YOU may have noticed that pork and eggs have become four-letter words. It's all because of cholesterol, a substance that's gotten a reputation for breaking hearts than your loved one.
But cholesterol isn't entirely bad. The human body actually needs it, and produces it, to help protect nerves and build new cells and hormones. In fact, our bodies get all the cholesterol they need by making it on their own. The trouble starts when we add to the cholesterol our bodies produce.
Excess cholesterol settles along arterial walls, and that excess can clog arteries and restrict blood flow, leading to angina pain, heart attack or stroke. (Cholesterol is also a leading cause of gallstones.)
Unfortunately, there's a lot of confusion surrounding this substance. And it's no wonder, with similar terms like serum cholesterol, dietary cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol being bandied around, you may have trouble telling the good from the bad and the ugly.
Serum cholesterol is the amount of this fatty substance in our bloodstream. Our serum cholesterol is what our doctor measures in a cholesterol test. A reading under 200 is desirable; a reading over 240 may be dangerous and is cause for concern.
Meanwhile, dietary cholesterol is what we eat. For instance, an egg has 213 milligrams; an apple has none. Experts recommend that we eat no more than 300 milligrams a day.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is the bad cholesterol that clogs arteries. It simply means that if our LDL is lower, it is better. On the other hand, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is the good cholesterol that scours artery walls and helps remove harmful LDL. The higher our HDL, experts say, the better.
To lower bad cholesterol, doctors usually prescribed simvastatin, atorvastatin, and rosuvastatin. All three belong to a class of drugs called the statins, which are very effective in lowering cholesterol levels.
In his book, How To Live Longer, Dr. Willie T. Ong shares this information: "For persons with total cholesterol of more than 280 mg/dl or an LDL cholesterol of greater than 190 mg/dl, drug treatment may be started after (a) an eight-week trial of diet and exercise and (b) confirmation of cholesterol levels beyond the above cut-offs.
"For those persons who have heart disease, hypertension or are heavy cigarette smokers, drug treatment is started at a much lower cholesterol level of 240 mg/dl and higher or an LDL cholesterol of more than 160 mg/dl.
"And for those who have diabetes or have already suffered a heart attack or stroke, they are the ones who would most benefit from the statin drugs, even if their cholesterol levels are just a shade over 200 mg/dl."
But before taking any drug, Dr. Ong urges that you should check the accuracy of the test. "First, cholesterol test results are notoriously inaccurate, unless it is taken from a reputable laboratory," writes the heart doctor. "Second, make sure the 12-hour fasting requirement is followed - no food and just a minimum of water before testing. For these reasons, a repeat test after 1-2 months of diet and exercise may save the patient money and needless worry."
Dr. Ong, who was named Outstanding Filipino Physician by the Department of Health in 2007, admits that drugs are "expensive and entails frequent monitoring for side effects." As such, he recommends that "lifestyle changes should be maximized."
For one, you must eat breakfast every morning. Breakfast skippers tend to have higher levels than those who start of their mornings with a bellyful, according to studies. One reason may be that breakfast skippers make up for missing the morning feast by munching on unhealthy snacks later on, suggests Dr. John L. Stanton, professor of food marketing at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia.
For another, don't depend on decaf. Decaffeinated coffee actually raises LDL levels more than regular brew, so it's the worst beverage selection if you have high cholesterol. That's according to David Jenkins, director of the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Center at St. Michael's Hospital at the University of Toronto.
It may be because the coffee beans used for decaf are stronger than "regular" beans. Frequent coffee drinkers (those who drink it daily) typically have a 7 percent cholesterol increase, as shown in a study at Stanford University in California.
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on March 30, 2011.
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