Which Dietary Fat(s) Increase Risk Of Heart Disease By Increasing Serum Ldl And Reducing Hdl

Meat And Type 2 Diabetes Risk: Mechanistic Hypotheses

Several hypotheses have been considered regarding the positive association of meat consumption with incidence of T2D.

Saturated and trans-fatty acids present in meat could play a role in the onset of T2D. Several studies suggested a detrimental effect of saturated fat or trans-fatty acids in the development of T2D due to adverse metabolic effects on insulin sensitivity . A diet rich in meat and meat products could lead to an increase in the bodys iron stores, which can promote oxidative stress and cause damage to tissues, in particular the pancreatic beta cells. Excessive heme intake leads to deposits of iron in tissues, which damage the DNA and cell integrity and interfere with glucose uptake by various tissues, and thus may impair insulin sensitivity . The higher fat and iron contents of red compared to white meat could explain the stronger association of diabetes risk with the former.

However, differences in fat and iron cannot account for different associations of unprocessed and processed meat with diabetes risk since processed red meats contain, on average, similar saturated fat and iron as unprocessed red meats, at least in the United States, where most of the studies were performed .

Big Fat Controversy: Changing Opinions About Saturated Fats

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• Nutritionists have long vilified saturated fat for its propensity to raise LDL cholesterol levels in the blood.
• Although initial epidemiological studies associated saturated fat intake with heart disease risk, subsequent studies have failed to confirm the link.
• Saturated fat raises HDL cholesterol levels, perhaps ameliorating its effects on LDL cholesterol.
• An unintended consequence of a low-fat diet may be increased carbohydrate intake, which could actually raise heart disease risk compared with a higher-fat diet.

In the early hours of September 24, 1955, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffered a massive heart attack. The popular president and war hero was visiting in-laws in Denver, Colorado, where he had enjoyed 27 holes of golf before retiring early that evening with what he thought was indigestion. Although Eisenhower recovered and went on to win a second term in office, his sudden incapacitation heightened public awareness of the growing epidemic of cardiovascular disease. Once a rare ailment, by the 1950s heart disease had become the leading cause of death in the United States. What diet, lifestyle, or other factors were responsible for this dramatic change? People were looking for a scapegoat, and nutritional scientists were soon to provide one.

Changing diets

Fat facts

The problem with epidemiology

Time for a change?

Laura Cassiday is a science writer for Inform magazine. She is based in the Denver area and can be reached at .

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Maintain A Healthy Body Weight

The more you weigh, the harder your heart has to work to give your body nutrients. Research has shown that being overweight contributes to the onset of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Excess weight also raises blood cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure, lowers HDL cholesterol, and increases the risk of diabetes.

How a persons weight is distributed also is important. People who carry their weight in the middle have a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease, compared to people who carry their weight in their arms and legs. Waist measurements are one way to determine fat distribution. For men, waist circumference should be less than 40 inches. For women, waist circumference should be less than 35 inches.

Weight is best determined by calculating Body Mass Index . BMI is a figure calculated from your height and weight. Doctors often use BMI as an objective indicator of whether a person is overweight, underweight, or at a healthy weight, and it is recommended by the National Institutes of Health for this purpose.

To calculate your BMI, divide weight in kilograms by height in meters squared. Metric conversions are: pounds divided by 2.2 = kg inches multiplied by 0.0254 = meters.

For example, a woman who weighs 140 pounds and is 5 feet, 6 inches tall has a BMI of 23.

140 lbs divided by 2.2 = 64 kg56″ = 66″ x 0.0254 = 1.681.682 = 2.8264 divided by 2.82 = 22.69

Your health care provider can help you calculate your BMI.

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How To Increase Hdl Cholesterol

Although HDL levels are driven by family genetics, you can improve HDL levels in three key ways:

• If you are a smoker, research clearly shows that quitting smoking can increase HDL.
• Adopting a heart-healthy diet low in fat and high in fiber can also modestly raise your HDL.
• Aerobic exercise can also have positive effects on HDL. Have trouble exercising? Find a buddy research shows it helps motivate you. That exercise can be as simple as increasing the amount of walking you do each week.

Lastly, although primarily used to decrease high LDL, some statin medications may potentially increase HDL levels moderately. Any medical treatment option should be discussed with your doctor. Importantly, high HDL does not protect you from the untoward effects of high LDL.

Cut Out The Trans Fatty Acids

Trans fatty acids are likely present in many of your favorite prepared foods anything in which the nutrition label reads “partially hydrogenated vegetable oils” so eliminating them from the diet is not a trivial task. But trans fatty acids not only increase LDL cholesterol levels, but they also reduce HDL cholesterol levels. Removing them from your diet will almost certainly result in a measurable increase in HDL levels.

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Heart Uk Recommendations For People With High Levels Of Hdl

If you have a family history of early heart disease

Ideally your doctor should contact a lipid specialist for advice if:

• your HDL cholesterol level is higher than average with no obvious cause
• and other people in your family, such as a parent or sibling, have heart disease and were diagnosed below the age of 60.

If your total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol are high

If your total cholesterol is over 7.5mmol, with HDL over 2.5mmol, then your doctor should base their treatment decision mainly on your LDL cholesterol .

Raised LDL cholesterol puts your heart health at risk so it needs to be brought under control.

Note that the TC/HDL ratio may be misleading if your HDL is high.

Look after your overall health

If you have high cholesterol, its important to lower your risk of heart disease overall. Try to adopt a healthy diet and lifestyle and manage any other health problems you have that can lead to heart disease. For example:

Where To Get Help

• What is coronary heart disease? ,National Heart Foundation, Australia
• Food and nutrition position statements: A quick guide to the evidence behind the Heart Foundations new dietary guidelines, National Heart Foundation Australia
• Galli F, Azzi A, Birringer M, Cook-Mills JM, Eggersdorfer M, Frank J et al 2017, Vitamin E: Emerging aspects and new directions, Free radical biology & medicine, vol. 102, pp. 1636
• Jones PJH, Shamloo M, MacKay DS, Rideout TC, Myrie SB, Plat J et al 2018, Progress and perspectives in plant sterol and plant stanol research, Nutrition Reviews, vol. 76, no. 10, pp. 725746
• Sun YE, Wang W, Qin J 2018, Anti-hyperlipidemia of garlic by reducing the level of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein: A meta-analysis, Medicine, vol. 97, no. 18, pp. e0255
• Cheng Y, Sheen J, Hu WL, Hung Y 2017, Polyphenols and Oxidative Stress in Atherosclerosis-Related Ischemic Heart Disease and Stroke, Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity, vol. 2017, Article ID: 8526438

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Getting A Cholesterol Test

A blood sample is taken that will be used to determine the amount of bad cholesterol , good cholesterol and other fatty substances in your blood.

You may be asked not to eat for 10-12 hours before the cholesterol test, usually including when you’re asleep at night. This ensures that all food is completely digested and won’t affect the outcome of the test.

Your GP or practice nurse can carry out the cholesterol test and will take a blood sample, either using a needle and a syringe or by pricking your finger.

A newer type of test that measures non-high-density lipoprotein is now sometimes used because it’s thought to be a more accurate way of estimating cardiovascular disease risk than LDL.

Non-HDL cholesterol is total cholesterol minus HDL cholesterol. It’s also not necessary to fast before the test, so it is more convenient.

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What Diet Is Best For Lowering Cholesterol

Studies have found that plant-based diets lower cholesterol levels more effectively than other diets. In 2017, researchers reviewed 49 studies that compared plant-based diets with omnivorous diets to test their effects on cholesterol. Plant-based diets lowered total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL levels when compared to omnivorous diets. Low-fat, plant-based regimens typically reduce LDL levels by about 15 to 30 percent.

Some recommendations for lowering cholesterol still include consuming chicken and fish. However, a number of studies have shown that heart disease patients who continue to eat these foods still tend to get worse over time. Those who adopt a low-fat, plant-based diet, get daily exercise, avoid tobacco, and manage stress have the best chance of reversing heart disease.

What About A Low

Substantial evidence now shows that a low-fat diet often reduces rather than increases HDL levels. This result is not specifically caused by not enough fat, but rather, is caused by consuming too many carbohydrates. The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology have quietly stopped recommending low-fat diets for heart disease prevention. Indeed, it is low-carb diets and not low-fat diets which are associated with higher HDL levels.

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The Relationship Between Fat And Cholesterol

How are fats related to blood cholesterol? Research shows that the amount and type of dietary fat consumed can affect blood cholesterol levels. Dietary fat, especially saturated and trans fats, may raise blood levels of total and LDL cholesterol. Replacing some saturated fats with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats can help lower blood cholesterol. Recall that high total blood cholesterol levels and LDL cholesterol levels increase risk of heart disease, while lower levels reduce risk. Higher levels of HDL cholesterol help lower the risk for heart disease.

What foods contain fat and cholesterol? In some foods, fats are obvious, like noticeably greasy, fried or oily foods, or meats with visible marbling. In other foods, such as dairy, eggs, and some meats, fat and cholesterol is harder to see. Fats are found in both plant and animal foods, but cholesterol is only found in foods of animal origin. A food can be high in fat and cholesterol , high in fat but low in cholesterol , low in fat and high in cholesterol , or low in both . The nutrition facts label is a useful tool to determine the amount of fat or cholesterol in a particular food item.

Heres Why Diet Isnt The Only Possible Reason For High Cholesterol

Medically reviewed by Rosanna Sutherby, PharmD on Feb 6, 2019. Written by Caitlin Boyd. To give you technically accurate, evidence-based information, content published on the Everlywell blog is reviewed by credentialed professionals with expertise in medical and bioscience fields.

âWhy is my cholesterol high?â If you find yourself asking that, you arenât alone. High cholesterol, a well-known risk factor for heart disease and stroke, affects about 1 in every 3 American adults. Thatâs arguably a pretty large proportion of adults who have high cholesterol â and it raises the question: why is high blood cholesterol so common?

Dietary habits, as many people know, are often responsible for high levels of cholesterol: eat a lot of foods high in saturated fat â cheeseburgers, for instance â and your blood cholesterol level might swing upwards.

While a diet high in saturated and trans fat can increase your total cholesterol level and cause high LDL and triglyceride numbers, this isnât always the whole picture when it comes to cholesterol levels: high blood cholesterol can make an unwelcome appearance even if youâre very careful about eating a healthy, balanced diet.

Hereâs why: there are other potential drivers of high cholesterol, such as a lack of exercise and oneâs genetics.

So read on to take a closer look at both of these non-dietary reasons for high cholesterol if youâre wondering âWhy is my cholesterol high when I eat healthy foods?â

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What Causes High Cholesterol

Many factors can increase your chances of having heart problems or a stroke if you have high cholesterol.

These include:

• an unhealthy diet in particular, eating high levels of saturated fat
• smoking a chemical called acrolin, found in cigarettes, stops HDL transporting cholesterol from fatty deposits to the liver, leading to narrowing of the arteries
• having diabetes or high blood pressure
• having a family history of stroke or heart disease

There’s also an inherited condition called familial hypercholesterolaemia. This can cause high cholesterol even in someone who eats healthily.

Read more about the causes of high cholesterol

Exploring The Factors That Affect Blood Cholesterol And Heart Disease Risk: Is Dietary Cholesterol As Bad For You As History Leads Us To Believe

Published as a supplement to Advances in Nutrition. Presented at a symposium titled Exploring the Factors that Impact Blood Cholesterol and Heart Disease Risk: Is Dietary Cholesterol as Bad for You as History Leads us to Believe? given at the annual Experimental Biology 2011 meeting, April 13, 2011, in Washington, DC. The symposium was sponsored by the American Society for Nutrition’s Nutrition Translation RIS. The symposium was chaired by Mitch Kanter and Penny Kris-Etherton. Guest Editor for this symposium publication was Donald K. Layman. Guest Editor disclosure: Donald K. Layman is Director of Research for the Egg Nutrition Center.

Advances in Nutrition

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What Is The Relationship Between Intake Of Saturated Fat And Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease

Strong and consistent evidence from RCTs shows that replacing SFA with unsaturated fats, especially PUFA, significantly reduces total and LDL cholesterol. Replacing SFA with carbohydrates also reduces total and LDL cholesterol, but significantly increases triglycerides and reduces HDL cholesterol.

Strong and consistent evidence from RCTs and statistical modeling in prospective cohort studies shows that replacing SFA with PUFA reduces the risk of CVD events and coronary mortality. For every 1 percent of energy intake from SFA replaced with PUFA, incidence of CHD is reduced by 2 to 3 percent. However, reducing total fat does not lower CVD risk. Consistent evidence from prospective cohort studies shows that higher SFA intake as compared to total carbohydrates is not associated with CVD risk.

DGAC Grade: Strong

Evidence is limited regarding whether replacing SFA with MUFA confers overall CVD benefits. One reason is that the main sources of MUFA in a typical American diet are animal fat, and because of the co-occurrence of SFA and MUFA in foods makes it difficult to tease out the independent association of MUFA with CVD. However, evidence from RCTs and prospective studies has demonstrated benefits of plant sources of monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil and nuts on CVD risk.

DGAC Grade: Limited

Effects Of Replacing Sfa With Polyunsaturated Fat Or Carbohydrates On Cvd Events

Hooper et al.âs 2012 Cochrane MA of trials of SFA reduction/modification found that reducing SFA by reducing and/or modifying dietary fat reduced the risk of cardiovascular events by 14 percent .4 Subgroup analyses revealed this protective effect was driven by dietary fat modification rather than reduction and was only apparent in longer trials . Despite the reduction in total cardiovascular events, there was no clear evidence of reductions in any individual outcome , nor was there any evidence that trials of reduced or modified SFA reduced cardiovascular mortality. These results suggest that modifying dietary fat by replacing some saturated fats with plant oils and unsaturated spreads may reduce risk of heart and vascular disease.

In Jakobsen et al.âs 2009 pooled analysis of 11 cohorts , a 5 percent lower energy intake from SFAs and a concomitant higher energy intake from PUFAs reduced risk of coronary events by 13 percent and coronary deaths by 16 percent .5 By contrast, a 5 percent lower energy intake from SFAs and a concomitant higher energy intake from carbohydrates, there was a modest significant direct association between carbohydrates and coronary events and no association with coronary deaths . Notably, the estimated HRs for carbohydrate intake in this study could reflect high glycemic carbohydrate intake rather than total carbohydrate, as fiber was controlled for in the analyses. MUFA intake was not associated with CHD incidence or death.

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How Do I Know What My Ldl Level Is

A blood test can measure your cholesterol levels, including LDL. When and how often you should get this test depends on your age, risk factors, and family history. The general recommendations are:

For people who are age 19 or younger:

• The first test should be between ages 9 to 11
• Children should have the test again every 5 years
• Some children may have this test starting at age 2 if there is a family history of high blood cholesterol, heart attack, or stroke

For people who are age 20 or older:

• Younger adults should have the test every 5 years
• Men ages 45 to 65 and women ages 55 to 65 should have it every 1 to 2 years