Understanding Cholesterol

[Guest guest]

I am not advocating this book here. I have never read it, though am

following the general eating advice in this article. This eating plan makes

sense

and it works, at least it has been working for me. But I do think it is

particularly important to take good quality supplements during the first

several

months at the least, if not longer. I found that I haven't evidently taken

enough magnesium, and this has emphasized the need for it. This seems to bring

to

the forefront any mineral and/or vitamin deficiency. Which in the long run is

good. 'Hidden' deficiencies are not any less damaging just because one

doesn't know about them.

blessings

Shan

Understanding Cholesterol

http://www.totalhealthdynamics.com/cholesterol.htm

by Russell J. Martino, Ph.D.

 

Let’s clear up the confusion over cholesterol

 

Cholesterol is essential to many life processes. Cholesterol is so important

that it is produced in your body in 2 specific ways.

 

- First, cholesterol is made in the liver and from there is sent into the

blood stream where, ideally, it is absorbed into the cells where it is used.

Cholesterol that is not absorbed by the cells is transported back to the liver

where it is recycled or simply eliminated.

 

- In addition to being made in the liver, every cell in your body can and

frequently does make the cholesterol it needs internally, PLUS every cell in

your

body has the ability to grab cholesterol circulating in the blood and bring

it into the cell for use.

 

--- Your total blood cholesterol level is determined in large part by whether

your cells make cholesterol internally, or instead gather the cholesterol

they need directly out of your blood.

 

Dietary cholesterol consumption has nothing whatsoever to do with determining

whether your cells produce cholesterol internally or whether they gather

cholesterol directly from the blood.

 

--- Numerous, excellent, doctor-directed studies have repeatedly demonstrated

that even massive changes in the dietary cholesterol consumption, up or down,

have only a minor effect on total cholesterol levels.

 

There are 2 primary ways your cells get the cholesterol they need

 

- Either the cells manufacture the needed cholesterol internally and/or . .

- the cells send messengers from deep inside the cell to the cell's surface

to grab the needed cholesterol out of the blood and bring it back inside the

cell for use.

 

Keep in mind that the reason there is cholesterol circulating in your blood

in the first place is because cholesterol is made in your liver and sent

cycling through your bloodstream so it’s available for the cells to use when

and if

they need it.

 

--- If your cells primarily manufacture the cholesterol they need internally,

then no cellular messengers are sent to gather cholesterol from the blood and

blood cholesterol levels tend to rise.

 

---If instead of manufacturing new cholesterol inside the cell, the cellular

messengers are routinely sent to gather cholesterol out of the blood for use

in the cell, then blood cholesterol levels typically remain low.

 

The cells don’t care which method is used to get the needed cholesterol BUT

YOU SHOULD because there is a correlation between certain types of elevated

cholesterol levels and heart problems.

 

--- Much of the confusion over cholesterol has to do with the fact that the

dietary consumption of cholesterol has only a very small effect on determining

total blood cholesterol levels.

 

---This means that trying to control cholesterol by rigorously avoiding all

forms of dietary fat and consuming only low cholesterol foods is a misdirected

and highly inefficient approach to solving the problem.

 

The key to lowering cholesterol is to shift your cells’ preference from

manufacturing new cholesterol internally to using cell receptors to gather

cholesterol out of the blood.

 

--- By gathering cholesterol out of the blood to meet the cells ongoing

cholesterol needs, blood cholesterol typically stays well within healthy levels

and

the important HDL to LDL ratios stay in the healthy range.

 

--- A specific enzyme with a long, complicated name controls the manufacture

of cholesterol inside the cells.

 

--- If that enzyme is active, cholesterol is made inside the cell and little

or no cholesterol is scavenged from the blood.

 

--- If the enzyme is NOT ACTIVE, then little if any cholesterol is made

inside the cell and cholesterol is actively harvested directly out of the blood,

which of course lowers the blood cholesterol levels.

 

Better yet, low density lipoprotein, often considered the " bad cholesterol "

is exactly what the cell is looking for when it gathers cholesterol from the

blood stream, so only does total cholesterol lower, but the " bad " cholesterol

lowers the most.

 

Popular cholesterol lowering drugs works exactly the same way.

 

Cholesterol lowering drugs inhibit the enzyme that activates cholesterol

production inside the cell. If the cholesterol making enzyme is inhibited, the

cell receptors gather the needed cholesterol directly from the blood, which of

course lowers blood cholesterol levels.

 

When you understand how easy it is to activate the cells that sweep

cholesterol out of the blood, you’ll know the secret of easily establishing

and

maintaining normal, healthy blood cholesterol levels.

 

The " secret " is really no secret at all; in fact any medical biochemistry

textbook clearly explains that insulin and glucagon are the two hormones that

regulate the rate of cholesterol synthesis inside the cells.

 

- Insulin activates the enzyme that causes your cells to make cholesterol

internally, which means high levels of insulin stimulate the continuous

production of cholesterol.

- Glucagon does exactly the opposite, glucagon inhibits the enzyme that

causes cholesterol production inside your cells, which results in the cell

sending

messengers to gather the needed cholesterol directly out of the blood, thereby

reducing blood cholesterol levels.

 

This is not new information; it is well known cellular biochemistry, in fact

it is the EXACT biochemistry that expensive, cholesterol reducing drugs are

based on.

 

The message is simple . . .

 

-- when you begin eating in a way that avoids the production of excess

insulin and puts glucagon in the metabolic driver's seat, your blood cholesterol

level will fall effortlessly and you will realize that in the bigger picture,

dietary cholesterol consumption is essentially a non-issue.

 

There are two more pieces to the cholesterol puzzle, the first piece has to

do with understanding the ratio between the " good cholesterol " and the " bad

cholesterol " and the second piece of the puzzle has to do with fully

understanding the effect diet has on cholesterol levels. First the ratios.

 

Cholesterol ratios are simple. As soon as you understand the difference

between LDL and HDL cholesterol, you will understand practically everything.

 

-- Low density lipoproteins, or LDL, are proteins that transport cholesterol

from the liver into the blood, making it available for absorption into the

cells.

 

-- Low-density lipoproteins are like trucks, loaded with cholesterol,

bringing it into the blood stream just in case it’s needed.

 

-- Unfortunately, if you eat in a way that causes the constant presence of

excess insulin in your system, these LDL truckloads of cholesterol are not

needed because the cells are making all the cholesterol they need internally.

 

-- If the cells make all the cholesterol they need internally, that means

low-density lipoproteins are carrying unnecessary, EXCESS cholesterol into your

blood, and this excess cholesterol builds up in the blood, tissues, and

arteries setting the stage for serious health problems.

 

High density lipoprotein, or HDL, help eliminate this excess cholesterol by

collecting it from the tissues and arteries and transporting it out of the

blood and back to the liver where it is recycled or disposed of.

 

-- HDL particles are like the cholesterol clean-up crew.

 

-- HDL particles are the empty trucks sent into the blood stream to load up

all the excess cholesterol that has spilled out and collected in the tissues

and arteries and then transport that excess cholesterol out of the blood.

Clearly, cleaning up excess cholesterol lowers cholesterol levels.

 

LDL is recognized as the " bad " cholesterol because LDL transports cholesterol

into the blood. HDL is considered the " good " cholesterol because HDL gathers

up excess cholesterol and transports it out of the blood.

 

With this in mind, it’s easy to understand the importance of having the

proper ratio of HDL to LDL. If the ratio of LDL to HDL is too high that means

your

blood is being loaded with cholesterol faster than the HDL cholesterol

clean-up crew is removing it, which means excess cholesterol is building up

inside

the tissues and arteries and that’s bad.

 

Doctors have determined that having the proper ratio between HDL and LDL is a

more important predictor of health than the level of total cholesterol

 

This means that someone with a total cholesterol level of 220 mg/dl and a

good HDL to LDL ratio is in better shape health-wise than someone with a 175

mg/dl cholesterol reading whose LDL level is too high compared to their HDL

level.

 

 

The two cholesterol ratio standards accepted by most doctors and researchers

today are:

 

1) Total cholesterol divided by HDL should be below 4; and,

2) LDL divided by HDL should be below 3.

 

There is almost universal agreement in the medical and scientific community

that the further away your cholesterol ratios are from these standards the

greater the risk of developing heart disease.

 

It is INCORRECT to assume that lower and lower cholesterol levels somehow

translate into better health.

 

-- Research has clearly demonstrated that the " ideal healthy range " for

cholesterol is in the 180 to 200 mg/dl range, and most importantly, with the

proper

HDL to LDL ratios.

 

-- Historically, cholesterol levels over 200 correlate positively with

increased risk of heart disease, and cholesterol levels lower than 180 correlate

positively with almost every serious disease known except heart disease.

 

So far we’ve discovered that insulin stimulates the production of cholesterol

inside the cell thereby eliminating the need for the cell to gather

cholesterol from the blood.

 

-- Given this, we now know that the key to maintaining normal, healthy

cholesterol levels is to eat in a way that does not result in excess insulin and

in

a way that puts glucagon in the metabolic driver's seat in your body.

 

-- We’ve also learned that LDL carries cholesterol into the blood and tissues

and that HDL carries cholesterol out of the blood and tissues and that is why

HDL is known as the " good " cholesterol.

 

Now for the final piece of the cholesterol puzzle – the effect of food on

cholesterol levels.

 

While it is true that rigidly enforced, low fat, low cholesterol diets result

in lower total cholesterol and lower LDL, it’s also true that these diets

result in a disproportionate drop in HDL levels. In other words, total

cholesterol drops but HDL drops too much in relationship to LDL.

 

-- Research has verified time and time again that higher cholesterol with

good HDL to LDL ratios is overall much healthier than lower total cholesterol

with poor HDL to LDL ratios.

 

-- This means that while low fat, low cholesterol diets may result in lower

total cholesterol, following these diets frequently INCREASES the risk of heart

disease.

 

-- Even though total cholesterol lowers, disease risk increases because the

level of the " good " HDLs that transport cholesterol OUT of the blood drops too

low compared to the drop in LDLs.

 

-- When HDL is too low and LDL is too high it’s virtually certain that the

blood is flowing thick with the extra sticky LDL cholesterol and that

cholesterol is building up inside the tissues and arteries.

 

We already know that a diet high in carbohydrates stimulates excess insulin

and that insulin causes cholesterol synthesis within the cell and that means

high carbohydrate diets are out as a practical means of trying to control

cholesterol and get optimum, healthy results.

 

-- We also know that glucagon inhibits the production of cholesterol inside

that cell and stimulates the cell to gather the cholesterol it needs directly

from the blood, which, lowers blood cholesterol and improves the important

HDL/LDL ratio.

 

-- Now we know that low fat, low cholesterol diets result in lower overall

cholesterol but low fat diets also cause the good HDL cholesterol to drop too

low, and when HDL is too low the risk of disease increases.

 

At this point, the two remaining questions are;

1) What dietary factors put glucagon in the metabolic driver's seat, and

2) What causes HDL to increase?

 

Let’s answer the second question first.

 

-- Several highly controlled research studies have conclusively determined

that a diet low in carbohydrates and higher in naturally occurring fats, like

the fat in milk, cheese, butter, and meat, not only lower total cholesterol, but

result in much healthier HDL to LDL ratios than are attained with diets low

in fat and cholesterol.

 

-- Reducing carbohydrates is vitally important because carbohydrates cause

excess insulin and excess insulin causes most of the problems.

 

-- If you reduce the carbs, you reduce the insulin;

-- if you reduce the insulin, you INCREASE the glucagon; and

-- if you increase the glucagon you are going to effortlessly burn fat, lower

triglycerides, lower your total cholesterol, and improve your HDL to LDL

ratio. In other words, pull this off and you will literally improve your health

in

practically every way measurable.

 

This is quite a turn of events

 

-- For years we’ve been told eat low fat diets and pile on the carbs because

they are low in fat and provide lots of energy.

 

-- Clearly the ever-worsening tragedy of serious obesity, diabetes, and

increasing heart disease has proven this advice to be wrong and it’s wrong

regardless of who gives it.

 

-- The new advice is not based on " popular wisdom, " " common knowledge, " or

" opinion. "

 

The new advice is based on a more complete understanding of medical

physiology, cellular biology, and the human endocrine system

 

-- The new advice has been proven repeatedly in highly controlled,

doctor-directed, scientific studies that have produced real results with real

people.

 

-- These studies have consistently demonstrated the insulin/glucagon

relationship and proven beyond all doubt that consuming dietary cholesterol has

practically no meaningful effect on blood chemistry when compared to the issue

of

getting your cells to harvest cholesterol directly from your blood instead of

making it internally.

 

The new advice is based entirely on how your body works.

 

-- We already know that reducing carbohydrates, especially processed

carbohydrates, will result in lower insulin levels.

 

-- Now for the final question concerning metabolism - How do you put glucagon

securely in the metabolic driver's seat and begin to enjoy the wonderful

health benefits gained from establishing the proper insulin/glucagon balance in

your body.

 

The answer in a word is PROTEIN

 

Protein provides significant nutrition without causing a rise in blood sugar

but the key is not just getting protein, the key is getting protein WITHOUT

excess carbohydrates.

 

-- With or without protein, excess carbohydrates cause a sharp rise in blood

sugar and that produces an insulin response which leads to fat production and

storage, high triglycerides, and increased cholesterol.

 

When you enjoy a delicious protein meal with only minimal carbohydrates

coming primarily from fresh green vegetables or fresh seasonal fruit, you set up

the IDEAL conditions to establish a perfect metabolic relationship between

insulin and glucagon in your system and that is VERY, VERY GOOD!

 

To help clarify the effect food has on the insulin-glucagon relationship,

consider the following facts . . .

 

1. A normal healthy person has slightly less than one single teaspoon of

glucose circulating in their entire blood stream at any single time.

 

2. Molecularly, carbohydrates are nothing more than several different kinds

of sugar linked together. Once eaten, these sugars are quickly broken down into

glucose which instantly enters your blood and causes blood sugar to rise

rapidly, just like eating candy does.

 

3. Since insulin production is the natural, healthy response to lower rapidly

rising blood sugar, it’s easy to understand that consuming sugar, or

carbohydrates that quickly break down into sugar, will always result in a quick

rise

in insulin.

 

How many carbohydrates does it take to produce an insulin response?

 

-- To answer this, keep in mind that 5 grams of carbohydrate equals

approximately 1 teaspoon of sugar, which is close to the normal amount of sugar

found

in the blood.

 

--Now, a single can of one of the more well-known brands of soft drinks lists

39 grams of carbohydrates in the nutrition information panel printed on the

can.

 

-- Divide 39 total carbohydrate grams by 5 grams per teaspoon and you quickly

discover that this single can of soda water contains nearly 8 teaspoons of

sugar that will actually enter your blood stream.

 

-- Since 1 teaspoon of sugar is the normal healthy amount contained in the

blood, 8 times that amount is clearly too much, which means if you drink that

soft drink a quick rise in blood sugar and a quick insulin response to lower the

rising blood sugar is absolutely guaranteed.

 

How high do insulin levels climb in order to reduce rising blood sugar?

 

According to the Textbook of Medical Physiology, insulin secreted to bring

down rising blood sugar rises dramatically within 15 minutes and peaks 2-3 hours

later in ranges that are from 10 to 25 times above normal, and insulin levels

remain elevated for hours.

 

-- Now that you understand that once stimulated, insulin levels stay elevated

for several hours, it’s easy to understand how eating sugary foods or high

carbohydrate meals and snacks throughout the day essentially insures that

insulin stays abnormally high all day long and that glucagon is left entirely

out of

the metabolic picture.

 

--The key to activating glucagon and putting it in the metabolic driver's

seat is to eat meals with plenty of protein and, ideally, carbohydrates that

come

almost entirely from fresh vegetables. Like cholesterol, as long as you avoid

the chemically altered fats that produce dangerous transfatty acids, dietary

fat consumption is essentially a non issue because, much like protein, natural

fat is turned into structural raw material needed for cell growth and

maintenance.

 

Keep in mind that your body contains something on the order of a hundred

trillion cells and each and every one of them is made from and contains both

protein and fat.

 

-- Not one single cell in your body is made from carbohydrates. Protein and

fat consumption is essential to life, carbohydrate consumption is not.

 

-- There is not a single disease state associated with a lack of

carbohydrates in the diet. The reason for this is that dietary consumption of

carbohydrates is simply not that important because your body can make all the

glucose it

needs directly from protein and fat.

 

The important point is that in order to keep excess insulin to a minimum and

insure you have enough glucagon in your system, you need meals that contain

protein and that are pointedly low in processed and starchy carbohydrates like

bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, corn and so on.

 

Eating in a way that avoids the production of excess insulin is, without

question, the single most important thing you can do to lose weight easily, keep

it off permanently and improve your health literally in every way measurable.

 

-- Excess insulin is a serious threat to your health.

 

-- Excess insulin is your enemy and excess insulin is produced in your body

primarily as a direct result of your food choices.

 

-- Excess insulin leads to higher triglycerides, higher cholesterol, poor HDL

to LDL ratios, higher blood pressure, excess fat production and storage,

obesity, insulin resistance, and dramatically increased risk for diabetes, heart

disease, and stroke.

 

Glucagon is your friend and enjoying protein meals with a minimum of

processed carbohydrates activates glucagon in your system.

 

Glucagon is the hormone that causes you to burn stored body fat for energy.

When glucagon is in the metabolic driver's seat it is amazingly easy to

establish and maintain your ideal healthy body weight ESPECIALLY when you are

getting

the essential nutrients.

 

There is an increasing awareness in the medical community that total

cholesterol levels are not as significant a predictor of heart disease as they

once

believed to be as long as HDL and LDL are in proper relationship.

 

-- There is a significant and growing amount of research that shows that

cholesterol does not cause heart disease and the dietary consumption of foods

containing cholesterol has only a minor effect in determining total cholesterol

levels.

 

5 Steps to Optimal Health [ http://www.totalhealthdynamics.com/Optimal.htm ]

gives you important information about diet, nutrition, exercise, achieving

permanent weight loss, ending food cravings, increasing your energy,

strengthening your immune system and improving your health.

 

This information on cholesterol is one small example of the practical, usable

information available to you in this exciting, easy to listen to, audiotape

program.

 

10 Excellent Reasons to Supplement With Plant Source EFAs

 

What Your Body Shape Tells You About Your Health

 

http://www.totalhealthdynamics.com/bodyshap.htm

 

The WHY and HOW of Detoxification

http://www.totalhealthdynamics.com/detoxfacts.htm

 

Body Mass Index Calculator

Calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI).   

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