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How to Lower Your Cholesterol?

Cholesterol Lowering Drugs and Cholesterol Lowering Diet

Whatever the reasons may be for your high blood cholesterol level - diet, heredity, or both - the treatment your doctor will prescribe first is a diet. If your blood cholesterol level has not decreased sufficiently after carefully following the diet for 6 months, your doctor may consider adding cholesterol-lowering medication to your dietary treatment. Remember, diet is a very essential step in the treatment of high blood cholesterol.

Cholesterol-lowering medications are more effective when combined with diet. Thus they are meant to supplement, not replace, a low-saturated fat, low-cholesterol diet.

Summary of Diet Guidelines for Lowering High Blood Cholesterol Levels

* Eat less high-fat food (especially those high in saturated fat)
* Replace part of the saturated fat in your diet with unsaturated fat
* Eat less high-cholesterol food
* Choose foods high in complex carbohydrates (starch and fiber)
* Reduce your weight, if you are overweight

Eat Less High-fat Food

Dietary Fat

There are two major types of dietary fat - saturated and unsaturated. Unsaturated fats are further classified as either polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats. Together, saturated and unsaturated fats equal total fat. All foods containing fat contain a mixture of these fats.

Reduce Total Fat Intake

One of the goals in your blood cholesterol-lowering diet is to eat less total fat, because this is an effective way to eat less saturated fat. Because fat is the richest source of calories, this will also help reduce the number of calories you eat every day. If you are overweight, weight loss is another important step in lowering blood cholesterol levels (as discussed later in this brochure). If you are not overweight, be sure to replace the fat calories by eating more food high in complex carbohydrates.

Remember: When you decrease the amount of total fat you eat, you are likely to reduce the saturated fat and calories in your diet.

Saturated Fat

Saturated fat raises your blood cholesterol level more than anything else in your diet. The best way to reduce your blood cholesterol level is to reduce the amount of saturated fat you eat.

Animal Fats

Animal products as a group are a major source of saturated fat in the average American diet. Butter, cheese, whole milk, ice cream, and cream all contain high amounts of saturated fat. Saturated fat is also concentrated in the fat that surrounds meat and in the white streaks of fat in the muscle of meat (marbling). Poultry, fish, and shellfish also contain saturated fat, although generally less than meat.

Hydrogenated Fat - Known As Trans Fatty Acids or Trans-Fats

Trans fats are created during the food manufacturing process when cheap vegetable oils undergo a process called “hydrogenation” - they have hydrogen added to them to make them solid and less likely to become rancid. Unfortunately, trans fats are even worse for our heart than saturated fat, as they encourage atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries).

Vegetable Fats

A few vegetable fats - coconut oil, cocoa butter (found in chocolate), palm kernel oil, and palm oil - are high in saturated fat. These vegetable fats are found in many commercially baked goods, such as cookies and crackers, and in nondairy substitutes, such as whipped toppings, coffee creamers, cake mixes, and even frozen dinners. They also can be found in some snack foods like chips, candy bars, and buttered popcorn. Because these vegetable fats are not visible in these foods (unlike the fat in meats) it is important for you to read food labels. The label may tell you how much saturated fat a food contains, which will help you choose foods lowest in saturated fats.

Remember: Saturated fats are found primarily in animal products. But a few vegetable fats and many commercially processed foods also contain saturated fat. Read labels carefully. Choose foods wisely.

Substitute Unsaturated Fat for Saturated Fat

Unsaturated fat actually helps to lower cholesterol levels when it is substituted for saturated fat. Therefore, health professionals recommend that, when you do eat fats, unsaturated fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats) be substituted for part of the saturated fat whenever possible.

Polyunsaturated fats are found primarily in safflower, corn, soybean, cottonseed, sesame, and sunflower oils, which are common cooking oils. Polyunsaturated fats are also contained in most salad dressings. But be cautious. Commercially prepared salad dressings also may be high in saturated fats, and therefore careful inspection of labels is important. The word “hydrogenated” on a label means that some of the polyunsaturated fat has been converted to saturated fat.

Another type of polyunsaturated fat is found in the oils of fish and shellfish (often referred to as fish oils, or omega-3 fatty acids). This type of polyunsaturated fat is found in greatest amounts in such fatty fish as herring, salmon, and mackerel. There is little evidence that omega-3 fatty acids are useful for reducing LDL-cholesterol levels. However, fish is a good food choice for this diet play anyway because it is low in saturated fat. The use of fish oil supplements are not recommended for the treatment of high blood cholesterol because it is not known whether long-term ingestion of omega-3 fatty acids will lead to undesirable side effects.

Olive and canola oil (rapeseed oil) are examples of oils that are high in monounsaturated fats. Like other vegetable oils, these oils are used in cooking as well as in salads. Recently, research has shown that substituting monounsaturated fat, like substituting polyunsaturated fat, for saturated fat reduces blood cholesterol levels.

Remember: Unsaturated fats when substituted for saturated fats help lower blood cholesterol levels.

Eat Less High-Cholesterol Food

Dietary cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in foods that come from animals. Although it is not the same as saturated fat, dietary cholesterol also can raise your blood cholesterol level. Therefore, it is important to eat less food that is high in cholesterol. While cholesterol is needed for normal body function, your liver makes enough for your body’s needs so that you don’t need to eat any cholesterol at all.

Dietary Cholesterol in Food

Cholesterol is found in eggs, dairy products, meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish. Egg yolks and organ meats (liver, kidney, sweetbread, brain) are particularly rich sources of cholesterol. High-fat dairy products, meat, and poultry all have similar amounts of cholesterol. Fish generally has less cholesterol, but shellfish varies in cholesterol content. Foods of plant origin, like fruits, vegetables, grains, cereals, nuts, and seeds, contain no cholesterol.

Since cholesterol is not a fat, you can find it in both high-fat and low-fat animal foods. In other words, even if a food is low in fat, it may be high in cholesterol. For instance, organ meats, like liver, are low in fat, but are high in cholesterol.

Because many foods such as dairy products and some meats are high in both saturated fat and cholesterol, it is important to limit the amount of these high-fat foods that you eat, choosing lean meats and low-fat dairy products whenever possible.

Remember: Organ meats and egg yolks are high in cholesterol. High-fat dairy products, meat, and poultry have similar amounts of cholesterol. Some fish has less. Foods of plant origin like fruits, vegetables, vegetable oils, grains, cereals, nuts, and seeds contain no cholesterol.

Substitute Low GI Carbohydrates for Saturated Fat

Breads, pasta, rice, cereals, dried peas and beans, fruits, and vegetables are good sources of complex carbohydrates (starch and fiber). Low-GI varieties are excellent substitutes for foods that are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. The type of fiber found in foods such as oat and barley bran, some fruits like apples and oranges, and in some dried beans may even help reduce blood cholesterol levels.

Contrary to popular belief, high-carbohydrate foods (like pasta, rice, potatoes) are lower in calories than foods high in fat. In addition, they are good sources of vitamins and minerals. What adds calories to these foods is the addition of butter, rich sauces, whole milk, or cream, which are high in fat, especially saturated fat. It is important not to add these to the high-carbohydrate foods you are substituting for foods high in fat.

Remember: Foods that are high in complex carbohydrates, if eaten plain, are low in saturated fat and cholesterol as well as being good sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Maintain a Desirable Weight

People who are overweight frequently have higher blood cholesterol levels than people of desirable weight.

You can reduce your weight by eating fewer calories and by increasing your physical activity on a regular basis. By reducing the amount of fat in your diet, you will be cutting down on the richest source of calories. Substituting foods that are high in complex carbohydrates for high-fat foods will also help you lose weight, because many high-carbohydrate foods contain little fat and thus fewer calories.

Fat Contains Twice the Calories of Carbs and Protein

Fat has more than twice the calories as the same amount of protein or carbohydrate. Protein and carbohydrate both have about 4 calories in each gram, but all fat-saturated, polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat - has 9 calories in each gram. Thus, foods that are high in fat are high in calories. And all calories count. So, to maintain a desirable weight, it is important to eat no more calories than your body needs.

Remember: To achieve or maintain a desirable weight, your caloric intake must not exceed the number of calories your body burns.

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Lipitor (Atorvastatin) reduces low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and total cholesterol in the bloodline. Lowering your cholesterol can help prevent heart disease and hardening of the arteries, conditions that can lead to heart attack, stroke, and vascular disease.
Lipitor is used to treat heights cholesterol. Lipitor is as well used to lower the risk of stroke, inwardness attack, or other heart complications in people with coronary warmness disease or type 2 diabetes.

Lipitor may also be exploited for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

In rare cases, Lipitor can cause a condition that results in the breakdown of skeletal sinew tissue. This condition can lead to kidney failure. Call your doctor at once if you cause unexplained brawn pain or tenderness, muscle weakness, fever or grippe symptoms, and dark colored urine. This medication lavatory cause parentage defects in an unborn baby. Do not utilization if you are pregnant. Use an effective form of birth control, and tell your doctor if you become pregnant during treatment. Do not take Lipitor if you ar pregnant or breast-feeding, or if you have liver disease.

Before taking Lipitor, say your doctor if you have diabetes, underactive thyroid, kidney disease, a heftiness disorder, or a blood disorder:

Keep off eating foods that are high in fat or cholesterol. Lipitor will not be as effective in lowering your cholesterol if you do not pursue a cholesterol-lowering diet plan.

Obviate drinking alcohol while taking Lipitor. Alcohol can rear triglyceride levels, and may also terms your liver while you are taking Lipitor.

There crataegus oxycantha be other drugs that can interact with Lipitor. Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you consumption. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do non start using a new medication without telling your doctor.

Before taking Lipitor:

Do not function this medication if you are supersensitized to atorvastatin, if you are pregnant or breast feeding, or if you ingest liver disease.

Ahead taking Lipitor, tell your doctor if you ar allergic to any drugs, or if you get:

* diabetes
* hypoactive thyroid
* kidney disease
* a muscleman disorder.

If you have any of these atmospheric condition, you may need a dose alteration or particular tests to safely take Lipitor.

FDA pregnancy category X. This medication can cause birth defects. Do not use Lipitor if you are significant. Tell your doctor right away if you become pregnant during treatment. Use an effective form of birth control while you are victimisation this medication. Lipitor can buoy make birth control pills less effective. Ask your doctor around using a non-hormone method of parentage control (such as a condom, contraceptive diaphragm, spermicide) to prevent maternity while taking Lipitor. It is not known whether Lipitor passes into bosom milk or if it could scathe a nursing baby. Do not guide Lipitor without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby. Lipitor is not for use of goods and services in children younger than 10 days of long time.

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A new gene locus has been discovered that may be associated with levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood. This new finding may aid the development of new drugs to fight cardiovascular disease, according to an article published in the February 9 issue of The Lancet.

Higher LDL cholesterol concentrations have been linked to cardiovascular diseases, and in previous studies, a clinical benefit can be reaped by lowering concentrations of LDL cholesterol in the blood. This means that improving understanding of the biological mechanisms that control the metabolism and regulation of LDL cholesterol could provide valuable information for identification of new therapeutic directions.

Dr Manjinder Sandhu, Department of Public Health & Primary Care and MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, UK, and colleagues did performed an association of LDL cholesterol levels with genome-wide data from 11,685 participants in five separate studies.

The researchers found evidence that correlation existed between LDL-cholesterol levels and the chromosome region 1p13.3. Across all of the studies examined, this association maintained its magnitude and showed independent statistical association in each study. The authors conclude with optimism for the implications of this result: “These results potentially provide insight into the biological mechanisms that underlie the regulation of LDL cholesterol and might help in the discovery of novel therapeutic targets for cardiovascular disease.”

Dr Ronald Krauss, Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, CA, USA, contributed in an accompanying comment with more options for further investigation: “In addition to the identification of new treatment targets, the discovery of genetic polymorphisms that affect LDL and other markers of cardiovascular disease risk could provide a means to categorise specific phenotypes that might merit different treatments and to identify at-risk individuals.”

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High levels increase risk for early heart disease, other serious conditions.

High cholesterol levels are not just found in adults. Children may have high cholesterol, too, even without being overweight. Over years, cholesterol overload has similar hazards as in adults — clogged arteries and injury to the heart.

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia recommends that children, starting at age two years, should have a complete cholesterol profile checked after an overnight fasting if they have a family history of high cholesterol or of early heart disease, in line with similar recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association. Those who do not have a family history but have other risk factors for
early heart disease, such as being overweight, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, poor diet, and sedentary lifestyle should also be screened.

“Although the most common reasons for high cholesterol are poor diet, being overweight, and not getting enough exercise, some apparently healthy children inherit high cholesterol levels from their parents,” said Julie Brothers, M.D., medical director of the Lipid Heart Clinic at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “Overall, we’ve noticed an increase in children’s cholesterol levels the past several years and this is a disturbing trend.”

Children with a family history of high cholesterol or early heart disease, even if they have normal weight, should be routinely screened, as they may have a genetic predisposition for excess cholesterol levels — familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). These children have high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), also called “bad cholesterol,” beginning at birth, which can lead to early thickening of the artery walls, premature cardiovascular disease and an increased risk of early heart attack.

Familial hypercholesterolemia is underestimated in the community and in pediatric primary care practices. Children with FH have no symptoms or signs of their condition and often do not fit the profile of someone who is at risk; they usually have a normal weight and a healthy lifestyle and diet. However, in addition to a family history of high cholesterol, they usually have a family history of early heart disease. Children with a parent, grandparent, sibling, aunt, or uncle with high cholesterol or who has suffered a cardiac event before the age of 55 should be routinely monitored.

Children who are overweight or obese should also have their cholesterol levels routinely screened by pediatric healthcare professionals, as this also places them at increased risk of developing early heart disease.

It is important to differentiate between obese children with high cholesterol and those with FH, which is not traditionally associated with obesity; however, with the obesity epidemic, many children with FH now also are overweight or obese.

“Cholesterol levels in children who are obese usually respond well to diet and lifestyle modifications, whereas children with FH often need medications in addition to diet and exercise,” added Dr. Brothers.

Modifications to diet and increased physical activity are the first-line treatments for children identified with raised cholesterol levels. Another option is putting a child on statin therapy, which is a lifetime commitment.

The Lipid Heart Clinic at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia evaluates and treats children and adolescents who have high levels of lipids (fats) in their blood. Elevated lipids put young people at risk for heart disease later in life.

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation’s first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children’s Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country, ranking third in National Institutes of Health funding. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 430-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents.

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