Posts Tagged ‘sugar’

Understanding Cholesterol Levels

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

It’s important for your body to have a healthy amount of 9cholesterol in order to work properly. You need cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D, and bile acids that help to digest fat. When getting your cholesterol checked, there are several types of cholesterol your doctor may measure. These include: HDL level, LDL level and triglycerides. Below is an explanation of what these are and how to read your lab results.

In order for cholesterol to travel in your blood, it needs to attach to a protein and is therefore called a lipoprotein. Lipoproteins can be high density (HDL), low density (LDL) or very low density (VLDL). This is dependent upon how much protein there is in relationship to fat.

High density lipoproteins (HDL): HDL cholesterol is also known as “good” cholesterol. It is known to help remove excess cholesterol from your body and brings it to your liver for degradation. The higher your HDL the better.

 

Low density lipoproteins (LDL): LDL cholesterol has also been called “bad” cholesterol. High levels have been highly associated with atherosclerosis and increased risk of heart disease and stroke. However, it’s not quite that cut and dry. Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology (Sugar: The Bitter Truth on you tube) explains that there are two types of LDL cholesterol, pattern A (large buoyant) and pattern B (small dense). Pattern A LDL are light and buoyant. They float as they get carried through the blood stream and don’t have a chance to form plaques. Pattern A LDL comes from dietary fat. Pattern B (small dense LDL) don’t float, therefore they do get under the edge of the endothelial cell and start plaque formation. Pattern B LDL comes from carbohydrates (sugar).

Since blood tests don’t individually measure Pattern A and Pattern B LDL levels, you need to look at your triglyceride to HDL ratio to know how much of each you have. Ideally, you want your triglycerides to be low, and HDL to be high. It’s best to have a ratio below 2 (divide you triglycerides by your HDL).

Triglycerides: Triglycerides are the main form of fat in the body and source of energy. When we eat a meal, any excess that is not used as energy is stored in the form of triglycerides in adipose (fat) cells. You want this number to be low (see above).

I hope this information helps to understand your lab values when you talk with your doctor. Feel free to contact us for more information on how diet, exercise and lifestyle  affect your cholesterol and health.

Our workshop, “You Are What You Eat” on June 26th (see event page for more info) is a great place to start.

In Health,

Dorothy Lizak

Nutrition & Wellness Specialist

References:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM&feature=email

http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/triglycerides-lowering-triglyceride-levels

http://cholesterol.about.com/cs/cholesteroltypes/a/lipotypes.htm

Photo: Thank you to: http://www.bakeridi.edu.au/Assets/Images/9.jpg

 

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Tips for making good cholesterol (HDL)

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

 

Today we are made to believe that saturated fat is bad for us. Eating Steak

Fact

  • - Today CAD (coronary artery disease) causes 40% of deaths in the USA and we have been told that this is because of saturated fat. Therefore, one would expect to see a direct correlation between increase in CAD and increase in saturated fat consumption. Actually, the opposite is true. During 1910-1970 the proportion of animal fat in the American diet decreased from 83% to 62% and butter plummeted from 18lbs per person per year to 4lbs. Over the past 80 years cholesterol intake only rose 1%. During this same time the percentage of dietary vegetable oils in the form of margarines, shortenings and refined oils increased about 400% and sugar and processed foods increased about 60%. - How to Eat Move and Be Healthy, Paul Chek

We are taught that we need to watch fat intake in order to control cholesterol levels but how can saturated fat be the culprit when saturated fat consumption has gone down and sugar and trans-fatty acids have gone up?    It is true, we do need to watch fat intake, however, we are not taught what type of fats should be avoided nor are we taught how carbohydrates also contribute to bad cholesterol levels (LDL). 

Cholesterol is important to our bodies’ it is needed to create bile acids, which are needed for digestion of fats and vitamin D as well as aid in hormone production. So when we are not eating correctly to make healthy cholesterol we are not able to contribute to good cholesterol (HDL) levels.  Below is a list of tips for how to improve your good cholesterol (HDL) and how to lower your bad cholesterol (LDL).

  • 1. Eat healthy fats such as egg yolks, nuts, green leafy vegetables and wild fish such as salmon. These fats are high in Omega 3’s and contribute to HDL.

 

  • 2. Eliminate processed foods. Processed foods are high in carbohydrates and typically are supplemented with unhealthy fats (transfats). These are foods that have a shelf life and are typically found in the center of the grocery store. These items contribute to bad cholesterol (HDL)

 

  • 3. Minimize alcohol consumption. Alcohol is high in sugar which means it’s high in carbohydrates which will lead to bad cholesterol levels (LDL).

 

  • 4. Exercise. Exercising helps to burn unused sugars for energy. So rather than the sugar getting stored as bad cholesterol it can get eliminated through exercise.

 

  • 5. Rotate your protein. Eat chicken one day, red meat the next, fish the next day and so on. This way you are getting a variety of nutrients as well as getting fat from a variety of sources.

 

If you just start to become aware of what you are putting into your body and just start with the tips we have listed above you are one step closer to a healthier body.  If you would like more information of how to eat or what you should be eating join us for one of our Wellness lectures, visit www.replenishingsoul.com/our-events.com

 

 Lori Metroka, Nutrition & Wellness Specialist

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Are you a supplement junkie?

Friday, September 11th, 2009

supplementsIf you walk into any health food store you will find a supplement for everything and you will be promised results, guaranteed! There is always a new craze and always will be but I am guessing that many of you out there have spent tons of money and don’t feel any better or look any different? Are you persuaded easily by supplement ads that promise weight loss, anti-aging or just general wellness?   If so, read on…

This blog article is not about bashing supplements but it is about giving you insight on when and how supplements should be used.  We use supplements in our office however, the supplements are used after running detailed lab work.  What you need to understand is that typically when you are feeling tired, have trouble sleeping, suffer from skin reactions, headaches, night sweats, and constant infections or just want to loose weight it is because something in your body is not in balance.  This is where people go wrong.  They usually walk into a store or see an ad on TV and they begin to self diagnose and self treat.  When you ask the clerk for some guidance they walk you over to the aisle for what they “think” may help you based upon what they know about the supplements themselves but what they don’t have is the information that is pertinent to you.  What you need to remember is that everyone is different and requires different supplements for treatment.

In our practice we believe that supplements are just that, that they supplement what is needed or lacking at the time until we get your body back into balance. As I mentioned above the body goes astray when it’s out of balance and the way it goes out of balance is through poor food choices, lack of water, lack of sleep and stress just to name a few.  So, these are the strategies that we begin to work on within our practice and help you by setting up a lifestyle plan.

So many times people need supplementation because they are lacking nutrients due to poor food choices.  If your diet (we define diet as a food plan…not a food restriction) consists of processed foods, sugar, caffeine and alcohol then it may be a good idea to begin slowly removing these items from your diet and begin eating more live foods:  organic meats, poultry, fish, fruits and veggies.  Remember supplements are meant to supplement temporarily not be a permanent fix or a quick fix for that matter.  Getting healthy and staying healthy takes times. If you would like more information about supplements or have comments please feel free to contact us or visit us on the web at www.replenishingsoul.com

 

Lori Metroka

Nutrition & Wellness Specialist

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Does eating fat cause weight gain?

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

whole and half avocado isolated on whiteIf I asked you does eating fat make you gain weight what would your answer be and why?  When I ask this question in my office the answer that I get is “yes” fat makes you fat.  Many people believe that it is fat that makes them gain weight and the correct answer to this question is no fat does not make you fat, let me explain why.

In order for there to be storage of fat there needs to be a release of insulin.  Insulin is a hormone that is produced in the pancreas and has extensive effects on metabolism.  Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle and fat tissue to take up glucose (sugar) from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle, and stopping use of fat as an energy source. For example, when you eat something sugary your body will use the sugar that it needs for immediate energy and will then store what it does not need. It is when your liver and muscles can not store anymore sugar the remaining will get stored as fat.  Therefore, it is sugar that causes an insulin response that causes fat storage.  Fat on the other hand does not have an insulin response and therefore fat storage does not come from eating fat.  If you are looking for weight loss it is when insulin is absent (or low), glucose is not taken up by body cells, and the body begins to use fat as an energy source and that’s when weight loss begins to happen.

This is an important topic to understand since we are lead to believe that low fat, non-fat food items are good for us but guess what?  Low fat, non-fat food items are higher in sugar; this needs to be done so that flavor can remain. The next time you are grabbing for a low fat food item, flip it around and read the label, you may be surprised at what you read.

Fat is essential to our health, here are a few examples of what fat provides for us.  Fat lines our nerves to help with conduction velocity, fatty acids from fat is what your brain uses to create cells that help you to think and feel and fat in the form of cholesterol is the foundation that your hormones are made from.  Depression, PMS, quality of sleep, ability to detoxify and an improved sex drive all take place when your body is making normal levels of hormones due to healthy fat intake.  Healthy fats are olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, raw nuts, raw butter, nut butters and egg yolks just to name a few.  If you are unfamiliar about coconut oil or would like more information about the dangers of sugar you can read our blog entry’s titled “The truth about coconut oil” and “Sugar- sweet, delicious and causes dis-ease”.

 

Lori Metroka

Nutrition & Wellness Specialist

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Sugar-sweet,delicious and causes dis-ease.

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

candy-corn-1

Did you know that the average American eats 2.5 pounds of sugar per week?

Sure, it tastes great, but here’s a list of some of the side effects of sugar.

-Sugar can lead to addiction of more sugar

-Sugar leads to disease

-Sugar can cause depression

-Sugar can lead to disruption in bowel movements

-Sugar can lead to hormonal imbalances, i.e. increasing PMS

-Sugar can lead to dizziness

-Sugar feeds cancer cells

-Sugar suppresses the immune system, making it harder for one to fight off infections.

-Sugar causes anxiety, hyperactivity, and rise in adrenaline, difficulty concentrating and moodiness in children.

-Sugar can cause your bad cholesterol and triglycerides to rise and lower your good cholesterol

-Sugar makes your saliva more acidic, therefore, leading to cavities and tooth decay

-Sugar can cause autoimmune diseases such as: arthritis and multiple sclerosis

-Sugar can cause gut inflammation and yeast overgrowth such as Candida Albicans

-Sugar can cause osteoporosis

-Sugar can increase your chance of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease

-Sugar can lead to gallstones

-Sugar can lead to poor protein absorption

-Sugar can cause food allergies

-Sugar can cause eczema

-Sugar can cause headaches including migraines

When you consume high amounts of sugar in the form of alcohol, soda, pastries, pastas, candy, white bread for an extended amount of time your blood glucose levels continue to rise and cause an elevation in insulin levels. High levels of insulin can cause :

 -High blood pressure              -Heart disease          

-Weight gain/obesity                -Diabetes

-High cholesterol                      

-Premature aging

Wow, isn’t quite amazing how something that tastes so delicious can be so bad for you?  Please don’t wait until you’re diagnosed with a disease to start making healthy choices.  A great way to get started is when you’re at the grocery store only shop on the outside perimeter.  Why?  Because this is where all the fruits, veggies, meats, poultry, eggs etc are located.  The center aisles are the danger zone because the majority items on the shelves have been altered with chemicals and have a shelf life.  In my opinion, if you can’t pronounce the list of ingredients then it’s not a good idea to eat it.

When sugar is cut from the diet many good things begin to happen and begin to take us out of dis-ease within our own bodies.  This includes weight loss, increase in energy levels, improved mood, decreased anxiousness and the elimination of skin rashes. I challenge you to eliminate sugar for one full month and notice the great changes in your mind and body. Please note, you may feel worse before feeling better, this reaction is called the Herxheimer reaction.  This reaction is a short term response lasting from a few days to a few weeks and is a sign of the body detoxifying.  One can experience flu-like symptoms, headaches, muscle and joint aches, sore throat, sweating and other symptoms.  This response is a result of your immune system getting rid of toxins and is a positive sign. 

Therefore, take the sugar challenge, come off sugar for 4 weeks and see how you feel!!!  Let us know how it goes by coming back to our blog and send us a comments.

Resources:  www.mercola.com

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