Health and Fitness – Fitness Made Easy

Maybe you think of cholesterol as a kind of evil plug.  The usual story goes like this.

You eat too much cholesterol or animal fat, which is converted to cholesterol in your body, the cholesterol clogs your coronary arteries, and blood and oxygen can’t get through to your heart, causing a heart attack.

The idea is that if you lower your cholesterol, all will be well.

But if cholesterol is so bad, why does your body synthesize up to 1500 milligrams (almost the amount in 10 eggs) a day,using it for all kinds of crucial functions, such as the manufacture of hormones?

Why do Eskimos, who typically eat a diet loaded with animal fat, have low rates of heart disease?

The answer is that high cholesterol isn’t the cause of heart disease; oxidized cholesterol is.

That’s the opinion of many alternative physicians, they believe that cholesterol does not cause heart disease, it’s a recruit in the process, but not the  cause of  it.

Many physicians believe that lowering LDL  cholesterol plays a critical role in preventing hardening of the arteries.

LDL cholesterol is manufactured and secreted by the liver and is carried to the arteries in the heart in the same way furniture is carried in a moving van. Once there, the cholesterol may be oxidized by the same oxygen-sparked, cell-destroying process that rusts iron or turns an apple brown after it’s been cut.

The destructive process of oxidation is literally inflammatory – it’s like a fire in the body. The immune system, your body’s fire department, rushes foam cells to the area to  douse the blaze. The anti-inflammatory process can damage the lining of the artery. This roughened, injured area is a perfect foundation for the build up of plaque, the truly evil plug that clogs arteries and triggers heart attacks.

Oxidized LDL starts an inflammatory reaction that the body tries to heal, but the healing causes more problems than it resolves. The best way to prevent this heart hurting process is to prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, and the best way to do that is to make sure you get enough of the antioxidants vitamin E, vitamin C, and glutathione.

Antioxidants work by calming unstable oxygen molecules called free radicals, which are responsible for oxidizing cells. When antioxidants neutralize free radicals, they’re on a type of suicide mission. The antioxidants themselves are oxidized, or, in chemical terms, reduced.

Fortunately, the body has a system to help ensure that there are always plenty of antioxidants available, when vitamin C  is oxidized, vitamin E comes to the rescue, donating some of its molecules to restore the vitamin C to its full antioxidant status. In the process, the vitamin E is reduced, but the glutathione replenishes it. That’s why you need all three nutrients.

VITAMIN C: The first line of defence against Heart Disease is a very powerful antioxidant. Recommended daily amounts  reduce the oxidation of LDL and to prevent heart disease.

VITAMIN E: Like vitamin C, vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant  to prevent cholesterol from oxidizing.

NAC: Vitamins C and E are most effective when your body has high levels of glutathione, but the body doesn’t do a good job of absorbing most glutathione supplements, but a form of amino acid provides the right chemical precursors for your body to create glutathione.

Improving Your Cholesterol Balance

Stopping the oxidation of LDL cholesterol is crucial to preventing heart disease, but if there’s less LDL cholesterol in your body, there’s less to oxidise, so reducing LDL is important.

It’s also important to increase HDL cholesterol, which hauls the LDL away from arteries and back to your liver. There are a variety of supplements and herbs to help lower LDL, raise HDL, or do both at the same time.

NIACIN: Niacin is a B vitamin that works powerfully to lower LDL cholesterol.

SELENIUM: Helps in three ways. First it boosts levels of glutathione. Second it works on its own to lower LDL. Third it increases healthful HDL.

ZINE AND COPPER: Increase HDL and reduce LDL.

Foods for Cholesterol Control

Many different types of foods, and components of foods, can help lower LDL and boost HDL. Here are the best ones.

OAT BRAN: Is rich in soluble fiber, a substance that binds with cholesterol in the intestine and ushers it out of the body. Eating 3\4 cup of cooked oat bran cereal a day can lower cholesterol by 10%.

ONIONS AND GARLIC: Cook with garlic and onions whenever possible, both have shown to cut cholesterol.

WALNUTS: They contain alpha- linolenic acid, which can help lower cholesterol. Other good sources of this good-for-you fat includes olive oil,  flaxseed oil,  linseed oil, canola oil, soybean oil.

LECITHIN: Contains phosphatidylcholine, which helps liquefy cholesterol in your body so it doesn’t end up frozen in arterial plaques.

SOY: Soy foods contain compounds called isoflavones, which can help lower cholesterol.

Roberto Garcia (Health & Fitness Specialist) 
http://www.newhealthandfitnessdvds.co.uk

Specialist provider of Health and Fitness information and products including Fitness DVDs, Health & Fitness Books and Specialist Health & Fitness Supplements.

Tags: Antioxidants, Cholesterol, Coronary arteries, Heart attack, High cholesterol, Immune system

This entry was posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 10:54 pm and is filed under Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.