Cholesterol

What is cholesterol and what is it's role in the body? Why it's important and why it can get too high? Let’s also look at some strategies to lower it if needed.

Cholesterol levels and their impact on health can change with aging due to several factors, including shifts in metabolism, hormonal changes, and lifestyle habits. Understanding the relationship between cholesterol and aging is important for managing heart and overall health.

Key Points About Cholesterol and Aging

Cholesterol Basics:

• LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein): Often termed "bad" cholesterol, high levels contribute to plaque buildup in arteries.

• HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein): Known as "good" cholesterol, it helps remove LDL from the bloodstream.

• Triglycerides: A type of fat in the blood; high levels can increase the risk of heart disease.

Changes With Age

Metabolism Slows Down: Aging decreases the body's ability to process cholesterol efficiently. See previous posts about helping to increase / balance metabolism.

Hormonal Shifts: Menopause in women leads to reduced estrogen, which previously helped maintain healthier cholesterol levels. As a result, LDL levels may rise, and HDL levels may drop.

Liver Function: The liver's ability to clear LDL from the blood diminishes over time. Nutrition can really help with your liver health and function.

How we can improve our cholesterol levels?

Lifestyle and Cholesterol Management:

Diet: Emphasize fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats (e.g., olive oil, nuts, and fatty fish). Avoid trans fats and reduce saturated fats.

Exercise: Regular physical activity improves HDL levels and reduces LDL.

Weight Management: Maintaining a healthy weight helps control cholesterol.

Smoking and Alcohol: Quit smoking to improve HDL levels, and limit alcohol intake to moderate levels.

To lower cholesterol, try eating a fibre-rich diet, particularly from plant-predominant sources (beans, lentils, chickpeas, edamame etc.). Fibre binds with cholesterol in the digestive system, helping to remove it from the body before it can be absorbed into the bloodstream.

We all know that our muscle mass starts to decline when we are in our 30s and it's important to incorporate resistance training into our weekly exercise. Maintaining adequate muscle mass may also be an effective strategy for maintaining optimal LDL cholesterol levels. To build muscle without raising cholesterol, try moderate amounts of resistance training (using weights, stretch bands, or medicine balls).

Cardiovascular Risk vs. Cholesterol:

The notion that "ideal" cholesterol levels may be set too low is a topic of ongoing debate. Critics argue that excessively low targets for cholesterol, particularly LDL cholesterol, may not reflect the nuances of individual health needs and may lead to unintended consequences. Whilst cholesterol levels are an important factor for cardiovascular health, it is equally important to look at all the risk factors for CVD and perhaps pay them equal attention.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is influenced by multiple factors beyond cholesterol, including inflammation, high blood pressure, obesity, and lifestyle choices.

Potentially if we focus on ultra-low LDL we might overshadow other risk factors like high triglycerides, low HDL, or insulin resistance. Instead of looking at just one number, let's look at your HDL levels to see what the balance is like, as well as inflammation levels, what are you eating and how active are you, what is your family history like, how are your stress levels and blood pressure?

It might be more beneficial if cholesterol targets are based on individual risk factors, rather than universal numbers. Perhaps we should look at the bigger picture in order to be more informed? Lifestyle first:

• Diet (Mediterranean and plant-based approaches).

• Physical activity - increase muscle mass through resistance based training

• Smoking cessation and alcohol moderation.

HEART HEALTHY RECIPE

Try this comforting winter dish full of plant fibre to help cholesterol levels and optimise heart health. I would add some baked oily fish or chicken to this dish to increase the protein levels. If you are in a rush you could try putting all the ingredients into a slow cooker. Leave on low overnight or high if starting in the morning. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Easy Tomato and Bean Stew

Ingredients

• • 1 tbsp olive oil

• • 2 onions, chopped

• • 1 clove garlic crushed

• • 1-2 red chilies de-seeded and chopped (optional)

• • 2 red peppers sliced

• • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes

• • 1 courgette diced

• • 4 mushrooms cut into quarters

• • 1 tin of kidney beans

• • 1 tin of butter beans

• • 400ml organic chicken / vegetable stock

• • 1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika

• • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

• • Small bunch of coriander chopped

Method

• Heat a little oil in a large pan. Add the onions and chilies and saute until tender.

• Add the spices and garlic and cook for a further minute.

• Add peppers, mushrooms, courgettes, beans and tomatoes and stock and cook until vegetables and beans are tender and the sauce has reduced down.

• Add the coriander and enjoy!

Try changing the vegetables each time you make this dish!

Nutrition and Cholesterol

Whilst some people will require medication in order to keep their cholesterol levels low (genetics / family history), nutrition can help to lower your cholesterol as well as ensuring daily exercise.

Foods that increase cholesterol:

• Full-fat dairy - whole milk, butter and full-fat yogurt and cheese

• Red meat - steak, beef roast, ribs, pork chops and ground beef

• Processed meat

• Fried foods

• Baked goods and sweets

  Foods that are good at reducing cholesterol:

• Oats

• Barley and other whole grains

• Beans

• Lentils

• Aubergine

• Okra

• Nuts

• Vegetable oils

• Apples, grapes, strawberries, citrus fruits

Foods fortified with sterols and stanols:

Some of the foods richest in plant sterols include wheat germ, oat bran, and brown rice. You can also find sterols in peanuts, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds.

Please know that I don't mean to rule out any food groups. It is important to eat in balance. If you need to reduce your cholesterol, look to swap out some of the foods in the first list for some of the foods in the second list.