Reduce Triglycerides

I am often asked what the best exercise is. I answer that the best exercise is the one you will do.

There’s no point recommending an exercise if the person you’re recommending it to won’t do it. I also tell people to think of it as “movement” rather than “exercise.” That doesn’t sound like so much work, and, after all, the whole goal of exercise is to get out and get moving.

You can’t be truly healthy without exercise, and it is great for people who are dealing with circulatory problems, need help reducing cholesterol levels, or are trying to maintain healthy triglycerides.

Exercise also is just what this doctor orders when it comes to lowering blood pressure naturally. As you know, maintaining healthy blood pressure levels is one of the smartest things you can do to reduce your risk of risk for heart attack and stroke.

Two of the best forms of movement are also the most pleasant—walking and dancing. Research, including some of my own, has continued to reinforce this view.

Studies have shown that exercise reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease, diabetes, depression, and osteoporosis. Now we can add stroke to the list. In a study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 4,065 nurses ages 40 to 65, without cardiovascular disease or cancer, completed detailed physical activity questionnaires. The surveys revealed that walking was associated with reduced risk of stroke.

Diabetes. Diabetic women have a higher risk for heart disease than diabetic men. This is because the incidence of diabetes and its complications (including heart disease) is much higher in women. If you are a diabetic woman, your risk for heart disease is five to seven times normal, compared with a risk of only two to three times normal for a diabetic man. For you, proper heart sense means you should increase your physical activity and watch your diet to maintain a healthy body weight.

Overweight. Women have a higher heart disease risk from being overweight than men do. Recent studies indicate that being only 20 pounds overweight doubles your risk of heart disease. If you are overweight, I don’t want you to go on a diet. Instead, get physically active—it’s your most powerful weapon against fat—and begin eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, pasta, fish and lean poultry.  Eating this way is what I call “healthy heart nutrition” and it just makes sense. (See other blog entries for additional advice on cardiovascular nutrition.)

Cholesterol. Women have a higher risk for heart disease than men if they don’t have good cholesterol levels. More specifically, if they have have low levels of HDL (“good” cholesterol) they increase their heart risk factors.

You probably already know that there are two types of cholesterol. LDL is the “bad” cholesterol, which oxidizes in your blood and forms the plaque that clogs arteries. HDL carries LDL out of your blood vessels before it can do its damage. Volumes of data have shown that a high LDL is a powerful risk factor for heart disease in men. But for women, the story is different. Recent research indicates that a low HDL, not a high LDL, is the more significant risk factor for a woman to develop heart disease. (This means that some women may need to increase HDL cholesterol levels.)

The good news is that HDL is sensitive to factors such as smoking, obesity and lack of exercise. If your HDL is low (less than 35 mg/dL) you can raise it by quitting smoking and dropping excess weight through a combination of smart eating, healthy heart nutrition, and physical activity such as walking and dancing. If you are postmenopausal, you might also consider estrogen replacement therapy (ERT), which raises HDL, lowers LDL, and has other beneficial effects on your heart. Have your HDL level checked six weeks after you start an HDL-raising program. Chances are you will see a change for the better.

High Triglycerides. When you get your cholesterol checked, I also want you to have your doctor check to see if you have healthy triglycerides levels. Triglycerides are another type of blood fat. A high triglyceride level is more dangerous for women than for men, so if your triglycerides are elevated (above 200 mg/dL), I want you to put some effort into lowering them, especially if you are a diabetic. This is because if you are a diabetic woman who also has high triglycerides, your risk of developing heart disease increases to 200 times normal. Please stop and think about this. You can lower your triglycerides using the powerful combination of exercise and weight control.

Pure flax oil is the world's most abundant source of omega-3 fatty acids, containing an amazing 55 percent by weight. As such, flax oil offers incredible health benefits that should not be discounted.

Specifically, flax contains alpha linolenic acid, which your liver must break down to form the more commonly known omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. There has been debate about whether alpha linolenic acid effectively converts to EPA and DHA. However, research shows that it does.

Research suggests that increased consumption of omega-3 fatty acids can reduce several cardiovascular problems by helping to promote healthy cholesterol levels, as well as healthy triglycerides. They also help keep blood pressure levels in the normal range. In addition, omega-3s help reduce circulatory problems by supporting healthy circulation and blood flow throughout the body.

One of the best ways to reap these benefits from flax by eating ground flaxseed. And yes, you must grind the seeds to release the oil. Otherwise, they'll pass right through you, undigested. I recommend getting a coffee grinder and dedicating it to flaxseed, because you don't want to mix ground coffee and flax. It's not a taste sensation! Also, you must use the flax within hours of grinding it. Once exposed to air, the oil in ground flax goes rancid quickly. (For the same reason, flax oil must be refrigerated.)

You can sprinkle ground flax on just about anything—soups, stews, ice cream, you name it. Above all, avoid cooking with ground flax, because again, the oil will become rancid.

The beauty of flaxseed is that you get significant amounts of protein and fiber in a tiny package. In a typical 2 oz. serving (1/4 cup), you'll get approximately 11 grams of fiber and 10 grams of protein. Exact amounts will vary with the quality of the flaxseed and how it's grown.

Easy Flax Shake

One of the easiest (and tastiest!) ways to get your daily flax is to add it to a shake or smoothie. Here’s one of my favorite versions.

1.    Grind up 2 tablespoons of organic flaxseed.
2.    In a blender, add 8 to 10 ounces of chilled soy milk, ½ a banana, 1 cup of your favorite berries, and the freshly ground flaxseed.
3.    Blend well and enjoy!

With all of the unnecessary attention lavished on HDL and LDL cholesterol levels, the importance of healthy triglycerides has been largely lost. And that’s too bad—because keeping them in a healthy range is essential to heart health.

Triglycerides are the chemical form of most fats in the body. The triglycerides in your blood come from dietary sources, primarily fats and carbohydrates. I consider a healthy triglyceride level to be 50–150 mg/dL. Levels above that have been linked to coronary artery disease and metabolic syndrome.

Given that the typical American diet is laden with processed and fast foods, it’s no surprise that high triglyceride levels are a problem for many people. To bring them down, cut back on the amount of sugar and carbohydrates in your diet, and eat more protein. I would also strongly recommend that you exercise regularly. Lifestyle changes such as these are very effective in keeping triglycerides in the healthy zone. Remember, the lower your weight, the lower your triglycerides, so weight loss and weight management are KEY to success!

Another good option for lowering triglycerides is a high-quality fish oil supplement. Start with 2–3 grams daily in divided doses, and let me know how it works for you.

 

More than 30 clinical studies have shown that soy is highly effective as part of a cholesterol-lowering diet. Case in point, an August 1995 meta-analysis from the New England Journal of Medicine found that people who ate an average of 47 grams of soy protein per day had a 13 percent decrease in LDL cholesterol levels, a 10.5 percent decrease in triglycerides, and a nine percent decrease in total cholesterol levels.

A November 2001 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine also found that a high consumption of legumes, including soybeans, meant a lowered risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). They concluded that increased legume intake may be an important part of a dietary approach to preventing CHD.

Additionally, a report in the August 2002 issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology found that a diet rich in tofu and other soy products may help protect postmenopausal women from arterial disease. According to researchers, phytoestrogens were associated with less arterial stiffness among more than 400 postmenopausal women. The benefit was most pronounced among the oldest women, or those who had been postmenopausal the longest.

Surprisingly, even the FDA agrees that soy is beneficial for maintaining good cholesterol levels. In 1999, they authorized of the use of health claims on the labeling of foods containing soy protein, based on research which shows that soy foods may reduce risk of coronary heart disease by lowering blood cholesterol levels. According to the FDA, foods must contain 6.25 grams per serving of soy protein in order to qualify for the claim, and a daily intake of 25 grams is recommended in order to achieve a significant cholesterol-lowering effect. Now that's healthy heart nutrition!

You’ve heard me say time and again that reducing cholesterol is not the magic bullet that will prevent heart attack and stroke. I stand by this statement wholeheartedly—but I don’t want you to interpret it to mean that cholesterol is unimportant.

Optimum cardiovascular health requires maintaining a healthy cholesterol ratio—that is, keeping your LDL cholesterol levels (the so-called “bad” cholesterol) in proper balance with your HDL levels (the “good” type of cholesterol). It also calls for minimizing the amount of Lp(a) in your blood, and not letting your triglyceride levels get out of hand.

Although regular exercise and a cholesterol lowering diet will go a long way toward helping you achieve these goals, I also recommend that you try some targeted nutritional supplements for an extra boost. One of them is niacin (vitamin B3). It’s a fantastic nutrient that can help you increase HDL cholesterol, as well as lower both triglycerides and the dangerous subtype of cholesterol known as Lp(a).

These are huge benefits. For me, keeping HDL levels high and Lp(a) down are more significant than lowering LDL or even total cholesterol. Elevated Lp(a) is a serious, widespread, and underemphasized problem, and niacin is probably one of the best nutrients to lower it. And the higher your good cholesterol levels, the more protection you have in your blood vessels.

The only downside to niacin is the flushing sensation it generates. This hot, tingly, pins-and-needles feeling is disconcerting to a lot of people, but it usually lasts no more than 30–60 minutes, and it is most pronounced during the first week or so that you take the supplement (it can also occur when you increase your dosage). You can find no-flush forms of niacin, but they’re not as effective. I would stick with the regular kind.

I recommend taking 1–2 g a day in divided doses with meals. Start with 250 mg and slowly work your way up to minimize the flushing effect. Let me know how it works for you!

 

• Decreases triglycerides
• Reduces arterial wall inflammation
• Makes blood less sticky and less likely to form clots
• Stabilizes plaque and prevents plaque rupture
• Soothes and nurtures heart rate variability, actions that counteract arrhythmias
• Contributes to the bioenergy of the heart muscle