One of the most frequent questions I get is about high cholesterol. A guy I know works out (he is a blackbelt in both Hapkido and Tae Kwon Do), is tall and slender, eats all the right foods, and still has to work to control his high cholesterol. Sometimes your genes / heredity really make you work to stay healthy.
Until my friend had high cholesterol, I didn’t know the basics of it… good cholesterol and bad cholesterol, good oils, bad oils… it is all quite confusing… they have done a pretty good job though to miseducate the general population about the basics of Cholesterol. So that we are all on the same page – a brief overview. Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is made in the liver. When you get your cholesterol tested you should be given three numbers – your total count, your HDL (good), and your LDL (bad) cholesterol. Your total number should be below 200mg/Dl. 60mg/Dl is considered good for your HDL. 129mg/Dl is considered good for your LDL. The higher the HDL and the lower the LDL the better. And your triglycerides should be under 150mg/Dl. But what they don’t tell you is that you need cholesterol. Just like everything else, it isn’t all good or all bad. There is a balance.
Why do we need cholesterol?
Cholesterol serves several purposes in our bodies. Additionally, there are important bodily functions that are dependent upon the presence of cholesterol.
- Cholesterol promotes the production of our sex hormones. These sex hormones are critical as they help strengthen your bones, help manage your immune response, aid in preventing depression and anxiety, and a host of other things.
- Cholesterol is required for building / creating tissue. As an essential part of cells, they cannot be reproduced or repaired without appropriate amounts of cholesterol.
- Cholesterol is required for bile production in the liver. Bile is required to break down food into consumable substances within the body.
- About 25% of the cholesterol in your body resides in the brain. Without the appropriate amounts in the body, it is pulled from the brain. This increases the chances of dementia, depression, Alzheimer’s, other dangerous diseases.
How to naturally manage your cholesterol levels?
As I alluded to above, exercise and diet both play a big part in healthy cholesterol numbers. Exercise is one of the most effective ways to balance cholesterol numbers. One of the ways it helps is that he helps to move the LDL to the liver to be broken down. The more vigorous the exercise the better – you should be doing a minimum of 30 minutes of cardio daily if you are challenged with high cholesterol numbers. Not only does it help break down the bad cholesterol, but it also increases the number of your HDL. Therefore, you get double benefits with exercise. Maintaining optimal weight is also a factor with cholesterol as carrying excess weight increases the LDL that the liver must process.
Certain foods help keep your body alkaline and help maintain good cholesterol numbers – you might be surprised at several of them… almonds, walnuts, oatmeal, blueberries, salmon / tuna, red wine, soy, extra virgin olive oil, cayenne, green tea, apples, shitake mushrooms, artichoke, garlic, avocado, and dark green leafy vegetables. You also have herbs that help – fenugreek, cayenne, garlic, Hawthorne berries, flax seed, and ginger. And again, if there is a list of what you should eat… there is also a list of what to stay away from: sugar, fast food, fried food, processed foods, junk food, dairy, tropical oils, and sweets / baked treats.
Since LDL is broken down in the liver, good liver health is necessary… which means lowering alcohol and caffeine intake and increasing the intake of foods high in B complex vitamins, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, and iron. Green leafy vegetables, broccoli, organic fruit juices, nuts, seeds, legumes, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and brussels sprouts.
Exercise and eat your way healthy. 🙂
Blessings. E