High Cholesterol
High blood cholesterol has become almost epidemic. Not only do more adults have trouble with their cholesterol levels, the problem seems to be occurring in younger adults. The reasons for this epidemic are complex yet somewhat understandable.
Only about 10-20% of our total body pool of cholesterol comes directly from cholesterol in the diet. The majority comes from cholesterol that is made in the liver from other substances. Appropriately, the origins of and solutions for many cholesterol problems are found more often by looking at the “other substances” rather than simply the amount of cholesterol in the diet. Our ability to make cholesterol in the liver is based on ensuring survival during periods of low food and cholesterol intake, as cholesterol is important in making several fat based molecules such as the hormones estrogen and testosterone. Unfortunately, when we consume ongoing higher amounts of the substances that increase cholesterol production, we make more than we need.
At almost all meals, we consume more energy that we will immediately use. It is converted into short-term storage forms such as converting dietary sugars to glycogen within muscle cells. However, when there is a more pronounced excess on an ongoing basis, we convert more of it to fats such as triglycerides and cholesterol in the liver as we have much greater fat storage capacity. Different forms of dietary energy all have the ability to undergo this conversion including saturated fat, trans fat, excessive carbohydrate energy, excessive sugars and others.
While two individuals may have similar cholesterol problems, they may originate from different combinations of dietary imbalance. This is further complicated by small genetic variations that result in different tolerances for excesses of different forms of dietary energy from one person to the next. Each individual is a unique combination of different genetic tendencies and different dietary causes. The most effective individual solution comes from analyzing the pattern of each individual’s blood lipids (cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, etc) and each individual’s dietary chemistry.
We have been stuck in the middle of the era where everyone gets the same basic simple advice to lower cholesterol and triglycerides. For the occasional individual who does benefit, it was just chance that the simple diet changes recommended just happen to fit their pattern of genetics and diet. For most this is unsuccessful leading to the conclusion that diet does not work.
A recent study examined the different impacts of simple versus comprehensive diet changes on blood LDL cholesterol levels. Patients either received a simple low fat diet, statin drugs or a comprehensive diet program. The simple diet resulted in 14 point reductions in LDL cholesterol, which was insufficient as the average level was 175 initially. The statin drugs reduced LDL levels about 30% to an average of 120. The comprehensive diet did as well as the statin drug treatment also resulting in about 30% reductions in LDL cholesterol.
For most, diet is effective in managing blood cholesterol and triglyceride problems. However, the key is to understand each individual’s pattern of blood lipid imbalances and their unique dietary imbalances that are contributing to the problem.