Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Vitamin B6 Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH Subscribe Today! B vitamins play a really important role when it comes to supporting energy levels, metabolism, heart health, brain health and so many more systems that are crucial for the everyday functions of …
In this episode, Amanda Williams, MPH discusses the true meaning of alcohol consumption, different types of alcohol and the real cardiovascular impacts of alcohol consumption.
policosanol
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH.
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You’ve probably heard that having high cholesterol can certainly raise your risk for heart disease. Now, we know more about why that is. It’s not just about the cholesterol. We certainly know that it comes down to the inflammatory process and the damage done due to the cholesterol or the plaque buildup that occurs within the vascular system. We know that targeting cholesterol is one aspect, but we also have to have that happen in conjunction with easing inflammation throughout the cardiovascular system.
Today, I want to talk about cholesterol in general and specifically a really cool nutrient that comes directly from nature that has been shown in more than 80 clinical trials to be very, very beneficial for those who are struggling with maintaining healthy cholesterol levels.
The dangers of high cholesterol
Let’s talk about the really horrific statistics when it comes to high cholesterol in the United States. 93 million Americans have total cholesterol that is higher than 200mg/dL. This in and of itself isn’t always technically indicative of an increased risk for cardiovascular disease because we know we have to look at it in more specified ways. When I say that, we have to look at markers for inflammation, things like homocysteine, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, fibrinogen levels and cholesterol particles.†
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When we hear the term atherosclerosis, or plaque buildup within the vessels, we know this is one indication that can lead to a greater risk of a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack or a stroke. One thing that we now have a much better understanding of is that it’s not just about the cholesterol. It comes down to the inflammation.†
One area that I find incredibly insightful is looking at those particle sizes because, if your bad cholesterol is circulating throughout the body and it is predominantly large-sized particles, that is less problematic than if that bad cholesterol is circulating around and it is tightly dense particles. The reason why is because those small, dense particles have an easier time getting into the vasculature and what happens is it kind of just pings off those vessels. When those vessels get damaged, the body goes into a repair mode, but in doing that, we have an overabundance of this inflammatory response. That is where we get that thickening of the vessels or that plaque buildup. It is technically more of this inflammatory process that is driving up the cardiovascular risk, but we do know that cholesterol is playing a major role in it.†
Tune into the full podcast episode to learn more about the problem of elevated cholesterol.
How to face high cholesterol levels
When it comes to what we should be doing, we know that statin drugs are the primary way in which traditional doctors are going to target elevated cholesterol. For some people, that may be warranted and that may be the right thing. Certainly, this is the decision you make with your physician. We do know that some people don’t do well on a statin drug because of the potential side effects. Some people get kind of arthritic-type symptoms that go along with being on a statin. This is usually driven by the muscle damage that is occurring and it can actually get to the point where you have a very severe case of muscle breakdown known as rhabdomyolysis.†
One area that I think is quite interesting is looking at things from nature. One thing in particular that we know has been shown to be very, very beneficial when it comes to targeting cholesterol in a natural way is policosanol. Policosanol is naturally-occurring from nature and we can look at it as a component of beeswax and sugar cane. What we know is that the way that the policosanol is actually working is quite impressive when it comes to the proper regulation of cholesterol transport. There have been multiple clinical trials and clinical studies done looking at the effectiveness of policosanol.†
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There was a study done and published in 2019. This was a multi-center study and they were talking about policosanol supplementation and how that could significantly improve blood pressure. That was really quite interesting because most of the previous studies with policosanol were looking specifically at what the policosanol was doing in terms of the inhibition of cholesterol buildup within the body. This study was looking at the vascular benefit when it came to regulating blood pressure.†
In this particular study, they were taking a group of people who had not only elevated cholesterol, but also were struggling maintaining healthy normal blood pressure throughout the day. They found at the end of their study that policosanol could lower both the systolic and the diastolic blood pressure significantly. They said future studies are required to really look at this in detail.
Learn more about the benefits of policosanol by listening to the full podcast episode.
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Resveratrol is a phytoalexin, a natural substance that is released by plants to protect them from fungus and other microbes, from extreme temperatures, and from excessive dampness or drought. Resveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes, red wine, and peanuts. As a supplement, …
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in the cells of your body. It is needed to make hormones, vitamin D and supports the healthy digestion of food. Your body makes all of the cholesterol that it needs. However, the foods you eat that contain bad cholesterol (or LDL-Cholesterol), may put you at risk for developing high blood cholesterol, or too much cholesterol in your blood.
The United States Department of Health & Human Services reports that individuals with high blood cholesterol have a great chance of developing coronary heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease or simply, heart disease. This is a condition where plaque builds up in the hearts arteries, narrowing the arteries and limiting or completely blocking oxygen-rich blood to the heart. This can cause blood clots and eventually lead to a heart attack.
Now, because of the standard American diet, it is easy to eat your way to high cholesterol levels. But, it may also be easy to reverse it by changing the foods that you eat. Harvard Medical School reports that this can be done but requires a two-pronged strategy – “Add foods that lower LDL-Cholesterol (the harmful cholesterol-carrying particle that contributes to artery-clogging atherosclerosis) and cut back on goods that boost LDL.”
According to the Harvard Medical Schools recent publication, there are 11 foods that can lower LDL-cholesterol in different ways.
Be aware of foods that contain high levels of saturated fats, such as red meat and whole-fat dairy products. Saturated fat can increase levels of LDL cholesterol. Though these fats have been shown to lower triglycerides and nudge up levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, moderation is key.
Transfats are the byproduct of chemical reactions that turn liquid vegetable oil into solid margarine or shortening that prevents liquid vegetable oils from going bad. They have no nutritional value and have been shown to damage the heart and increase LDL levels. Trans fat has recently been banned from the U.S. food supply but the phasing-out process may take up to three years to complete.
Being overweight and inactive does not allow the body to function at its highest capacity. Excess weight boosts harmful LDL levels, while inactivity depresses protective HDL.