Myocardial Monday – HDL, LDL, Triglycerides

A few days after Christmas of 2008, Michael’s Mommy suffered a heart attack. By the grace of God, she lives to tell the tale. As a continual reminder of how your diet can affect your body, we here at Being Michael’s Daddy have declared this day to be “Myocardial Monday.” Here we’ll offer information about food and nutrition in hopes that it will help others avoid facing what could be a fatal condition.

HDL… LDL… Triglycerides… Cholesterol… Wha???
These little buzzwords are a source of confusion for us all. You’re supposed to reduce them. Or something. What the heck are they and why do we still have them around if they’re so bad? Can’t the government stop production of these things? What are we going to do? Calgon take me away!

Okay, let’s slow down and take this one step at a time.

What’s a Triglyceride?
Excellent first question! Starting off with the simplest thing is the best way to get started.

First, let me back up just one step and explain what a “fatty acid” is. It’s simply a molecule with has an acid on one end, and a big long “fat” chain on the other end. It’s actually not as terrifying as it sounds. For example, olive oil is made up of fatty acids. So is butter. Bacon has a lot of it too. Mmmm… fatty acids…

Anyway.

Triglycerides are a triple-whammy combo of three fatty acids hooked together with a glyercol molecule. It’s a Costco shrink-wrap of fatty acids. These little buggers account for most of the fats we humans digest, and they’re found in meats, vegetables and other foods. For example, chocolate contains triglycerides. The triglyceride in cocoa butter happens to have the perfect melting point for feeling creamy in your mouth, instead of feeling like bacon grease.

On their own triglycerides are too big to digest, but the pancreas takes care of that. It puts out an enzyme that smashes it apart, allowing the disconnected fatty acids free passage into your bloodstream. Oh, and if your body isn’t getting enough of them, your body will create triglycerides out of other things like sugar. And if it’s getting plenty of them, it’ll just store away what it can’t use right now. In your thighs. Isn’t that nice of it?

What’s Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is yet another molecule made up of lots of rings of carbon. It’s like a wax. Your body really needs this stuff, using it to build up cell walls, protect nerves, make vitamin D, generate hormones and a number of other very important things.

Your body makes its own cholesterol; you don’t need to get it from foods. The liver makes it, the intestines make it, and a couple other organs can make it as well.

Problem is getting it from where it’s being made to the rest of the body. Being a waxy sort of thing, it doesn’t mix with the blood so good. It needs a boat.

What’s HDL and LDL?
Both HDL and LDL are “lipoproteins”; that is, fatty proteins. A lipoprotein is a molecule with a protein on one end and a fat chain on the other. Here’s your boat, Mr. Cholesterol! HDL and LDL are molecules shaped like big bowls, and they’re perfectly suited for carrying fatty stuff through the bloodstream.

The HDL and LDL boats hold the cholesterol or triglycerides inside them and float along in the bloodstream, delivering their little packets of fatty goodness to whatever part of the body needs them.

Oh, good. Dexter has just asked to run the projector. Class, pay attention! And no gum-chewing during the film.

ROLL FILM

When LDL particles have delivered their passengers, they’re modified slightly and in the process get sticky. They start loitering on artery walls and harassing blood cells that are trying to get through. But our good friend HDL comes along and hauls them off before they get too rowdy. Assuming there are enough HDLs coming by. So you can see that LDL brings the fat to the party, and HDL comes along to clean up afterwards and get rid of the garbage. You may have heard that you want a higher HDL than LDL, and this is exactly why: there has to be enough garbage collectors to handle the waste made by the deliveries.

Can I get the Cliff Notes version?
Sure.

Cholesterol is important; your body needs it.
You can avoid cholesterol in foods, but your body makes it anyway.
Triglycerides are in just about every fat you eat, and your body can make them as well.
HDL and LDL are the transporters of cholesterol and triglycerides, and your body makes those too.
Too much of any of this is a bad thing, and can clog up your arteries. That leads to heart attack and/or stroke.
To be healthy, you have to have a proper level of HDL, LDL and triglycerides.

What should I do?
There are plenty of things you can do to get your cholesterol in check.

• Lower your triglycerides, lower your LDL and raise your HDL. If you haven’t already, run – don’t walk – to your doctor and get a cholesterol test. Your doctor will be able to tell you exactly how much to lower/raise these values to get you to the right spot, health-wise. While I cannot give exact numbers because they vary by individual, from what I’ve read, total HDL/LDL levels should be less than 200 mg/dl, with LDL at fewer than half of the HDL. Again: check with your doctor.
• Start getting plenty of fiber. We’ve talked about this.
• Exercise! It stimulates the production of HDL. It helps you to lose weight, which results in decreased LDL and increased HDL.
• Don’t Smoke. Do I really have to go into this one? C’mon.
• Reduce your carbohydrate intake, which will reduce insulin production, which in turn reduces creation of triglycerides.
• Eating more fish and other Omega-3 sources helps to reduce triglycerides.
• Eat monounsaturated fats instead of saturated fats or trans-fats. This helps lower LDL and raise HDL.
• Don’t skip meals and make up for it by having one huge one at the end of the day. It’s best to eat smaller meals, spaced apart by about 3-5 hours during waking hours.
• Watch the booze. A drink of wine a day may actually be beneficial to your HDL levels, but too much will overload you with triglycerides.
• Vitamin C – It hasn’t been proven, but it is believed that vitamin C can help make LDL less harmful. It is thought to reduce free radicals, which would otherwise molest LDL molecules and make them drop their cholesterol right on the spot and cause a lot of plaque buildup on your artery walls. With a good supply of vitamin C, most of those free radicals will be eliminated and thus your LDL will be free to deliver its payload to the proper place.
• Cranberry juice has been shown to increase HDL, which is great.
• If you’re hungry, tank up on veggies. They love you and will take good care of your body.

Take care of yourself!