By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Have you ever had that phone call from your doctor when he (or she) says, “Your cholesterol is too high.” Other than going on dangerous statins, what do you do if your cholesterol is high? Do you cut out butter, eggs, and steak? The answer is no, you don’t have to eliminate all foods containing saturated fat or cholesterol.

I have good news for you. You can actually lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of heart disease, and continue to eat those nutrition-packed foods.

I recently had my cholesterol panel checked. I eat a Paleo/primal diet of naturally raised meat, fish, poultry, a little full-fat sheep yogurt or cheese, lots of fresh veggies, small amounts of beans, and virtually no foods made of grains, tapioca, or other processed starches. Although I had eaten a big hunk of steak the night before and put a big hunk of grass fed butter in my coffee just prior to my lab visit, my cholesterol panel ended up looking pretty darn good. Here’s what my labs said:

• Total Cholesterol—155mg/DL     Under 200 is good
• High Density Lipoprotein (HDL)—104    Over 50 is good
• Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL)—38    Less than 100 is good
• Triglycerides—44    Less than 150 is good

As you can see, those cholesterol numbers are not too shabby.

While doctors tend to ‘freak out’ and want to put you on statins if your cholesterol is over 200, that’s not necessarily the best way to manage your cholesterol. Let’s look at where those numbers come from, and which ones are worth paying attention to.

Total Cholesterol

This is the number that many doctors tend to fixate on, and it’s actually pretty worthless. Guidelines show a total cholesterol between 200-240 mg/dl is best, there’s a lot more to the picture. Total cholesterol number will only tell us the amount of cholesterol contained in all of our lipoproteins, but it has nothing to do with which kind of lipoproteins.

Total cholesterol is determined by this formula: HDL-C+LDL-C+(Triglycerides/5) = TC.

Someone with low HDL and high triglycerides (not a good thing) could easily have the same total cholesterol numbers as someone with high HDL and low triglycerides (a very good thing) so long as the numbers work out.

Whether it’s used to predict health or disease, the total cholesterol number all by itself is pretty meaningless. So if your doctor is freaking out about your total cholesterol numbers, that is not as important as your LDL, HDL and triglyceride numbers.

Both LDL and HDL are critically important for heart health. And, surprise—diet and lifestyle are the keys to optimizing both levels.

LDL the ‘Bad’ Cholesterol

LDL is what is considered the ‘bad’ cholesterol and is one that concerns most medical professionals. However, did you know that higher blood sugar from eating a diet high in sugar and starchy foods contributes heavily to this number? High blood sugar means rising triglycerides. The liver then creates more LDL from this.

Why is LDL considered ‘bad’?

LDL particles, composed of a combination of fat molecules and protein (lipoproteins), transport cholesterol from the source in the liver to other organs.

Here’s a great analogy from Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple blog on cholesterol:

“…Both LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol, the standard, basic readings you get from the lab, do not reflect the number of LDL or HDL lipoproteins, or particles, in your serum. Instead, they reflect the total amount of cholesterol contained in your LDL and HDL particles…[this] is like counting the number of people riding in vehicles on a freeway to determine the severity of traffic. It’s data, and it might give you a rough approximation of the situation, but it’s not as useful as actually counting the number of vehicles. A reading of 100 could mean you’re dealing with a hundred compact cars, each carrying a single driver, or it could mean you’ve got four buses carrying 25 passengers each. Or it could be a couple buses and the rest cars. You simply don’t know how bad (or good) traffic is until you get a direct measurement of LDL and HDL particle number.”

Why is LDL Considered ‘Bad’?

The clearest picture of inflammation’s role in the onset of atherosclerosis comes from studies into LDL, the “bad cholesterol”. LDL particles, composed of fatty molecules and protein, transport cholesterol from their source in the liver and intestines to other organs. Scientists have long known that although the body needs LDL and cholesterol, excessive amounts promote atherosclerosis, which is, in layman’s terms, “clogging of the arteries”.

It is notable too, that LDL is made up of larger, fluffier LDL particles and also smaller, denser VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein) particles. These are generally the ones that are most damaging to blood vessels.

VLDL numbers are directly tied to triglyceride count. Since triglycerides come packaged inside VLDL, you can calculate VLDL by dividing your triglyceride count by 5.

At reasonable concentrations in the blood, LDLs can pass in and out of the inner part of the blood vessel walls. If there are excessive amounts, the LDLs can tend to become stuck, however. When LDL particles hang out in the blood too long, their fragile polyunsaturated fatty membranes are exposed to oxidation and the LDL particles oxidize.

Once oxidized, LDL particles are taken up by the inner layer of the blood vessels – to form atherosclerotic plaque. Sort of like a ‘band-aid’ in the blood vessel. When LDLs from the blood start to pile up in the blood vessels, the cells in the blood vessel wall interpret the changes as a danger sign, and signal for healing reinforcements from the body.

This begins an inflammatory response which is the type of chronic low-level inflammation that occurs in atherosclerosis. This inflammatory process changes the blood vessel wall, eventually generating a bigger, more complicated plaque. Ongoing inflammation signals to continue to build a bigger ‘band-aid’.

Other contributors to inflammation in the blood vessels include omega 6 fatty acids from vegetable seed oils (which are polyunsaturated) and elevated blood sugar levels from high sugar/carbohydrate diets. A high sugar/carb diet also leads to high triglycerides as well, which is sort of a precursor to higher levels of LDL.

LDL can also be abnormally high if you are losing weight, have a low thyroid, kidney disease, diabetes or Cushing’s syndrome.

Where Does HDL Come In?

The higher your HDL cholesterol the better, but benefits depend on how you get there.

HDL is generally very beneficial to the body. As levels of this “good cholesterol” decline, the likelihood of suffering a heart attack goes up. This is one reason why physicians measure cardiovascular risk by looking at triglycerides and the ratio of LDL to HDL.

HDL (the ‘good guy’ in the cholesterol panel) fights LDL (bad cholesterol). Like a well-trained military army, the HDL particles patrol the blood vessels, grabbing the cholesterol from circulating LDL particles and also from the dangerous, gunky plaque that lines blood vessels walls. This HDL army carries away their fatty cargo to the liver for recycling or disposal out the intestines.

However, HDL cholesterol is a bit more complex than just that. Instead of a single kind of particle, HDL cholesterol is a family of different particles. Some types of HDL are great at taking cholesterol away from LDL and blood vessel walls while other types are indifferent to cholesterol, and some even transfer cholesterol the wrong way — into LDL and cells.

Some HDL particles will protect LDL from oxidation, which is when LDL becomes dangerous. Other types of HDL particles can slow down inflammation and stimulate production of nitric oxide, a molecule that helps artery walls relax, and prevents blood clots from forming inside arteries, i.e., heart attacks and strokes.

So, the aim here is to keep the HDL numbers up. Exercise is a huge factor in raising up HDL numbers as is maintaining a healthy weight. And if you smoke cigarettes, quitting will raise up your HDL just by stopping—in addition to all those other health benefits.

In general, women tend to have higher HDL numbers than men, but postmenopausal women need to pay close attention to HDL numbers. After you’ve gone through menopause, HDL tends to decrease, raising your risk of heart attacks and strokes.

What About Triglycerides?

Having triglycerides over 150 can increase your risk of heart disease. Triglycerides are a type of fat found in your blood. When you eat, your body converts calories—especially from carbs and sugars into fat, via the liver. The triglycerides are stored in your fat cells and in your liver. Along the way, triglycerides can be released for energy between meals or for endurance activities.

The triglyceride measurement is a ‘no-brainer’. If you eat more calories than you will burn, particularly from high-carbohydrate foods, this is converted directly into triglycerides.

Many people have high triglyceride levels due to being overweight/obese, physical inactivity, cigarette smoking, excess alcohol consumption and/or diet. High triglycerides are primarily a lifestyle-related risk factor.

High triglycerides are strongly connected to the more harmful smaller, denser VLDL. High triglycerides, then, could indicate that you have more oxidized (or oxidizable) LDL.

High fructose corn syrup, when consumed, is immediately turned into fat by the liver. This fat is triglycerides. Only two weeks of modest consumption of high-fructose corn syrup causes cholesterol and triglycerides levels to rise, and the more consumed, the greater the increases.

A study reported in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that the more high fructose corn syrup, the worse the lipid profile. So, if you consume a lot of high fructose corn syrup, you can drastically—and quickly–lower your triglycerides and LDL just by eliminating that one ingredient.

Side note: when I worked in the hospital as a nurse, it was very obvious to see which people had high triglycerides. Much like salad dressing that separates, you could actually see the fatty particle layer in someone’s blood.

Because of the conflicting information tossed about concerning cholesterol and saturated fats, you may think that cholesterol in foods and saturated fats are harmful substances that should be avoided at all costs. Many still do—in fact, many conventional doctors do.

In fact, though, quite the opposite is true. Cholesterol is an essential element in our bodies. It is found in all the cells of the body, particularly in the brain and nerve cells. As cells go through the constant renewal process of dying, and news ones are created, cholesterol is the major building block for our cell walls.

Cholesterol is also used to make a number of other important substances: sex hormones (including testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone), participating in the immune response, helping creating bile acids, and vitamin D 3. Our bodies use large quantities of cholesterol every day and it is vital to life.

Your cholesterol profile may be influenced by other conditions such as alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, hypothyroidism, untreated diabetes or pre-diabetes, pregnancy, lactation, stress, kidney disease, and liver conditions. Weight loss or fasting can also temporarily increase cholesterol. Ask your health care provider to measure other important biomarkers, including C-reactive protein (an inflammatory indicator), oxidized LDL, and ApoB, or Apoliprotein B.

Cholesterol may be derived externally from animal products in your diet, but this less than twenty percent of your body’s cholesterol needs. Your body will make up the difference. If you eat less cholesterol than you need, your body compensates by making more.

Key to remember:

• A raised blood cholesterol is not a predictor of coronary artery disease.
• Research has established inflammation as one of the primary factors in atherosclerosis.
• A low carb/low grain/low sugar diet consisting of grass fed meats, wild caught fish, free range chicken and vegetables combined with regular exercise and maintaining a good weight, can reduce risk of inflammation, heart attacks and strokes.
• The level of cholesterol in your blood is affected very little by the amount of cholesterol in your diet.

References
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/sweet-tooth-spells-trouble-heart/
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/cholesterol/
https://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-interpret-cholesterol-test-results
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/triglycerides/art-20048186
https://www.healthline.com/health/vldl-vs-ldl

Barry Groves, PhD, “The Great Cholesterol Lie”
http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/cholesterol_myth_1.html

By Peter Libby, “Atherosclerosis: The New View”, Scientific American, November 10, 2008.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/hdl-the-good-but-complex-cholesterol

The post The Truth About Cholesterol appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

There is a silent and serious disease slowly taking over a large portion of our population. Fatty liver disease is becoming increasingly common in many parts of the world—especially the United States. It affects 1 out of five people globally, and is a major risk factor for liver failure, as well as diabetes, heart attacks, and even cancer. In the United States it is the most common liver disease there is.

This disease is called NALFD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) or fatty liver. It has definite links to fructose, vegetable seed oils and our overall nutrition. What is this disease?

The main characteristic of this disease is an overload of fat stored in the liver. So much so that the liver cannot function properly. The liver is considered “fatty” when more than 5% of it is fat. Non-alcoholic fatty liver is the initial stage of this liver disease—and at this point—is still reversible.

The biggest problem with this disease is that it often has no symptoms, so it goes undiagnosed. Over time, NAFL can become NASH, or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. At this point, the inflammation and fat begin to damage the liver cells, leading to scarring of the liver and cirrhosis. By the time the disease advances to NASH, the liver is no longer functioning very well. NASH can be life-threatening and can be the beginnings of liver cancer, an aggressive and difficult-to-treat form of cancer.

The liver is one of the primary organs in our bodies, and one we cannot live without. It is responsible for:

• Production of bile, carries away waste and breaks down fats
• Production of proteins for blood plasma
• Production of cholesterol and special proteins that carry fats
• Conversion of glucose into glycogen for storage
• Processing of hemoglobin for iron
• Conversion of ammonia to urea to be carried out of the body
• Metabolizing drugs and ridding the body of toxins
• Regulating blood clotting
• Creating immune factors to fight infections
• Clearance of byproducts of red blood cells.

When the liver gets overloaded with sugar or starches, it turns starts making fat like crazy. This is the body’s normal response to excess glucose. However, fructose—especially when it comes in the form of high fructose corn syrup, is a trigger to put the liver into overdrive and really turn on the fat production. Because high fructose corn syrup has found its way into virtually all processed foods and drinks, it is the primary cause of fatty liver syndrome—as well as numerous other serious health issues.

Having fatty liver disease comes with a cascade of health issues. First of all, high blood sugar, high levels of inflammation and insulin resistance point you towards diabetes and obesity. As fat builds up in the liver, and surrounding organs, “visceral fat”, is a precursor to many serious, chronic diseases.

Excess abdominal fat also elevates LDL cholesterol, when combined with excess inflammation, making you a prime candidate for heart attacks. What’s even more shocking, is that this disease is not a disease that just middle-aged or older people get. Children, as young as 10 and 12 years old are getting this disease from spending their childhood drinking juice and soda.

What are the risk factors for fatty liver disease? Nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) is more common in people who exhibit any of these health problems or features:

• Menopausal or post-menopausal women
• People who have had their gall bladders removed
• Obesity
• Type 2 diabetes
• Prediabetes
• Metabolic syndrome
• Hispanic
• Rapid weight loss
• High blood pressure
• Middle aged or older; children can also have NAFLD
• Corticosteroids and some cancer drugs
• Low intake of choline, a necessary nutrient

Choline Deficiency and NAFLD

Research now shows that choline deficiency, a key nutrient found in egg yolks and beef liver, is one of the key risk factors that trigger fatty liver disease, along with fructose. According to Chris Masterjohn, who holds a PhD. in nutrition science, choline deficiency actually appears to be an even more significant trigger for fatty liver disease than fructose, and in his view, the rise in this liver condition is largely the result of avoiding liver and egg yolks. Says Dr. Masterjohn:

               “More specifically, I currently believe that dietary fat, whether saturated or unsaturated, and anything that the liver likes to turn into fat, like fructose, [sucrose] and ethanol, will promote the accumulation of fat as long as we don’t get enough choline,” Masterjohn says adding:

               “Once that fat accumulates, the critical factor igniting an inflammatory fire to this fat is the consumption of too much PUFA (polyunsaturated fat from vegetable … oils).”

When you combine a low choline diet with excessive fructose and starches, you are almost guaranteed to develop fatty liver disease at some point.

What is Choline?

Choline is a nutrient found in egg yolks, beef liver, legumes, nuts, beef, leafy greens. Choline is an essential component of our cell membranes and is required for the synthesis of phospholipids. Choline helps our bodies create the neurotransmitter acetylcholine which is important for memory, mood, muscle control, and other brain and nervous system functions.

Choline also works with the metabolism of B vitamins as well. Choline is essential to make phosphatidylcholine which is important to the structure and integrity of our body’s cell walls. Many people are low in choline due to dietary restrictions (egg yolks, liver) and people who are vegetarians and vegans.

Menopausal Women and Choline Deficiency

Younger women need less choline from their diet than children or other adults because the female hormone estrogen helps the body make choline. After menopause, estrogen levels decline, making it necessary to get choline from the diet. This makes menopausal and postmenopausal women at a much higher risk for fatty liver disease, particularly when they have a poor diet high in sugars and starch.

Choline and B Vitamins

In addition, when someone is deficient in folate, a B vitamin, the need for dietary choline increases even more, because choline is needed to help body utilize B vitamins.

Two very common genetic variations in the PEMT gene and the MTHFR gene (I will discuss these gene variations in an upcoming article) create a higher need for both folate AND choline, further increasing the risk of getting fatty liver disease.

What does this mean?

Post-menopausal women and people with these common gene variations are at high risk for choline deficiency, making them at an even higher risk for fatty liver disease. AND when you combine these factors with a common gene variations, a poor diet–high in processed foods, high fructose corn syrup and processed grains, the chances of fatty liver disease are extremely high.

What are the Symptoms?

Often this sneaky disease causes few, if any, symptoms. If it does, symptoms can include fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, and discomfort in the upper right abdomen. Left unchecked, it can progress to serious liver problems including:

• Abdominal swelling
• Enlarged blood vessels
• Enlarged spleen
• Red palms
• Yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
• Mental confusion or dementia
  

How to Prevent or Reverse Fatty Liver Disease

You can reverse fatty liver disease by changing your diet. Strictly eliminating foods containing fructose and high fructose corn syrup, as well as sucrose or any added sugars is the first step. Avoid these foods:

• Processed foods, especially any foods containing added fructose, corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup.
• Any vegetable seed oils such as soybean oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil
• Alcohol
• Certain medications including acetaminophen and ibuprofen

Foods to eat more of:

• Egg yolks
• Grass fed liver
• Naturally raised meats, poultry and fish—you may need to considering eating these even if you are vegetarian or vegan
• Beans and peas
• Liver boosting foods such as artichokes, arugula, and dandelion
• Green leafy vegetables which are high in folate

In addition, taking supplements can help the liver clear out fat, while rebuilding and lowering inflammation. Include these supplements:

• Lecithin, which is high in choline
• A multi-B vitamin with natural folate or methylfolate, NOT synthetic folic acid
• Milk thistle which aids the liver
• Zinc
• Selenium
• Berberine, which lowers blood sugar
• Whey protein, shown to reduce liver fat by up to 20%
• Green tea contains catechins which decrease liver fat and inflammation

Other Supplements like probiotics, resveratrol, curcumin, vitamin E, vitamin C and vitamin D may help to naturally improve a fatty liver and overall health.

And don’t forget to get regular exercise, which can help you burn off excess glucose, increase your insulin sensitivity, and help you lose weight.

Could your doctor be missing these warning signs of a lurking health nightmare?

If you struggle with fatigue, belly fat, or brain fog… and he hasn’t been able to help you… then the answer could be “yes”.

But it’s a health risk you can’t afford to ignore. (Go here to find out what it is.)

The great news? Once you discover the truth about this ignored body organ, you can effortlessly renew your endless energy levels, melt away pounds of stubborn belly fat, and regain your sharp thinking.

To find out what doctors rarely check for, watch this shocking report now (click here).

References
https://drhyman.com/blog/2013/09/26/fatty-liver-90-million-americans/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nonalcoholic-fatty-liver-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20354567
https://www.theartofhealing.com.au/eggs.html
https://draxe.com/health/fatty-liver-disease/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21288612/
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/05/08/why-children-are-getting-fatty-liver-disease.aspx?fbclid=IwAR0l_PNLDz1g4gcGUXJlg9VOs8F9I57HKVmIF8oXzUYZ9OtNdOFYRtjXrpw
https://www.healthline.com/health/visceral-fat#complications
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5893377/#R8
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/liver-anatomy-and-functions
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4462685/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/fatty-liver#TOC_TITLE_HDR_6
https://draxe.com/health/fatty-liver-disease/
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/92/5/1113/4597519
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Choline-HealthProfessional/
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/85/5/1275/4632979?itm_medium=sidebar&itm_content=ajcn&itm_source=trendmd-widget&itm_campaign=trendmd-pilot&utm_campaign=The_American_Journal_of_Clinical_Nutrition_TrendMD_0&utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc

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