Low-carbo, high-protein diets increase cholesterol
By: Laura Ng
Now, anybody who wants to lose weight knows Atkin diets.
Sure, they are said to be effective in losing weight easy and fast, which is exactly what most of us dream of.
But hey, a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine pointed out that low-carbohydrate, high protein diets are found to increase our cholesterol levels. And we are referring to both LDL (low density lipoprotein, which is also known as "bad" cholesterol) and HDL (high density lipoprotein which is also the "good" cholesterol).
HDL helps the body get rid of bad cholesterol. LDL is said to cause build-up of plague on the artery walls, contributing to risks of cardiovascular diseases.
The findings were from an analysis of the five clinical trials comparing low-fat diets with low-carbohydrate diets. These trials attracted 447 participants whose ages range from 42 to 49 years old. Out of 447 participants, 225 are on low-fat diets while the rest are on low-carbo diets.
Both groups were then tested for their weight loss and blood pressure after six and nine months' period. It was expected that for the first 6 months, the participants on the low-carbo diet had lost more weight. After 12 months, the outcome of weight loss and blood pressure turned out to be the same for both groups.
What raises our concern was that from the results of low-carbo diet group, total cholesterol increased throughout the 12 months period. A low-carbo diet is usually high in fat, resulting in a higher level of cholesterol.
However, the results further show that a higher cholesterol level had led to a concurrent increase in both LDL and HDL. They also had a lower level of triglycerides, a type of fat, which LDL carries in the blood.
So does the beneficial effects of low-carbo diet appear to have on HDL and triglyceride levels cancel out their apparent negative effects on overall and LDL cholesterol levels?
Not necessarily so, as another study published in the Journal of Lipid Research in 2003 showed that high triglyceride levels, high LDL levels and low HDL levels are actually independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
So despite what the low-carbo diet results show, more evidence is needed to support the conclusion as the study had its limits. The researchers in the low-carbo diet report also expressed concern about the effects of the low-carbo diet on cholesterol levels and the cardiovascular system as it contains large amounts of fats and proteins.
This is because you are more likely to consume more foods high in saturated fats when you turned to high-protein diet. This increases your calories as fat provides more calories per gram than carbohydrates. Fat contains nine calories per gram while carbohydrates provide four calories per gram.
You are putting yourself at a higher risk of contracting coronary heart disease, if you do not reduce your fats intake.
Other health problems associated with a diet high in protein include kidney failure, high cholesterol levels, osteroporosis and kidney stones. As a guide, an adult should obtain 50 to 60 percent of their calories from carbohydrates, 10 to 15 percent from protein and 20 to 30 percent from fats.
Therefore, it is not advisable to go long term on low-carbo, high-protein diets.
Laura Ng is 100% passionate in helping people to achieve the Highest quality of Good health through her website, www.ionehealth.com .
Article Source: http://www.eArticlesOnline.com
Love Your Heart - Quit Smoking!
From Terry Martin,
Top 5 Tips for a Healthy Heart
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. today, and the leading cause of death for smokers as well. Cigarette smoking is directly linked to 30 percent of all heart disease deaths in the United States each year. Bottom line: Smoking is hard on the heart.Top 5 Tips to Prevent Heart Disease
1) Quit Smoking!
Because cigarette smoking is so prevalent and destructive, it has been identified by the U.S. Surgeon General as the single most preventable cause of disease and premature death in the nation. Smoking increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD}, peripheral vascular disease (PVD), and coronary heart disease (CHD). And, for people with a history of CHD, cigarette smoking is also a risk factor for sudden cardiac death.More:
2) Watch Your Waistline
The risks to heart health that are associated with obesity include heart attacks, heart failure, CVD and CHD, along with a whole host of other negative health effects. Choose a balanced diet that is low in saturated fat and high in lean protein, fruits and vegetables, healthy oils and whole, unprocessed grains. Be good to your heart by maintaining the proper weight for your age and body type.More:
3) Keep Moving
As little as a half hour of exercise daily can protect your heart. Aerobic activities such as walking, running and swimming work the heart and help keep it robust. We all have busy schedules and hectic lifestyles, and fitting in a daily workout can be an overwhelming thought. However, it's important to remember that exercise doesn't have to be done all at once to be beneficial. Take a couple of short walks a day and use the stairs whenever possible. We can all fit in 10 minutes here and 15 minutes there to move our bodies if we make it a priority. Embrace the challenge and think of exercise as a gift, not a chore. And in a very real way, that's just what it is, a gift...for your heart.More:
4) Watch Your Cholesterol
The toxins in tobacco smoke lower a person's high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL or "good" cholesterol) while raising levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL or "bad" cholesterol). A high level of LDL in the blood is a significant risk factor for atherosclerosis, also known as hardening of the arteries. Other factors that influence cholesterol are genetics and eating a diet rich in saturated fats and trans fats. If it’s been a year or more since your last cholesterol check, call your doctor and schedule an appointment. If your cholesterol is high, there are steps you can take to control it.More:
5) Maintain Normal Blood Pressure
While at the doctor’s office getting your cholesterol checked, have your blood pressure checked also. Maintaining a healthy blood pressure reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke and heart failure. High blood pressure is considered to be anything over 140 for systolic blood pressure and 90 for diastolic blood pressure. If yours is high, take it seriously and follow your doctor’s recommendations.More: When you quit smoking, other risk factors for heart disease will be diminished as well. Smokers usually exercise less, especially as they get older and lung function becomes impaired. That inactivity in turn often leads to weight gain. Cigarette smoke also increases bad cholesterol, and while smoking won't cause high blood pressure, if a smoker has hypertension, smoking can increase the risk of malignant hypertension, a dangerous form of high blood pressure.
If you’re still smoking, I urge you to make the commitment to quit now. Every cigarette smoked causes additional stress and damage to your body. And it won’t get any easier to stop the longer you wait. I spent years fervently wishing I could find the right combination of motivation and guts to leave smoking behind for good. One important lesson I learned was this: For a nicotine addict, there is no “ideal” time to quit. Don’t believe the fallacy that you’ll stop smoking “when you’re ready.” You could die waiting for that day to come.
Sources:
1. "The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General.". 2004. National Center For Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. 2004. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health.
2. "Health Effects of Smoking - Fact Sheet.". December 2006. Centers for Disease Control.
3. "Cigarette Smoking and Cardiovascular Diseases." 2007. American Heart Association.
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Assessing Your Own Risk For Heart Disease
Docs often neglect this vital step - fortunately, you can do it yourself
From Richard N. Fogoros, M.D.,The bad news about heart disease is that it remains extremely prevalent in our society. The good news is that the factors that determine our risk of developing heart disease are, to a large extent, under our control. We ourselves have a lot to say about whether we will develop early cardiac disease.
Our doctors are supposed to assess our risk for us, and coach us on what we should be doing to reduce that risk. But, despite pleas from medical experts and professional societies to the contrary, doctors are still generally bad at assessing their patients' risk of developing coronary artery disease, and are particularly terrible about spending the time needed to stress the importance of taking the appropriate steps to reduce that risk.
(Note well: Doing simple risk assessment is one of the most important basic jobs of the physician. The failure to do such risk assessment probably ought to be considered evidence that your doctor is doing sub-standard work. Many of the things doctors need to think about are complicated - this one isn't. DrRich, for one, wouldn't stick with a doc who isn't even doing the simple things right.)
Fortunately, the tools exist today for individuals to accurately assess their own risk of getting heart disease, without waiting for their doctors to initiate the action. And lots of information is available as to what to do about it if your risk is elevated.
To assess your own risk, here's what you need to know
You need to gather the following information:
- whether you smoke or not
- your total and HDL cholesterol levels
- your blood pressure
- whether you have evidence of diabetes or metabolic syndrome
- whether you are overweight for your age and height
- your family history
With this information, you can place yourself into one of three categories: low, intermediate, or high.
With this information, to be in the low risk category, all of the following must be present:
- nonsmoker
- total cholesterol <> 40 mg/dL
- systolic BP <>
- no evidence of diabetes
- not overweight
- no family history of premature vascular disease
You are in the high risk category if you have any of the following:
- known coronary artery disease or other vascular disease
- type 2 diabetes
- over age 65 with multiple (more than one) risk factors
And you are in the intermediate risk group if you don't fit into either the low or high risk groups.
Low risk patientscan be managed without any further intervention, except for routine coaching on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. About 35% of U.S. adults fall into this category.
High risk patientsshould immediately be placed on appropriate treatments proven to reduce the risk of heart attack and death, such as statin drugs, beta blockers, aspirin, and/or ACE inhibitors. About 25% of U.S. adults are in this category. Click here for more on what to do if you are in the high risk category.
Intermediate risk patients, in addition to taking steps to modify the risk factors keeping them out of the low risk category, should have non-invasive tests to measure whether or not they already have evidence of coronary artery disease, such as stress/thallium testing or electron beam tomography (EECP). Roughly 40% of U.S. adults are in the intermediate risk category.
source:about.com
Is the Atkins diet good for Cholesterol prevention?
by Marc Simard
Although some fatty and protein rich foods are eaten on the Atkins diet, the diet leans to have a positive effect on cholesterol.Your cholesterol levels won’t increase; in fact, Atkins diet canlower cholesterol because it leads to better behavior in the “good”cholesterol (HDL). Many of the dietary options on an Atkins diet are by nature hi in badfat, and leads to worries about the risks of illness. Nevertheless,the Atkins diet has so far indicated to have no bad results on hi cholesterollevels. Bringing down level of cholesterol when using the Atkins diet isthought to be connected with the weight loss itself.
Many folks who have participated in the Atkins dietprogram have actually seen a reduction in triglycerides, a rise in HDL(“good” cholesterol), and a better ratio between the HDL’s and theLDL’s . These inspiring results suggest that the folks on the Atkins diet with cholesterol problems may actually be able to maintain a proper cholesterollevels naturally without relying on medications or other types of therapy.This is encouraging for those who have lost some weight on the Atkins dietprogram. Why does the Atkins Diet Lower Cholesterol?
When you begin implementing the Atkins diet program, your bodymakes the switch from a sugar metabolism to a fat metabolism.As long as you stick well under your permitted level of carbohydrate intake,you will find convincing effects on your cholesterol from the Atkins diet.Although some people may see an elevation in these levels at the commencementof the diet program, the body adjusts itself quickly to the new menu and inmost cases the cholesterol levels will begin to fall. This evokes that ourintake of carbohydrates plays a big role in our cholesterol levels, whichexplicates why there is a positive association between a low-carb diet likethe Atkins diet and cholesterol.
source:www.goarticles.com
About the Author More information about dieting and Atkins diet on http://www.dietmakemoney.com/The_Effects_of_an_Atkins_Diet_on_Hi_Cholesterol.html or more dieting tips from http://www.dietmakemoney.com
