4-24-25 - Cholesterol, A1C
Susan Wakefield saw improvements in her cholesterol, her A1Cblood sugar – and even better pain.
Diet can have a huge impact on our heart health, gut health and mood.
Yet these health issues are growing. About 86 million US adults age 20 or older have total cholesterol levels above 200 mg/dL. Nearly 25 million adults in the United States have total cholesterol levels above 240 mg/dL.1
About 7% of US children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 have high total cholesterol.
Cholesterol – we do need some cholesterol to be healthy. It is in our body to help build the structure of cell membranes. make hormones like estrogen, testosterone and adrenal hormones, helpyour metabolism work efficiently, and is essential for your body to produce vitamin D (which help bones, teeth and muscles).
We have two kinds of cholesterol – HDL or ‘good’ cholesterol and LDL ‘not so good’ cholesterol.
HDL is responsible for reverse cholesterol transport, which means it removes bad cholesterol from the bloodstream and takes it to the liver, which gets rid of it,” he explains.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is commonly known as the “bad” cholesterol because it causes plaque formation in the arteries over time.
Diet accounts for about 30% of your cholesterol in your blood. You can help improve your cholesterol – create more good HDL, and less LDL with diet.
We used to think it was fat that was bad for heart health. New research shows that is not true.
Remember when eggs were bad for us?
Butter is bad and we ate margarine?
When we moved to the “Low fat” diet in the early 1990’s, we saw increases in cholesterol, heart disease, brain disorders, mood disorders, and spikes in other challenges including cancer.
Why?
Because when we removed fat, the food companies added sugar to make the food taste good and last longer on the store shelf.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2783903/
In 1975 – we ate 26 lbs of sugar per person per year.
In 1985 we ate about 50 lbs. of sugar per person per year. Then the low fat diet craze hit and it skyrocketed to
In 1990 we ate an average 90 lbs. of sugar per person per year.
In 2023 we ate an average 156 lbs.
Sugar intake can negatively impact cholesterol levels, specifically by lowering HDL (good) cholesterol and raising triglycerides, which are both risks for cardiovascular disease. Sugar can also affect LDL (bad) cholesterol, making it dysfunctional and increasing the risk of heart disease.
How Sugar Affects Cholesterol:
Lowering HDL Cholesterol:
Studies show that increased sugar consumption is linked to decreased HDL levels, which are crucial for removing excess cholesterol from the bloodstream.
Raising Triglycerides:
High sugar intake, especially from sugary drinks and refined carbohydrates, can lead to elevated triglyceride levels, another risk factor for heart disease.
Impact on LDL Cholesterol:
While sugar may not directly raise LDL levels, it can alter LDL molecules, making them dysfunctional and more prone to causing artery plaque buildup.
Insulin Resistance:
It impacts A1C too, as that is the measure of sugar in our blood which can impact liver and insulin.
When you consume sugar, your body breaks it down into glucose, which enters the bloodstream. This raises blood sugar levels, and the pancreas releases insulin to help cells use that glucose for energy. If you consume too much sugar, blood sugar levels can remain high, leading to insulin resistance and potentially developing prediabetes or diabetes. High sugar intake can contribute to insulin resistance, where cells become less responsive to the hormone insulin. This can lead to a variety of metabolic problems, including abnormal cholesterol profiles.
Sugar also spikes inflammation – and that can impact your C-Reactive protein test which is often a test doctors use to look at heart health. This can lead to chronic low-grade inflammation, potentially contributing to various health problems like heart disease, diabetes, and liver disease.
Elaboration:
Recommendations:
Limit Added Sugars:
Reduce your intake of added sugars, such as those found in sugary drinks, candy, and processed foods.
Choose Whole, Nutritious Foods:
.
Focus on a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Prioritize Healthy Fats:
.Include heart-healthy fats like avocados, nuts, seeds, and fatty fish in your diet.
Manage Blood Sugar:
If you have diabetes or pre-diabetes, managing your blood sugar levels is crucial for overall health, including cholesterol levels.
Watch how much you eat of
•Red meat, like beef, pork, and lamb,
•Processed meats like sausage and lunch meat which can be very high in sodium.
•Baked goods and sweets
•Fried foods
•Tropical oils such as palm oil and coconut oil
Lower LDL by:
1. Stop smoking.
2. Manage blood sugar levels. Even those who are not diabetic or prediabetic should watch blood sugar.
3. Exercise. Walk for 20 minutes or more a day. Join our 6 Week blitz and get some weight training too.
4. Reduce stress – it reduces blood pressure. Need help doing that? Try Control. It makes a big difference in mood.
5. Watch your weight. Losing weight increases your HDL, which in turn helps remove and lower LDL.
6. Eat a healthy diet – getting enough fiber, lean protein, healthy fats, and enough hydration.
https://www.piedmont.org/living-real-change/good-vs-bad-cholesterol#:~:text=%E2%80%9CHDL%20is%20responsible%20for%20reverse,in%20the%20arteries%20over%20time.
Foods to Eat:
1. Foods rich in fiber or take Fiber Pro. Fiber helps to remove fats, sugars from our diet and our body and help take them out of the body naturally. This can help lower cholesterol, boost gut health, boost immune health. Only 8 out of 100 people get enough fiber. High fiber foods like Beans, barley, broccoli, sweet potatoes – have fiber to help lower cholesterol.
2. Plants with high water content, like spinach and other leafy greens
3. Fruits like Apples, grapes, strawberries, berries – have fiber that has been shown to help lower LDL.
4. Soy – there is a lot of myth and confusion on soy. This is because the molecule under a microscope looks like a similar shape to estrogen. It has been studied and shown to NOT act like estrogen in the body. In Asian countries where they eat a LOT more than in the USA, along with more fish – they have less health issues. Soy milk is also great for muscle building and satiety, and some studies show it can help fight against certain cancers.
5. Fatty fish – Omega’s make a difference as they help fight inflammation and reduce triglycerides and LDL. If you don’t eat salmon, mackeral, tuna, sardines – then take our Vital Omega – it is 4x more powerful than common Omega’s on the market and has more benefits too due to flax, black cumin seed, molecularly distlled fish oil too.
6. Whole grains like oats, whole wheat bread, brown rice, even popcorn.
7. Nuts like walnuts and almonds
8. Health fats – like canola oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, butter, cream.
Jump To Health Product
Podcast https://www.fluid.app/s/0e61b1
1. Start your day with Fiber Pro in your morning coffee or beverage. It gets you a full serving of fiber – about 6 grams.
2. Have Fiber Pro in PowerOx in the afternoon for a healthy pick me up. The combo helps balance gut health, balance hunger hormones, and can even help with menopause if you add in a little Ignite. By
3. Have a Shake for breakfast. Not only are you getting lean, low fat protein, but also prebiotic fiber again. Add in fruit and you have almost 2 servings of fiber. And the sweetener we use does not spike insulin, or blood sugar.
If you do this for 2-3 weeks – and take a blood test – you likely will see results – fast!
4. Vital Omega -get more powerful Omega support than other brands.
5. Ignite – some studies show that MCT’s like those in Ignite not only make your brain happy and help you eat less, but also can help boost good HDL and lower bad LDL. So in your morning coffee have Fiber Pro, Ignite.
6. GLucoSupport - managing blood sugar is key for helping our body with blood pressure and cholesterol. Berberine and other nutrients in GlucoSupport have been shown to help reduce total cholesterol, and especially LDL cholesterol.
Berberine may lower cholesterol levels by:
Inhibiting cholesterol absorption in the intestines
Reducing cholesterol synthesis in the liver
Increasing the breakdown of cholesterol in the liver
7. Fruit power, veg Power – there are many studies that show polyphenols help our gut, heart, and cholesterol. If you are not eating enough fruits and veg, then add Fruit Power and Veg.
Now interestingly – doing this can also help lower your blood pressure!
Key here is watching sodium. We should be getting 1500-2500 mg a day – yet the average adult is getting 40% more or 4000 mg a day. This makes us retain water, and increases blood pressure.
Potassium – found in banana’s also help support healthy blood pressure. So enjoy that PB and banana shake!
Beets help create nitric oxide in the body to help keep blood vessels soft and help with blood flow. So does citrulline malate, which we have in Excelerade.
Pumpkin seeds too – which is in the VPro shake – can help too.
info on all Jump To Health products https://LiveLifeNow.jumptohealth.com
Return to Homepage http://www.livelife-now.com
So eat healthy, have a Core and VPRo shake, take the Fiber pro and Omega, Gluco support. See how fast you can get better blood work, better energy, better health.
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