Cholesterol and Heart Disease

Cholesterol and Hert Disease

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Cholesterol and Heart

Disease

Coronary is caused by narrowing of the coronary

arteries that feed the heart. Like any muscle, the heart needs a

constant supply of oxygen and nutrients, which are carried to it by the

blood in the coronary arteries. When the coronary arteries become

narrowed or clogged by cholesterol and fat deposits–a process called

atherosclerosis–and cannot supply enough blood to the heart, the result

is coronary (CHD).

If not enough oxygen-carrying blood reaches the heart, you may

experience chest pain called angina. If the blood supply to a portion of

the heart is completely cut off by total blockage of a coronary artery,

the result is a heart attack. This is usually due to a sudden closure

from a blood clot forming on top of a previous narrowing.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that occurs naturally in

all parts of the body and that your body needs to function normally. It

is present in cell walls or membranes everywhere in the body, including

the brain, nerves, muscle, skin, liver, intestines, and heart. Your body

uses cholesterol to produce many hormones, vitamin D, and the bile acids

that help to digest fat.

It takes only a small amount of cholesterol in the blood to meet

these needs. If you have too much cholesterol in your bloodstream, the

excess is deposited in arteries, including the coronary arteries, where

it contributes to the narrowing and blockages that cause the signs and

symptoms of .

What does cholesterol

have to do with heart disease?

The Framingham Heart Study established that high blood cholesterol is

a risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). Results of the

Framingham study showed that the higher the cholesterol level, the

greater the CHD risk. On the other end of the spectrum, CHD is uncommon

at total cholesterol levels below 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

A direct link between high blood cholesterol and CHD has been

confirmed by the Lipid Research Clinics-Coronary Primary Prevention

Trial (1984) which showed that lowering total and LDL (“bad”)

cholesterol levels significantly reduces CHD. A series of more recent

trials of cholesterol lowering using statin drugs have demonstrated

conclusively that lowering total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol reduces

the chance of having a heart attack, needing bypass surgery or

angioplasty, and dying of CHD-related causes.

What makes your

cholesterol high or low?

Your blood cholesterol level is affected not only by what you eat but

also by how quickly your body makes LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and disposes

of it. In fact, your body makes all the cholesterol it needs, and it is

not necessary to take in any additional cholesterol from the foods you

eat. Many factors help determine whether your LDL-cholesterol level is

high or low.

Heredity: Your genes influence how high your
LDL (“bad”) cholesterol is by affecting how fast LDL is made and

removed from the blood. One specific form of inherited high

cholesterol that affects 1 in 500 people is familial

hypercholesterolemia, which often leads to early heart disease. But

even if you do not have a specific genetic form of high cholesterol,

genes play a role in influencing your LDL-cholesterol level.
What you eat: Two main nutrients in the foods
you eat make your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol level go up: saturated

fat, a type of fat found mostly in foods that come from animals; and

cholesterol, which comes only from animal products. Saturated fat

raises your LDL-cholesterol level more than anything else in the

diet. Eating too much saturated fat and cholesterol is the main

reason for high levels of cholesterol and a high rate of heart

attacks in the United States. Reducing the amount of saturated fat

and cholesterol you eat is a very important step in reducing your

blood cholesterol levels.
Weight: Excess weight tends to increase your
LDL (“bad”) cholesterol level. If you are overweight and have a high

LDL-cholesterol level, losing weight may help you lower it. Weight

loss also helps to lower triglycerides and raise HDL (“good”)

cholesterol levels.
Physical activity/exercise: Regular physical
activity may lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and raise HDL (“good”)

cholesterol levels.
Age and gender: Before the age of menopause,
women usually have total cholesterol levels that are lower than

those of men the same age. As women and men get older, their blood

cholesterol levels rise until about 60 to 65 years of age. After the

age of about 50, women often have higher total cholesterol levels

than men of the same age.
Alcohol: Alcohol intake increases HDL (“good”)
cholesterol but does not lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Doctors

don’t know for certain whether alcohol also reduces the risk of

heart disease. Drinking too much alcohol can damage the liver and

heart muscle, lead to high blood pressure, and raise triglycerides.

Because of the risks, alcoholic beverages should not be used as a

way to prevent heart disease.
Stress: Stress over the long term has been
shown in several studies to raise blood cholesterol levels. One way

that stress may do this is by affecting your habits. For example,

when some people are under stress, they console themselves by eating

fatty foods. The saturated fat and cholesterol in these foods

contribute to higher levels of blood cholesterol.

HerbaCall Cholesterol Testimonials

In an HerbaCall testimonial, Pamela Jones tells us
how,

“Herbalife dropped her husband’s

cholesterol from 673 to 223!”
Judy Mattson?

“was on medications for years for high

cholesterol and triglycerides.? Thanks to Herbalife, her

cholestrol counts are down and she’s medication free.”
Erin Janeke’s tells HerbaCall that?

“my 9 year old daughter’s cholesterol was

191.? We put her on Flora Fiber and Herbalifeline, and it

lowered 30 points in 3 months!“
Chandler Barnes writes that his

“cholesterol dropped nearly 50 points on

the Herbalife Ultimate Program!”