Cholesterol… What is it? And what can we do to support heart-health?
After my stepdad's first heart attack and diagnosis of atherosclerosis, I remember the confusion our family experienced when trying to figure out what he could eat. He was told oats, no oils. For a very long time, he ate a very strict diet, consisting mainly of oats and boiled vegetables. My stepdad was not thrilled. You don’t leave the hospital with a diet and lifestyle manual after a heart attack. With the expanse of the internet at our fingertips, we were left to figure it out ourselves, which can be scary and exhausting.
The U.S. is a nation that runs on the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) -- a sedentary lifestyle, full of processed, high sugar and salt foods. It’s no surprise that it’s becoming more and more common to be told by our doctor that we need to start watching our cholesterol.
Some may wonder, what exactly is cholesterol?
When is it dangerous?
What can we do to live a heart-supportive lifestyle?
(Whether we have a heart condition or are looking to avoid one).
Cholesterol: A fat necessary for the structure of cell membranes and plasma lipoproteins. Cholesterol is also needed in order to make certain hormones, glucocorticoids (anti-inflammatory compounds) and bile acids. Bile acids help us absorb fat-soluble vitamins, and they help us break down and excrete cholesterol so too much doesn’t stay in circulation. The liver, skin, and intestines produce 60-80% of cholesterol, with the rest coming from our diet. While LDL transports cholesterol to body cells from the liver (think leaving the liver), HDL brings the cholesterol back to the liver to break down and eliminate.
Oxidation: Unoxidized cholesterol can work as an antioxidant. When cholesterol is oxidized, especially LDL, it acts as a pro-oxidant. LDL is seen as the “bad” cholesterol, as it is more prone to inflammatory, pro-oxidant effects, and can lead to the formation of plaque in the arteries.
Particle Size Matters: When LDL particles are small and dense, they are associated with this inflammation and oxidation, and an increased risk of a cardiovascular event. Small and dense particles can easily lodge in artery walls, while LDL particles that are light and fluffy have a harder time depositing there.
Statins: Statins work to lower cholesterol by blocking an enzyme (HMG-CoA reductase) that produces a compound, mevalonate, that is the direct precursor to cholesterol. Statins inhibit cholesterol production and a whole host of other substances that have important bodily biochemical functions, including CoQ10. While statins do have their place, especially in the case of secondary prevention, it seems like they may be over-prescribed for primary prevention.
CoQ10: A fat soluble nutrient used in cellular metabolism, an antioxidant, helps to energize our muscles. The heart, liver, muscles, and brain, require large amounts of CoQ10 to function properly. CoQ10 is produced by the same pathway that cholesterol is blocked when on statins. CoQ10 naturally declines in production as we age. Talk to your doctor about supplementing with CoQ10!
A HEART SUPPORTIVE LIFESTYLE
A heart supportive lifestyle includes de-stressing, exercise, getting quality sleep and choosing quality, heart-supportive foods. All four of these factor into supporting heart health, so it’s important to focus on all of them.
We have to move away from a sedentary lifestyle, not just for heart health but for overall health. A good place to start is exercising for 3-4x a week, for 45 minutes. We can vary our exercise routines to include yoga, jogging, biking, hiking, swimming, rowing, weight lifting, HIIT, to keep things spicy!
To de-stress, we can journal, meditate, gua sha, get a massage or work with a health care professional.
A HEART SUPPORTIVE DIET
A heart supportive diet is a whole food diet. The bulk of the diet should be unprocessed whole foods (ones that have not been broken down, no additives) but some lightly processed foods, like cold-pressed oils, should be okay in moderation. Processed foods, like deli meats, vegan substitutes, pastries, packaged foods, are not heart-healthy foods! Sugar and unfiltered coffee should also be avoided. Some studies suggest saturated fats, unfiltered coffee, and sugar (and processed high-carb foods that turn into sugar) can increase LDL. Meanwhile, foods like avocado, almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds, tomatoes, berries and green tea, have been shown to decrease LDL.
INCLUDE IN YOUR DIET:
High fiber foods: vegetables, nuts and seeds, legumes, whole grains (oats, barley, millet, brown rice, bulgar, sorghum, teff, quinoa), mucilage foods like psyllium husk, chia or ground flax in water or green smoothies, okra, nopales.
Foods with resistant starch: oats, barley, sorghum, cooked and cooled potatoes, sweet potatoes or rice, beans, legumes, green bananas.
Vegetables: tons of leafy and crunchy vegetables, plus some starchier. The lower glycemic index the better! It doesn’t have to be certified organic, but try to get your foods from farmers that use organic practices. This way, our bodies don’t have to deal with eliminating the chemicals used in conventional farming.
Fruits: Whole fruits in moderation! Whole fruits have much more fiber, and are eaten more slowly than juices or smoothies. Shoot for those with lower glycemic fruits like raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, cranberries, grapefruit, citrus fruits, apples, fresh apricots, peach, plums, tomato, olives and avocado. Reduce dried fruits, these have much higher concentrations of sugar!
Protein: Some suggest plant-based proteins are more supportive of heart health. Plant-based proteins should come from whole foods like tempeh (chickpea or organic soy), organic tofu, nuts, seeds, and combinations of beans and grains (to make complete proteins). Processed vegan or vegetarian substitutes should be avoided. Low to moderate amounts of probiotic-rich dairy, cold-water fatty fish and poultry can be eaten, with less red meat and egg consumption.
Fats: Let’s try to get in our fats mostly as whole foods, like whole nuts and seeds, avocado, olives, instead of nut and seed oils. We want to use more of our MUFAs and our PUFAs (unsaturated fats), than our saturated fats. Our saturated fats are found in higher amounts in red meat, milk, cheese, butter, coconut oil and palm oil.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DIFFERENT PROTEIN CHOICES/PROTEIN COMBOS, QUALITY FAT OPTIONS AND SERVING SIZES OF ALL THINGS, PLEASE CONSIDER PURCHASING MY E-BOOK!