What is Dyslipidemia?
Dyslipidemia is a term used to define any abnormal blood fat (lipid) levels. Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is naturally produced in the liver and is required by the body in small amounts. When the body begins to accumulate high levels of cholesterol, it builds up in the blood creating fatty plaques that narrow and stiffen the blood vessels. As the blood vessels narrow, it becomes harder for the blood to carry oxygen and nutrients to the tissues. Worse yet, if a plaque becomes loose and dislodges from the wall of a blood vessel, it can become lodged in a smaller blood vessel of the heart or brain blocking blood flow to those tissues causing a heart attack or stroke.
You cannot “feel” high cholesterol in your blood, it can only be detected by blood test. If you have never had your blood lipid levels tested, talk to your healthcare provider about starting a regular monitoring routine for you to keep track of your cardiovascular health.
The Misconception
Science use to believe that eating cholesterol would raise a persons blood cholesterol levels. More recently, this theory has been falsified. We now know that eating high amounts of saturated fats, trans fats and high sugar foods increase production of cholesterol from the liver. We also see that a sedentary lifestyle, void of daily movement and exercise greatly increases a persons risk of elevated blood lipid levels, heart attack and stroke.
The good news: other than the case of a genetic disorder or high cholesterol due to a secondary medical condition or medication, the majority of us can completely reverse a diagnosis of hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia through changes in diet and lifestyle. Here is what you need to know:
Foods that Raise Cholesterol
- Foods containing trans fats: deep fried foods, cake, cookies, doughnuts, pie, crackers, margarine; small amounts of trans fats also occur naturally in animal products such as beef, lamb and butter
- Foods containing saturated fats: red meat (beef, pork, lamb), processed meat, butter, cheese, milk, yogurt, lard, coconut oil, deep fried foods, cake and other desserts/ pastries.
- Foods high in sugar: desserts, juice, soda (diet soda included), ketchup & other condiments/ sauces, low-fat dairy products, cows milk, some cereals and granola bars.
Foods that Lower Cholesterol
- Fruits and vegetables in unlimited amounts!
- Foods high in fibre: choose whole grain bread products. Barley and oats are particularly effective at lowering cholesterol.
- Monounsaturated fats: avocado, nuts (almond, pistachio, walnut, cashew), seeds (flax, chia, hemp, sunflower, sesame)
- Antioxidant rich foods (particularly catechins): green tea, matcha, açai, berries, sugar free cocoa
Lifestyle Changes
- Get moving: and I don’t just mean going to the gym an hour a day and sitting at a desk the rest of the day. To create a healthy heart, focus on duration over intensity. Move throughout the day to keep the blood consistently moving well, the addition of short daily intense workouts are a bonus! Have a desk job that involves a lot of sitting? Set a 30-60 minute timer and get up and go for a short walk, stretch, do some squats or push-ups each time it goes off. Science shows that this habit of taking short 10 minutes breaks every hour will also make you more productive when you return to work, win-win.
- Stress: high levels of stress hormones can increase production of cholesterol from the liver. If you have a lot of stress in your life, it is up to you to manage it. We all feel stress no matter what we spend our days doing, but how we choose to manage this stress is a major predictor of our health. I have a whole slew of mental health and stress management topics on this website, a good start would be with the Meditation or Medication? article that includes how to start a meditation practice.
