There is a connection between lower cholesterol levels and the rate at which prostate cancer occurs and progresses. This is according to a study by Boston’s Children Hospital where evidence is supporting the idea that a low fat and low cholesterol diet can reduce the risk.
Researchers investigated the fact that Western hemisphere men with diets much higher in fat and cholesterol than their Asian counterparts had prostate cancer rates up to 90 percent higher. Experimenting with mice confirmed some of their hypotheses.
Mice were injected with human prostate cancer cells and then fed a high cholesterol diet. The cells multiplied, and upon examination it was found that the outer membranes of the cells held an accumulation of cholesterol. The control group of mice, which were injected with the same number of prostate cancer cells, had fewer and smaller tumors. This group was on a diet much lower in cholesterol. (more…)
There is a connection between lower cholesterol and kidney disease. It has been found that people who have High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) levels that are too low and Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) levels that are too high are at a greater risk of developing kidney problems that can lead to a life time on dialysis. In order to reduce the risk kidney disease and heart disease related to high cholesterol, it is important to raise the HDL while lowering the LDL cholesterol.
The major study conducted that pinpoints the connection between kidney disease and high cholesterol was held at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Four thousand patients were followed for 14 years. The results were that those with low HDL and high LDL had reduced kidney function. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that between 10 and 20 million Americans are in the early stages of kidney disease and don’t even realize it because there are few symptoms. What the NIH does know is that controlling diet and increasing exercise, both of which lower cholesterol, that kidney disease can be prevented. Even those in the beginning stages can slow the degenerative process and reduce the risk of the life threatening illnesses associated with poor kidney function. (more…)
Cholesterol levels have a direct relationship on the occurrence of coronary heart disease. Lower cholesterol and you reduce your chances for developing this deadly disease that strikes millions of people each year. Lower cholesterol levels also protect the body from numerous other health problems.
There are different types of coronary heart disease that can develop from high cholesterol. All are the result of cholesterol building up in the coronary arteries, a network of arteries surrounding the heart, and forming a plaque that reduces the flow of oxygen that is vital to the function of the heart. Cholesterol in the arteries that causes them to harden is also called arteriosclerosis. This condition is accelerated in people who smoke, have high blood pressure, diabetes, and/or high cholesterol level
When blood flow to the heart is reduced because of cholesterol a condition called angina develops. This causes chest pain which at times can feel like a heart attack. Angina is also a pre-indicator that there could be other serious heart problems. Rapid contraction of the coronary arteries causes spasms that cause chest pain. (more…)
There are many factors that affect your ability to lower cholesterol. Not all of them are within your control. Age is one such factor that affects cholesterol levels and over which we have no control. However, with diet and exercise, even older people can lower cholesterol.
Men and women are not created equally when it comes to cholesterol. Women, in general, before reaching menopause have lower cholesterol than men their same. An exception to this is found in women with a strong family history of high cholesterol. As women increase in age, their blood cholesterol also increases. Then, by about the age of 60 most women’s cholesterol readings level off to be comparable with men the same age. Finally, women over 65-70 usually have lower cholesterol levels than men of the same age. (more…)
You eat a low-fat, low cholesterol diet. You get plenty of exercise and keep your weight within a healthy range, yet still can’t seem to lower cholesterol. It may just be that your body is pre-programmed to a certain cholesterol level, and even the best efforts can make it difficult to go any lower. There is significant evidence indicating that cholesterol levels are an inherited factor. For this group of people predisposed to high cholesterol, it is going to take some extra work, but lower cholesterol readings are possible.
Studies conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California compared the cholesterol levels in identical twin males who have the same genetic make up. Twenty eight sets of twins were studied by giving one twin from each pairing a low-fat, low cholesterol diet and the other ate as he pleased. One was a disciplined runner while the other got little or no exercise. While the twins who ate better and moved more did have lower cholesterol, it was not as low as it would have been, had they not been genetically inclined toward higher cholesterol levels. (more…)
Not all fats are created equally especially when it comes to controlling cholesterol. Most of us know to eat a low-fat and low-cholesterol diet, but it’s not so much the amount of fat but the type that has the greatest impact on cholesterol levels.
Fats come in different categories ranging from “good” to “better” to the “really bad for you” levels. Fitting into that range of good for you, but not the best are the polyunsaturated fats. The only types better are unsaturated and monounsaturated fats. A good way to know what type of fat is in a food that isn’t labeled is to look at it at room temperature. If it is in liquid form at room temperature it is better for you – with whole milk being an exception to this rule. If it is a solid, such as most saturated and trans fats found in butter and margarine, then it is not as good at controlling cholesterol. (more…)
Lower your cholesterol. Reduce cholesterol. Get that bad cholesterol down. Raise the good cholesterol. These are all statements that you have probably heard when it comes to managing your cholesterol. But these statements may be leaving you a little confused as to what your goals should really be.
A recent study concluded that most adults don’t know what their cholesterol goal should be. This study even included the majority of those who are on statin drugs designed to reduce cholesterol. New federal guidelines don’t help clear up the confusion either.
An important part of knowing how to manage cholesterol is having a set goal. Talking to your health care provider will give you a specific goal for your cholesterol numbers. They may be looking for a definitive number or a percentage of reduction by a specific time. Either way, your goal will give you something to work towards. All adults should be looking at a goal of lowering their cholesterol to less than 200 mg/dL.
The GOAL Standard Campaign resulted from this national survey, which found people were confused about cholesterol management. GOAL was started by WomenHeart and the Association of Black Cardiologists, Inc. along with AstraZeneca, an international healthcare researcher. GOAL is intended to educate people about cholesterol and then help them set goals and devise a plan for lowering their cholesterol.
The survey results cemented the idea that Americans need to know more about cholesterol management. Forty percent of the adults surveyed wished their doctors would spend more time discussing it, and 80 percent of those with concerns about their cholesterol did not know their own target numbers. More than half (63%) did not know the recommended level for “bad” LDL cholesterol.
Cholesterol comes from two sources – your own body and the foods you eat. When you need to lower cholesterol because a blood test has shown it is too high, you need to lower cholesterol from one or both of these sources. The food source is the easiest because you have control over the foods you eat. It is much more difficult to control the amount of cholesterol produced by your body, because much of how cholesterol is produced and tolerated by the body is hereditary.
To lower cholesterol, first take a look at the types of foods you are eating. About 15% of the average person’s cholesterol comes from their dietary choices. If you find that you are eating several foods that are high in cholesterol, then work to reduce or eliminate the intake of these foods.
The remaining 85% of the cholesterol floating in the blood stream is produced by the body. If we were to eat a diet that contained no cholesterol at all, the body would still produce all that it needs for the production of cells and the transportation through the blood stream of specific nutrients. (more…)
Cholesterol often gets a bad rap because so many people are concerned with how to lower cholesterol. The fact is that cholesterol is necessary, even vital to many functions within the body. It is only when cholesterol levels exceed unhealthy amounts that we need to be concerned about lowering cholesterol.
The body produces and regulates its cholesterol levels in the optimal way. Occasionally, people will inherit a genetic inability to do this in a completely carefree way. They must do something else to ensure their body processes cholesterol properly. Diet and exercise are the primary, safest, and most natural way to lower cholesterol without the side effect of drugs.
Cholesterol works to help make various hormones in the body and vitamin D. It travels through the blood stream from the liver where it is produced by carrier proteins called lipoproteins. There are various lipoproteins that do this including High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) and Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL). Even though the body can produce all the cholesterol it needs on its own, many foods we eat contain more cholesterol. A high fat, high cholesterol diet, or being overweight and inactive can make it so the body has too much of the LDL carried cholesterol. (more…)
The need to lower cholesterol may have nothing to do with your diet and a whole lot more to do with your race. A study of African American men who had a variable form of the MTP gene known as “TT” were found to have between 8 and 15 percent higher levels of Low Density Lipoprotein, or the so-called “bad” cholesterol. Additionally, 7 percent of all African American men have been found to have the TT form of the gene.
In other studies, the same percentage of White males also had a TT form of the MTP gene. This has led researchers to believe that there is a part of the overall male population that is genetically at a greater risk of having high cholesterol. Both studies took into account lifestyle choices such as smoking or alcohol consumption as well as the amount each exercised. All things being equal, those with the gene usually needed to lower cholesterol or face the added risk of heart disease. (more…)
