LADIES, PLEASE READ THIS!



(PART TWO OF FIVE)


Hi Friends, this is a continuation of my previous post, as I work hand-in-hand with the American Heart Association to help create a greater awareness among women concerning heart disease and how to reduce the risk factors associated with it. Of course, this also applies to men, but we would like to focus more on the ladies, since they contribute more to the statistics, and they are less aware of this problem as compared to men.

In my previous post, I agreed to write more about the RISK FACTORS for heart disease: High cholesterol, hypertension, poor diet and obesity, smoking, diabetes and lack of exercise. We shall look at high cholesterol in this post. You will realise that the risk factors are all inter-related with one another. I have to bear this in mind, or else, I might just get lost writing everything in one single post! So let's go!

RISK FACTOR #1: High cholesterol

What contributes to a higher cholesterol level? Food high in cholesterol? And what does it really mean by "high cholesterol"? Do you know that there are GOOD cholesterols and BAD ones?

When you go and have your blood tested, you will normally get 4 kinds of readings related to your cholesterol or lipid levels.


- Total Blood (or Serum) Cholesterol Level (200-239 mg/dL: Borderline; 240 and above: High Risk)
- HDL (GOOD) Cholesterol Level (Less than 40 mg/dL for men and 50 mg/dL for women: High Risk)
- LDL (BAD) Cholesterol Level (130-159 mg/dL: Borderline; 160 and above: High Risk)
- Triglyceride Level (150-199 mg/dL: Borderline; 200 and above: High Risk)


Is it THAT difficult to LOWER all the levels above to DESIRABLE levels? Not at all. Do you have to take expensive medications? In some cases, yes, as per your physician's advice. But the truth is, there are ways to do it healthily, free-of-charge, and best of all, without the terrible side effects of taking drugs. These methods are nothing extraordinarily new, and I'm sure you know some, if not, most of them yourselves. And I sure hope that THIS TIME, this message or advice will really sink in. It's no point reading it again and again but you do nothing about it. I strongly implore you to put it to habit:

(i) Eat a heart-healthy diet,
(ii) Get regular physical exercise, and
(iii) Avoid tobacco smoke (first- & secondhand)
(iv) Get a blood test once every 5 years
(v) Change your genetic make-up (ok, this is not possible, but just to let you know that our genes can also determine how much cholesterol your body produces, something we can't control)

Now do you see why I said that the risk factors are inter-linked in one way or another? The 3 ways to reduce the first risk factor (high cholesterol), is actually also helping to reduce risk factors #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6.

So let's now zoom in to the first method:

(i) Eat a heart-healthy diet

Yes, I hear those GREEN words coming... Vegetarians, vegans, octo-vegans, etc... all of them have been consistently proven to have significantly reduced chances of having heart diseases, as compared to the hardcore carnivores. Whether you like it or not, fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains and legumes, are all heart-healthy food. These are the kind of food that are LOW IN or are absolutely FREE of the BAD BOYS: CHOLESTEROL, SALT, SUGAR, SATURATED FAT, TRANS FAT, ALCOHOL. I'm not saying you can't take any of those things, or meat. But the truth is, those ARE ultimately THE things that contribute to higher cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, etc. In the end, you have to make the choice between continuing your current eating habits, and changing to a healthier and good-for-your-heart diet. All I can do is to present to you the facts and truths, and the decision is yours. You are responsible to make your own choice, sow whatever you want (good food or bad ones), and years later, reap the results. I can only pray hard that you will make the RIGHT choice.

Think about it... you WILL definitely save A LOT on healthcare and medication. What makes you think that healthcare costs are going to come down? And you'll be in great health, enjoy life as great as it can be, and avoid all the unnecessary disablements and discomforts of chronic diseases. Having pain all the time is not fun at all. And having to swallow all those expensive pills for your conditions is not fun too. There are a lot of nightmarish side effects in taking drugs. And I do not think that God intended for us to go through old age with all kinds of sicknesses and diseases and sufferings. Is it possible to die of old age free of common chronic diseases? Absolutely.

To be specific, what should you AVOID or CUT DOWN ON? Here are some lists that can help you make your choices:

TOP 75 HIGH CHOLESTEROL FOODS (Source: USDA)

I'm sharing the Top 30 here. If you would like to see all of the 75, go HERE.



For those in RED, PLEASE AVOID TAKING IT as much as you possibly can. Those are the major killers. HOWEVER, it should be noted that the same high cholesterol food stuffs are also good sources of other essential nutrients such as protein, fatty acids, macro- and micro-nutrients, and carbohydrates. But of course, these essential nutrients can be found in other healthier sources of food. Again, it's your choice. Choose wisely.



If you are currently consuming these high cholesterol food in every meal every day (for some, maybe more than one high cholesterol food in every meal every day), I suggest that you do a transition change, so that you won't feel the "withdrawal syndrome" that badly. From 3 meals a day (some four), you may reduce those high cholesterol food down to 2 meals with those kind of food, and the remaining one meal, you may convert the high cholesterol food that you regularly consume into something green, like veges, or fruits, or whole grain, or legumes, on the 1st day. Do this for the whole week. I'm very sure you'll notice a difference in how you feel. If that week is alright, then, you may convert another meal to be free of high cholesterol food for the second week, and so forth. For the hardcore carnivores, they may need a longer transition period, probably a month or two (don't be surprised), as compared to a week as per what I'd explained above.



You might ask, does this mean complete elimination of those food in red from the diet? Well, ultimately, yes, that would be the best, but you might also ask, would there be any exceptions? Special cases? Well, the answer is yes, there is. IF, and I must repeat... IF you are an active sportsman, active in physical activities, which is solution (ii) that we will look at in the next post, then you may safely consume more of these food as compared to a sedentary non-active individual. And also if you are a non-smoker, and not exposed to secondhand smoke, as well as if you are regularly consuming cholesterol-reducing food. We shall touch on this soon (cholesterol-reducing food).



Orange colored ones, still quite risky, so can consume in extreme moderation, probably once a week, and the yellow ones, in moderation, 3 times a week should be fine. And for the rest of those not listed here, in moderation, once a day should be alright. Of course, the best is to avoid all of these completely, but that would be quite impractical. Try turning a carnivore to a herbivore overnight. You'll get more roadkills than before. And ultimately, those things high in cholesterol also happen to be food that TASTE GOOD.



Even though I am an active sportsman, I don't smoke or stay near smokers, and I ADORE EGGS... BUT ultimately, I keep my eggs intake in check, because whether I like it or not, I need to take care of my heart! And of course, being a nutritionist, I need to walk the talk, not just talk big.



I shall be back to write about SALT, SUGAR, SATURATED FAT, TRANS FAT, ALCOHOL.

Remember the key words of a healthy diet: WHOLE GRAINS, FRUITS, VEGETABLES, LEGUMES. More of these.

And less of these: CHOLESTEROL, SALT, SUGAR, SATURATED FAT, TRANS FAT, ALCOHOL.