just had to respond to it. Someone asked why heart disease seemed to be on the rise even though many people are taking anti-cholesterol medicines and all the information out about low fat diets.

The interesting thing about this question is the response which was that heart disease is on the rise because of the aging of the population, obesity, and diabetes. While I don't necessarily disagree with this, the real underlying problem is not cholesterol which is the myth that the American government has fed us. The underlying issue is inflammation. And how many people do you think are following a low fat diet? Would we see the amount of obesity in this world if they were? We're eating junk - or at least most people are. I'm reminded of the ad that I heard a few weeks ago about Fruit Loops being a healthy choice. What are we buying into here.

I won't get back on my band wagon about the cholesterol issue, but if you are new to this blog, then go back and read my post starting 9/6/08. You can also just search the Cholesterol category to find out more - better yet search on the inflammation category on the lower right of this page.

Eggs - Good Food

Eggs contain many nutrients that can helps us be healthier. They are an excellent source of Vitamin B12 and also the antioxidant lutein. Lutein is very important in terms of our eye health.

The hype has always been that eggs are have too much cholesterol in them. Here is the facts from research. The effects of the cholesterol in 1 large egg eaten daily has shown to have no effect on the person developing heart disease.

The other things about eggs is to look at the free range eggs, which includes a diet of natural nutrients for the chickens, as well as meal which is enhance to provide more Omega 3. These can actually be very beneficial for the heart healthy or for someone who already has heart disease.

Economic Crunch and Your Health

Many are cutting back on things that may endanger your health because of the economy. While I understand this, don't endanger your health because of the economy. I know that if you are on a medication for high blood pressure or diabetes, the cost may prohibitive at this point in time, especially if you have lost or don't have insurance. Talk with your doctor about getting a medication that is less expensive than the one that you are on. There are likely generics or older medications that do work that will be less expensive.

Better yet do some healthful things to help lower your blood pressure or your blood sugar. There was a study in the UK where they fed people basically fruits and vegetables for 10 days. What they found was a highly significant drop in their blood pressures (all had high blood pressure) and also highly significant drops in blood cholesterol levels and more stable blood sugar levels. The participants ate 11 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables a day. That is a lot of fruits and vegetables, but can you imagine how healthy you would be. I'm not advocating becoming a vegetarian. But what I am saying is increase the number of fruits and vegetables you eat each day and decrease the simple carbs like bread and pasta. Get your carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables so that you're really getting nutrition instead of just calories.

Another Good Nut

Another good nut to use as a snack. Pistachios are a great snack. Research has shown that they actually reduced the bad cholesterol (LDL) so there may be some beneficial cardiovascular effect. There are also studies that show that Pistachios raise the good cholesterol (HDL).

They also raise antioxidant levels, so they help the immune system fight off disease. They are also a good source of protein and fiber. The great thing about pistachios is that a serving size rather than 6-8 is a small handful of about 30. These are a great snack for kids as well.

Polyunsaturated versus Monounsaturated Fats

The polyunsaturated fats are those found in fish such as salmon, trout, sardines, mackerel and tuna. It's also found in flaxseed, walnuts, canola oil, dark leafy green vegetables such as Kale. The polyunsaturated fats include omega 3 and omega 6. Obviously we want to get more omega 3 than 6. The omega 3 really helps in cutting down inflammation which I believe is the real culprit rather than cholesterol.

Omega 6s are readily available in liquid vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, dairy products, eggs, and meat. Focus on getting some of the omega 6s, but mopre of the omega 3s. Get fish into your diet 2-3 times per week. Walnuts are a great snack as well as having many benefits. Put some flax seed meal into pancake batter, coffee cakes, cookies. Make your own salad dressing with olive oil and some fresh squeezed lemon.

Check labels and really be careful with processed foods as these contain mostly fats that are not good for you.

Good Fats

The good fats for your diet are unsaturated fats. Either poly or mono unsaturated are the fats to get in your diet. Since I've talked about this before, none of this is particularly new, unless you haven't read this blog before.

These good fats can help decrease total cholesterol levels and there is evidence that they may decrease the risk for diseases such as high blood pressure, depression, Alzheimer's, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Some of the fats to choose are olive oil. If you're going to use a fat, it is probably the best one to use. Of course you want to use extra virgin. Canola and flaxseed oil are probably the other two oils I would recommend. Flaxseed oil has a particular flavor that for some is not as tasty as olive oil.

Trans Fats

Since I've been talking about triglycerides, I thought I would mention a few things about other fats as well. The buzz these days is really about trans fats. If you look at cholesterol numbers, then what trans fats do is raise the LDL (bad cholesterol) and lower the HDL (good cholesterol). They differ from plane saturated fats in that saturated fats just raise the LDL.

Trans fats are present in meat and dairy products naturally. But the majority of trans fats that we consume in our diets are created by processing of food today, which turns liquid oils into solid fats. the trick is that you don't need to cut out meat and dairy, the best thing to do is to read labels and cut out processed foods that contain trans fats.

Best Diet Tips #3

You don't have to be skinny to be healthy. If weight is an issue for you, continue to cut calories. Even a small weight loss like 10 pounds can positively affect your health.

Just losing 10 pounds can help lower your blood pressure as well as lower your blood sugar levels. If you are watching cholesterol levels, a 10 pound weight loss will positively affect the good and bad cholesterol levels in the direction that you are shooting for.

Don't put so much emphasis on losing 25 or 50 or 100 pounds. Put your emphasis on decreasing the amount that you eat.

Instead of Crying, Laugh

Right now with the economy as it is, many of you may "feel like crying." But the healthier thing to do is to laugh. If you get what you think about, if your thoughts are sad and you're crying you will get more of it - or more reason to do it. If you are laughing and seeing the positive, you will get more of that too.

You don't need humor to laugh. How many times have you laughed because someone else was laughing. You may not even know why they are laughing, but you begin to laugh too. I'm sure you've heard the adage "Laugh until you pee your pants."

Scientific studies have shown that laughter on a regular basis lifts the mood, deceases stress, lowers blood pressure and lowers cholesterol. A 20 minute bout of laughter can actually lower the cholesterol by 6 points. This is better than what oatmeal can do for your cholesterol! The same 20 minutes can lower your blood pressure by 6 points as well. This is from a study done at Loma Linda University.

So just try saying HA, HA, HA thirty times. If you're not laughing, force it and say it 30 more times. Try it with a spouse or a friend, if one of you truly starts to laugh so will the other. Then look around and you will see more happiness around you.

Alcohol

As I have mentioned before alcohol does have some beneficial effects. One of the things that alcohol does is relax blood vessels, while it boosts levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, thereby decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke.

The trick here is to keep the consumption of alcohol down. The max for women should be one glass per day and for men 2 glasses per day.

Red wine contains resveratrol which provides most of the beneficial effects mentioned above. The other thing about red wine is that it is provides antioxidants as well, which we know the body needs to protect itself from disease.

More on Blueberries

There is a lot of research out there supporting eating blueberries in terms of cancer. Because it is a strong antioxidant, it helps in the prevention of cancer cells. They also help if taken in the months prior to chemo to eliminate the nausea that comes with the therapy.

There is some research out of the University of Mississippi that demonstrates that blueberries have lipid lowering properties. The compound that has been identified by Dr. Rimando is pterostilbene which is similar to resveratrol. Resveratrol is the substance in grapes and red wine thought to help in lowering cholesterol.

More importantly as far as I'm concerned are blueberries anti-inflammatory effects. They have been shown to decrease inflammation and may be of help in people with arthritis.

Pomegranate

I remember as a child having pomegranates at Christmas time. We thought they were great, but it may have been the novelty of something we only got one time a year. As an adult, I haven't paid much attention to the fruit until the past 10 years, when it has come into the picture once again. So I thought it was time to do some digging and see what the fruit has to offer.

Pomegranate juice is a powerful antioxidant. So it was no surprise to see that research has shown that pomegranate juice actually keeps LDL (the bad cholesterol) from oxidizing. Therefore, less chance of heart attack and stroke. Along this same line is the fact that it works similarly to aspirin on the platelets, keeping them from clumping together and forming clots. Again, lessening the chance of heart attack and stroke.

There is also evidence that pomegranate juice decreases blood pressure. So this is all good in terms of the heart.

Nutritional Supplements with Red Yeast Rice

You may still see supplements out there with Red Yeast Rice, however they are not the same as they were before 1999. These supplements do contain Red Yeast Rice, but the rice has been fermented and the processing is different. The difference is that the active component has been removed. This is what is believed at this point.

That means that the red yeast rice loses its potency to lower cholesterol. Remember that while statins lower cholesterol, they also have an affect on inflammation. Inflammation being the bigger issue, may not be affected by the new supplements unless they have something in them that help inflammation.

Bottom line is if you are using a supplement with red yeast rice, check to see what how the product is being processed and whether the active ingredients have been removed. If they have, then think about going after inflammation instead.

Red Yeast Rice and Cholesterol

I've had some questions about red yeast rice and cholesterol. Some of you may be aware of the controversy regarding red yeast rice and lovastatin in 1999-2000. This is when the FDA said that red yeast rice contained lovastatin (a prescription drug to reduce cholesterol). Any supplement company that had products containing red yeast rice were told they had to take them off the market because the FDA had to regulate them because they contained a pharmaceutical drug.

My take on this is that Big Pharma did not want the nutritional supplement industry to cut their profits by providing a nutritional supplement that would compete with their choleterol lowering drugs.

Beyond that fact, is the fact that cholesterol is really not the issue. The issue is inflammation. See my post on November 20, 08.

C-Reactive Protein

As I mentioned yesterday, today I want to talk about C-Reactive Protein. This is a blood test and was actually the test used in the JUPITER study mentioned yesterday. Many physicians shy away from utilizing this test, but it is an excellent marker of inflammation in the body. So why is this so important.

In the cholesterol study I spoke about yesterday, all of the participants had C-Reactive Protein (CRP) levels done. If you have an elevated C-Reactive Protein in your body, you have higher levels of inflammation in your body. Inflammation is the key here.

Inflammation has been established as the prime contributor to heart disease and stroke. Oxidation occurs with inflammation and this is when the plaque in a blood vessel can be set free to move along and block a smaller vessel in the heart or in the brain.

By the way, a side effect of the statin drugs is that they decrease inflammation. So is it really the cholesterol we need to worry about, or is it the amount of inflammation? I say inflammation. So do we need statins to decrease inflammation? I don't believe that is our first or best choice.

There are lots of natural ways to decrease inflammation. Omega 3 is one of the best ways to decrease inflammation. See more on this in my earlier posts on omega 3.

Back to Cholesterol

I'm sure you all heard the big news about how lowering the cholesterol in healthy individuals decreased the risk of heart disease by 44%. As a researcher, I have to look at the numbers. What does this really mean and is it really significant. This data comes from the JUPITER study (Justification for the Use of statins in Primary prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin{Crestor})

The drug companies would have you believe that in fact this is highly significant. Why? Because there is more money in it for them. Look at the name of the study, it was a justification study. You may remember a few months ago when the news was to give statin drugs to children. Why? A new market for the pharmaceutical companies to make money.

Now with this new research, the push will be to lower cholesterol levels even more which means that everyone should be taking statin drugs. These are not safe drugs to be taking and there are other ways to accomplish the desired effect. More on this later.

Let's talk about what the numbers mean. Many of you have heard that you can make statistics say anything. So here is what the numbers actually were. There were a total of 17,000 participants in the study. In the non-treatment group, 14 in 1000 developed heart disease. This is .014 percent of the group. In the treatment group 8 in 1000 developed heart disease. this is .008 percent of the group. From 14 to 8 is a 44% reduction, but think of what the numbers are telling you. Going from 2 in a million to 1 in a million is a 50% reduction, but is it really significant?

This is not mention what may be the more significant information here. Tune in tomorrow for more and why C-Reactive protein numbers may be the real significance in this study.