Cholesterol, Fat, and Heart Disease: Cholesterol is a substance that is not well received by heath professionals and consumers alike. A large portion of the population believes that consumption of foods with cholesterol and fat is dangerous to their heath. Food advertised as low fat or fat-free attracts consumers worried about their health, but is a low fat/cholesterol diet really the answer to a healthy life without heart disease? According to Dr. Jonny Bowden and Stephan Sinatra cholesterol is not the harmful molecule that it’s considered to be. “We fervently believe that neither cholesterol nor fat is the major villain in the American diet – sugar is.” Jonny Bowden and Stephen Sinatra stated in a recent article, we also believe that the case against cholesterol, which was made nearly 30 years ago, was based on faulty evidence. The case needs to be re-opened and the evidence needs to be re-examined.” This quote reflects new and rediscovered information that fats and cholesterol are no longer considered to be the main culprit behind Coronary Heart Disease. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the desirable level for cholesterol is under 200. However, a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society found that people with cholesterol levels lower than 189 were more likely to die than those with cholesterol levels significant higher than the desirable 200. Even considering other influences such as smoking, patients with lower cholesterol were found more likely to die than those with higher amounts. Disisto 2 Cholesterol is categorized as a sterol, which is an organic molecule derived from animals. It is considered a lipid, a category that includes fats, waxes and fat-s... ... middle of paper ... ...he present day, the suggested proportions of fats to carbohydrates are very similar to what they were in 1977. Another reason this unproven theory is still accepted as fact, throughout the medical community, as well as the general public, is the influence of large pharmaceutical companies promoting cholesterol-lowering medications, known as statins. Statins are the most widely sold pharmaceutical drugs in history. According to Forbes Magazine cholesterol lowering medications earn drug companies twenty-six billion dollars a year, accounting for 6.5% of the total market share. It may not be a coincidence that over the past twenty years, the recommended acceptable cholesterol levels for prescribing statins has come down drastically, even though no credible correlation between high cholesterol and coronary heart disease exists.
In the book, Low-Fat Lies High-Fat Frauds by Kevin Vigilante and Mary Flynn it discusses the low and high-fat diet controversy and the false promises that it brings. The book also mentions how High-Fat diets can be dangerous to your health and it explains how to distinguish the good and the bad fat in your diet. Many people don’t understand how importance it is to take control of their own nutrition and health. Instead, they turn to what the media, doctors, government or other health organizations say about low and high fat diets. Many of these diets such as the Atkins diet and the Zone and sugar diets have misleading flaws. It does not mean the government or doctors are trying to kill us. Misleading media is mostly propaganda and big fancy
Almost everybody knows the negative effects bad cholesterol has on the body. Bad cholesterol has to do with low-density lipoprotein’s molecular transport deposits that thicken in the walls of the arteries hindering the flawless passage of blood affecting the atherogenic status of the arterial walls. But not everybody fully appreciates the important role cholesterol plays in the body. This non-soluble, waxy substance is essential to aid in the building of membranes, the manufacture of bile, strengthening of cell walls and nerve sheaths, and in the production of hormones.
Ever since the turn of the twenty first century, the urge to keep a trim, slim figure has become increasingly desired. Pressure from beauty campaigns and other societal influences have drawn a picture of what it means to be beautiful; The picture is a thin, flawless girl sporting a yellow polka dot bikini whose diet consists of strictly salad. As a result, tons of insane, unrealistic dieting plans have emerged, most of which are just fancy and expensive ways of starving yourself. While most of these are highly unethical, a couple have persevered to be quite successful, not only with keeping the number on your scale down, but also with keeping down the numbers of your cholesterol and blood pressure. The Mediterranean Diet, Pescetarianism, and
CAD is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the worldwide. The prevalence of biological and metabolic risk factors were also found to be high in development of coronary artery disease. Patients with hypercholesterolemia are at increased risk to experience cardiovascular events and to die from vascular disease [2]. .Statins, among the most commonly prescribed drugs worldwide, are cholesterol let downing agents used to manage cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases and to treat hypercholesterolemia. Statin’s therapy ...
Six moths ago I scheduled a physical and blood work, a month later I was diagnosed with high cholesterol. My total cholesterol levels were at 250, with and LDL of 150, which puts me at a higher risk of cardiovascular illness. I was given the option of changing my eating habits with a combination of exercise to manage and lower my cholesterol levels, thus avoiding the need for medication. The dr. was very supportive, he had many helpful suggestions and showed me several ways in which I could lower my cholesterol by making simple food choices. After a long discussion I decided this was the way to go, I hate taking medication. When I reviewed the analysis report and saw that my cholesterol continues to be above the recommended range I let out a huge sigh, it took a few seconds to compose myself before I continued to look over it. This whole time I thought I had maintained my cholesterol under control, the analysis report proved that I was wrong. It is important that I make changes on how I eat. High cholesterol is indicative of cardiovascular illnesses that possibly result in serious chronic diseases. Diseases that are linked to high cholesterol are Coronary heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. The main risk from cholesterol is heart attacks. If the cholesterol remains high, it can build up overtime in the walls of the arteries forming a build up known as plaque. This plaque will cause the arteries
While there are some nutrients that are commonly agreed upon to be “good” or “bad” nutrients, there are many that have been both demonized and glorified over time. For example, William Keith Kellogg claimed that protein was bad for one’s health and promoted vegetarianism. Thus, at the beginning of the twentieth century, he founded the Kellogg’s company so that he could manufactured foods containing primarily carbohydrates, including corn and wheat flakes. There have also been claims that gluten, fat, and carbohydrates are bad for one’s health. In the 1950’s, Ancel Keys declared that all fat was a cause of heart disease after studying in Naples. In reality, it is really cholesterol that causes heart disease. In response to this information provided by Keys, the U.S. government released a statement to, “reduce all meat and dairy intake.” Yet, after complaints from the meat industry, the government altered the statement to, “choose meat and dairy that reduce saturated fat
How does a person increase their chances of heart disease, stroke and peripheral artery disease all in the same way? By having increased cholesterol levels (Wedro, 2014). It is estimated that 71 million Americans have high cholesterol, and of those, only one-third of them have it under control (CDC, 2011). A reduction in LDL cholesterol has been shown to decrease the prevalence of strokes and heart attacks. That being said, it has also been shown that cholesterol levels above 200mg/dL put an individual at twice the risk for coronary heart disease than persons with levels 180mg/dL or less (Mann, 2014). There are numerous risks associated with high cholesterol, luckily many factors that can help control it such as medications, exercise and nutrition (Filho, 2013). Exercise training has been supported to show improved changes in blood lipid panels (Greene, 2012). This paper is going to analyze the effects that exercise and diet can have on lowering total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides, as well as looking into ways that can help to increase levels of HDL cholesterol. Maintaining cholesterol in the recommend range has been shown eliminate 20,000 myocardial infarctions and 8,000 deaths each year. Saving money is not as important as life saving tactics, but studies suggest that controlled cholesterol could reduce billions of health care costs that are related to elevated cholesterol levels annually (CDC, 2011). Elevated cholesterol levels are associated with limited access to health care; therefore looking into areas of lifestyle changes for health care benefits that are low cost and effective would be valuable (CDC, 2011).
Katan, MB. "High-oil compared to low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets in the prevention of ischemic heart disease." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 66:974-979, Oct. 1997
In the article “Paranoia about Fats is Driven by Junk Science” by Jill Richardson discusses the idea of how many Americans’ have false beliefs on the consumption of fats. Many think fats are bad and unhealthy for our diets, when in reality; we need them to maintain a healthy diet. For me and just like many others, I had the wrong impression on fats. Since many products today contain the label fat-free, I always believed that this was bad for diets. Since reading this article, it helped me take into account that eating omega-3 and omega-6; such as fish, greens, seeds, and oils are part of a well-balanced diet. This can be related to chapter 3, as omega-3 fatty acids are essential in preventing
The diet of the average person in the United States can be seen as less than ideal to anyone who has knowledge of nutrition and proper diet. According to Center For Science In the Public Interest (CSPINET), the diet of the an average individual in America is said to lead to increase the risk of many diseases. This is due to the amount of saturated fat, sodium, calories, and added sugar (para. 1). In 2016, Frerichs, Intolubbe-Chmil, Trowbridge, Brittin, Teitelbaum, & Huang, explain that the factors of
Elements of the western diet link to the cause, that cholesterol and diabetes are caused by poor and unhealthy dietary choices.
My DRI of cholesterol was maxed at 300mg and my intake was 267mg. Still relatively high so could start consuming Oatmeal for breakfast in which reduces your low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad" cholesterol. Also, I...
Moll, J. (2008, October 06). Can The Mediterranean Diet Lower Cholesterol. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from About: http://cholesterol.about.com/od/cholesteroldiets/a/mediterranean.htm
When one or several lipids combine with proteins this forms lipoproteins, these transport fat throughout the bloodstream. High-density lipoproteins, also known as HDL, carry fat away from body cells, therefore preventing its growth in the artery walls. Low-Density Lipoproteins, also known as LDL, contain a high amount of cholesterol and seem to help the build up of fatty materials in the artery walls. The situation that you should go for would be high HDL and low LDL levels. Your goal should be to keep your overall cholesterol at below 200, with LDL lower than 40, and your HDL should be at around 160. This will lower the risk of heart disease and other related problems with cholesterol.
A low fat heart healthy diet is my idea of the best nutritional diet, especially since heart disease is the number one killer among people in the United States. Cardiovascular disease is very prevalent in my family. I lost both, paternal and maternal grandparents to heart disease. My father has severe heart disease, and my mother and brother are both hypertensive and require medication; therefore, I know I’m especially vulnerable to this disease.