Have you ever googled: lower cholesterol naturally? I have, my husband and his mechanical heart valve have taken me more internet searches than any other topic in my whole entire life. When we had our last visit with the cardiologist we found out that Ray’s cholesterol was too high, it was higher than average but it was also in the alarming range for someone who has a mechanical heart valve and had a heart attack. This was frightening, you can relate if you have ever been through open heart surgery and a heart attack with a 33/34-year old (respectively).
So my google search told me that Ray shouldn’t be eating animal flesh. It is high in cholesterol and the body makes all the cholesterol it needs naturally. It suggested exercise, low stress and a diet low in animal flesh. I was on the brink of suggesting we go vegan after I did another google search on every food I could think of and found that we were going to have to cut out meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy. This left vegetables, fruits and the boasted “healthy whole-grain”.
Luckily a week into that diet we decided to go Paleo after extensive research on why a diet high in protein (especially red meat), veggies, eggs, and nuts with fruit in moderation was better for you than a diet rich in “healthy” whole-grains, veggies and fruits.
I know you are thinking the commercials and even the box of oatmeal promises to lower my cholesterol, cheerios are HEART HEALTHY! What are you talking about “Crazy Kool-Aid drinking Paleo lady”?
You are going to have to hang on here, I am about to take you down a road of biochemistry and science….it’ll be a bit bumpy but I will try and throw in some humor here and there to keep your attention.
Let’s talk about carbohydrates – I posted on a forum last week that your food pyramid should be meats, veggies, eggs, nuts and moderate fruit and counting calories is useless and got my head bit off. Where do you get your mental focus if you cut out all carbohydrates? You HAVE to count calories and macronutrients! Carbohydrates are sensationalized for their “energy providing powers”! And many will argue when I tell them that carbohydrates are not good for you that I am confused and just lumping all carbohydrates together. I get reminded that there are two classes of carbohydrates, simple and complex. Simple being your sugars and complex being foods like potatoes and oatmeal. Let’s take a look at the “good” complex carbohydrates. Potatoes and oatmeal actually spike your blood sugar levels higher than simple sugars, thus causing a higher rise in insulin levels. Insulin’s number one job is to get glucose out of the blood and store it and lock it in your fat cells. My point here is all carbohydrates, whether simple or complex are turned into glucose during the digestion process.
Your body doesn’t have a calorie sensor. Fat gain and loss, just like cholesterol, insulin, and thyroid function are all hormonal responses. Carbohydrates in any form raise your blood glucose levels spiking insulin response – promoting fat storage. Going low calorie is going low nutrient. Your body needs nutrients (vitamins and minerals) for normal function (including a healthy immune response, digestion, energy, organ function, etc). This is not my opinion – this is a fact.
But I’ve lost weight on a low calorie, plant based, carb grain rich diet. In the 21st century where the typical American diet is burgers in white buns, ketchup, French fries, chips, cookies, sodas, juice boxes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and every sugar-free product the heart could desire – no wonder you saw improvement. But it’s not long term and this is why.
Wheat, corn, oats and sugar cause an increase in LDL (the small particles) and these foods also increase the LDL particles to glycate. Because they are smaller they are able to break loose and find their ways into tiny arteries. Because they are glycated the liver is unable to clean them out of the blood stream efficiently. The good news is you can reduce and reverse high LDL by reducing consumption in wheat, corn, oats and sugars. A diet rich in proteins (animal flesh) does not increase your cholesterol. Your body makes enough cholesterol for every cell in the body – cholesterol is required by every cell in the body. If you have a diet high in foods that have cholesterol your body makes less.
My goal with this blog is to give you the reader self-empowerment over your health. We live in an age of great technology and there are so many direct to consumer products available these days to help you empower yourself for better health and to be able to ask better questions of your health care provider. There are so many resources available at a finger click it is hard to associate what is factual and what is vogue. One of my ultimate pet-peeves is Dr. Mehmet Oz. This man’s reach is worldwide thanks to Oprah and the information he passes is so bogus. He is out for ratings and sensationalism. It sickens me. I am not selling a damn thing on this blog – I am just providing you facts. Always be leery of anyone trying to sell you something.
Take an interest in your health. Here are some simple at home tests you can perform routinely to make sure you are on track:
Glucometer! My favorite. This tests your blood glucose levels. You want to maintain 70-90 – this means when you have a meal test yourself before and an hour to 90 minutes post meal. Your blood sugar level should be the same after that meal.
Blood pressure cuff: normal blood pressure is 120/80. You should take your blood pressure when you are stressed, after exercise, when you wake up, etc. Getting one reading at the doctors isn’t enough. Aorta enlargement is a silent ailment that can lead to aneurism or aortic valve replacement. The aorta valve is the tree trunk of your heart – when this valve gets weak either from birth defects (what happened to my husband) or from poor diet (lack of omega-3 and a high grain diet) or enlarges you are at risk.
Thermometer: Upon waking your temperature should be 97.3 – this tells you that your thyroid function is A-OK.
CardioChek!: Another favorite. CardioChek allows you to check your total cholesterol, HDL and triglycerides.
With all this at your finger tips there is NO REASON YOU SHOULDN’T BE IN THE KNOW ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ON IN YOUR BODY!
And if anyone cares, Ray is off his cholesterol medication AND below average only four months into the Paleo lifestyle.
Super Awesome!!!!
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