Top Cholesterol Myths: Busted!

In a survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 76% of Americans said they had had their cholesterol level checked at least once in the previous five years. Despite the commonality of the cholesterol test, many are seriously misled about what the results of the test mean. Many people aren't even receiving a useful cholesterol test at all. A total cholesterol test, for instance, tells you practically nothing about your health. What you really need to know is how much high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) you have and, beyond that, the size of the LDL particles. If you're confused, it's not your fault. Cholesterol has been a highly publicized scapegoat for causing heart disease for decades, and many have diligently cut all cholesterol-rich foods (which are often also nutrient-rich foods) from their diets as a result. Others have opted to take cholesterol-lowering statin drugs at the behest of their physicians. More than 1 in 4 Americans over 45 take them, despite their lengthy list of side effects and dubious effectiveness. But the real question is this: do you really need to be worried about cholesterol? Is it the villain that's it's portrayed to be, silently clogging up your arteries and putting you at a dangerously high risk of heart attack, one cholesterol-laden egg yolk at a time? The answer is, for most people, no. So let's put some of the most widely circulated cholesterol myths to bed once and for all. Myth #1: Cholesterol Is Bad Cholesterol is not inherently bad. If it were, your liver wouldn't produce it (unbeknownst to many, your liver makes about three-quarters or more of your body's cholesterol—that's how important it is). Many of the healthiest foods happen to be rich in cholesterol (and saturated fats), yet cholesterol has been demonized since the early 1950s following the popularization of Ancel Keys' flawed research. In reality, cholesterol has many health benefits. It plays a key role in regulating protein pathways involved in cell signaling and may also regulate other cellular processes. It's already known that cholesterol plays a critical role within your cell membranes, but research suggests cholesterol also interacts with proteins inside your cells, adding even more importance. Your body is composed of trillions of cells that need to interact with each other. Cholesterol is one of the molecules that allow for these interactions to take place. For example, cholesterol is the precursor to bile acids, so without sufficient amounts of cholesterol, your digestive system can be adversely affected. It also plays an essential role in your brain, which contains about 25 percent of the cholesterol in your body. It is critical for synapse formation, i.e. the connections between your neurons, which allow you to think, learn new things, and form memories. Myth #2: High Cholesterol Is Caused by What You Eat This is simply untrue. The biggest factor in cholesterol is not diet but genetics or heredity. Your liver is designed to remove excess cholesterol from your body, but genetics play a large part in your liver's ability to regulate cholesterol to a healthy level. Take, for instance, people with genetic familial hypercholesterolemia. This is a condition characterized by abnormally high cholesterol, which tends to be resistant to lowering with lifestyle strategies like diet and exercise. Further, eating nutritious cholesterol-rich foods is not something you should feel guilty about; they're good for you and will not drive up your cholesterol levels as you may have been told. It's estimated that only 20 percent of your blood cholesterol levels come from your diet. Myth #3: Everyone's Cholesterol Level Should Be the Same What is a healthy cholesterol level? Despite what your doctor may tell you, there's no rule that says everyone's total cholesterol should be less than 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) and your LDL less than 100 mg/dL. Further, this will tell you very little about your heart disease risk. If your doctor tells you your cholesterol is too high based on the standard lipid profile, getting a more complete picture is important—especially if you have a family history of heart disease or other risk factors. In addition, the following tests can give you a far better assessment of your heart disease risk than your total cholesterol alone: • HDL/Cholesterol ratio: HDL percentage is a very potent heart disease risk factor. Just divide your HDL level by your total cholesterol. That percentage should ideally be above 24 percent. • Triglyceride/HDL ratios: You can also do the same thing with your triglycerides and HDL ratio. That percentage should be below 2. • Your fasting insulin level: Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates like fructose and refined grains generates a rapid rise in blood glucose and then insulin to compensate for the rise in blood sugar. The insulin released from eating too many carbs promotes fat accumulation and makes it more difficult for your body to shed excess weight. Excess fat, particularly around your belly, is a major contributor to heart disease • Your fasting blood sugar level: People with a fasting blood sugar level of 100-125 mg/dl had a nearly 300 percent increased higher risk of having coronary heart disease than people with a level below 79 mg/dl. • Your iron level: Iron can be a very potent oxidative stress, so if you have excess iron levels you can damage your blood vessels and increase your risk of heart disease. Ideally, you should monitor your ferritin levels and make sure they are not much above 80 ng/ml. The simplest way to lower them if they are elevated is to donate your blood. If that is not possible you can have a therapeutic phlebotomy and that will effectively eliminate the excess iron from your body. Myth #4: Children Cannot Have High Cholesterol It's possible for children to have high cholesterol levels, which is typically due to a liver problem that makes the liver unable to remove excess cholesterol from the body. Lifestyle changes, including exercise, limiting sugar intake and eating real (not processed) foods, will often help to restore healthy levels. Myth #5: Margarine Is Better Than Butter for Cholesterol Butter, especially raw organic butter from grass-fed cows, is a wealth of nutrition and nourishing fats. Research points to the fact that butter may have both short-term and long-term benefits for your health. A Swedish study found that fat levels in your blood are lower after eating a meal rich in butter than after eating one rich in olive oil, canola oil, or flaxseed oil. Further, replacing saturated animal fats with omega-6 polyunsaturated vegetable fats (i.e., margarine) is linked to an increased risk of death among patients with heart disease, according to a 2013 BMJ study. Margarine has historically contained synthetic trans fat, the worst type of man-made fat that increases small, dense LDL—and your risk of chronic disease. Cholesterol Drug Shows No Benefit for Heart Health In October 2015, drug maker Eli Lilly stopped a trial for a cholesterol-lowering drug called evacetrapib. Many believed the drug, which could not only lower LDL cholesterol but also raise HDL, would be the next blockbuster cholesterol treatment. But it wasn't until April 2016, when the results of the study were presented at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting, that health professionals learned just how dismal the study results were. The drug had virtually no impact on heart health. As The New York Times reported: "Participants taking the drug saw their LDL levels fall to an average of 55 milligrams per deciliter from 84. Their HDL levels rose to an average of 104 milligram per deciliter from 46. Yet 256 participants had heart attacks, compared with 255 patients in the group who were taking a placebo. Ninety-two patients taking the drug had a stroke, compared with 95 in the placebo group. And 434 people taking the drug died from cardiovascular disease, such as a heart attack or a stroke, compared with 444 participants who were taking a placebo." Dr. Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic told The New York Times, "These kinds of studies are wake-up calls." Indeed, it's not the first time a cholesterol-lowering drug has been found to be worthless when it comes to heart health. Statins May Make Heart Health Worse There is evidence showing that statins may make your heart health worse and only appear effective due to statistical deception. One report published in the Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology concluded that statin advocates used a statistical tool called relative risk reduction (RRR) to amplify statins' trivial beneficial effects. If you look at absolute risk, statin drugs benefit just 1 percent of the population. This means that out of 100 people treated with the drugs, one person will have one less heart attack. This doesn't sound so impressive, so statin supporters use a different statistic called relative risk. Just by making this statistical slight of hand, statins suddenly become beneficial for 30-50 percent of the population. How to Protect Your Heart Health Are you looking for a non-drug way to boost your heart health? Here are some of my top recommendations: • Reduce grains and sugars in your diet. • Consume a good portion of your food raw. • Make sure you are getting plenty of high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil. • Replace harmful vegetable oils and synthetic trans fats with healthy fats, such as olive oil, butter, avocado, pastured eggs and coconut oil (remember olive oil should be used cold only, use coconut oil for cooking and baking). • Include fermented foods in your daily diet. This will not only optimize your intestinal microflora, which will boost your overall immunity, it will also introduce beneficial bacteria into your mouth. Poor oral health is another powerful indicator of increased heart disease risk. • Optimize your vitamin D levels, ideally through appropriate sun exposure as this will allow your body to create vitamin D sulfate—another factor that may play a crucial role in preventing the formation of arterial plaque. • Exercise regularly. Make sure you incorporate high-intensity interval exercises, which also optimize your human growth hormone (HGH) production. • Avoid smoking or drinking alcohol excessively. • Be sure to get plenty of high-quality, restorative sleep. • Practice regular stress-management techniques. Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mercola.com, 4/27/16.

5 Reasons to Skip a Workout

Most Americans suffer from a serious exercise deficiency and therefore cannot afford to skip a workout. But, this doesn’t mean you should spend every day at the gym either. No matter what your fitness level, everyone needs to give their body time to recover between workouts. In the case of high intensity workouts, it’s recommended that you do only two or three sessions per week, and on your “off” days you may engage in another form of gentler exercise, like yoga, flexibility training or stretching. Spacing your workouts appropriately helps you get the most benefits without over-stressing your body, but you generally want to avoid skipping too many of your “on” days. That being said, there are certain instances when it may make sense for you to skip your workout entirely. 5 Scenarios When Skipping Your Workout Makes Sense One of the benefits of being fit is that you can take time off from exercise and use the “reserves” that you have built up during your time off. If done infrequently, skipping a workout is unlikely to negatively affect your overall fitness level, and in the cases that follow is probably more beneficial than not. 1. You’re Sick “Below Your Neck” - If you have a simple cold and you feel up to it, exercise can actually be beneficial. Increasing your body temperature enough to break a sweat may even help you to kill off invading viruses (it’s sort of like a do-it-yourself fever). Use common sense, though. If you’re exhausted and feeling very ill, the stress exercise puts on your body may end up suppressing your immune system and impeding your healing process. At the very least, you’ll want to take your workout level down a notch or two if you’re fighting off an illness. High-intensity exercise should be avoided when you’re sick, because any kind of intense exercise boosts production of cortisol, a stress hormone that inhibits the activity of natural killer cells — a type of white blood cell that attacks and rids your body of viral agents. And if you have a fever or symptoms “below your neck,” like those below, you’re probably better off resting instead of exercising: • Coughing or chest congestion • Fatigue • Widespread body and muscle aches • Vomiting, upset stomach and/or stomach cramps 2. You’re Injured - Regular exercise can help you to prevent many injuries, however you’ll want to avoid exercising an injured area of your body. If you have a shoulder injury, you may still be able to work out your lower body (or vice versa), so long as you don’t aggravate the injured area. You should focus on healing and definitely avoid any activities that cause pain at the injury site. Oftentimes, you may still be able to engage in gentle exercises, such as swimming, water aerobics and some types of yoga, even if you are injured. In fact, it might be beneficial. Listen to your body and be careful not to overdo it. 3. You’re Exhausted - If you’ve had a poor night’s sleep, you may be better off sleeping in than getting up early for your morning workout. Like exercise, sleep is also essential for your health, and you generally don’t want to sacrifice one for the other. It’s difficult to catch up on sleep once you’re sleep-deprived, so make sleep a top priority. Keep in mind, however, that exercise is important too. If you have a hard time waking for early-morning workouts, try exercising in the mid-morning or afternoon if your schedule allows it. You can even exercise in the evening, if you like. Some people find late-night exercise to be beneficial for sleep. Generally, exercise should leave you feeling energized and invigorated. If you find your workouts typically leave you feeling exhausted instead of energized, this is a sign that you may be exercising too much and need to take more time for recovery. 4. Your Body Is Very Sore - Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), or the muscle soreness you've experienced one to two days after exercise, is caused by inflammation stemming from microscopic tears in your muscle fibers. More specifically, these are microtears between your muscles and their surrounding tissues. This most often occurs when you start a new exercise program, change it in some way, or resume exercising after a period of inactivity. Eccentric contractions seem to cause the most soreness, meaning movements that cause your muscle to forcefully contract while lengthening, such as the downward motion of squats or pushups. These damaged muscles release chemical irritants that trigger mild inflammation, which awakens your pain receptors. This temporary discomfort is a natural part of your body's natural muscle-rebuilding process, and is generally not an indicator that you need to skip a workout. Many people, in their zeal for beginning a new exercise regimen, overdo it and become extremely sore. In this case, if your muscles are very sore you’ll want to take ample time for those muscles to fully recover before training them again — which may be much as five to seven days. 5. Your Schedule Is Jam-Packed - On days when you’re completely overextended, a lengthy trip to the gym may not be in the cards. This doesn’t mean you should skip your workout entirely. The point is; gone are the days when going to the gym needs to take you two hours. In fact, you don't even have to go to the gym at all if you don't want to or don’t have the time. Some of the best workouts can be done in 20 minutes or less, right in your own living room. Source: mercola.com, 4/10/16.