Preventing and Treating Elevated Cholesterol and Triglycerides Are Vital

However, this doesn't imply that we should completely overlook moderate consumption of healthy fats, as this sensible approach does not lead to hyperlipidemia.

Note: This story reflects my research and personal experiences related to metabolic health. This post does not include health advice. It is only for information and awareness purposes.

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When we talk about cholesterol or triglycerides, the initial reaction for many is to cut down on good dietary fats, which have been demonized for years unfairly. This concern is understandable given the abundance of misinformation linking healthy fats to these severe conditions.

While extensively documented in scientific literature, including through the work of Ancel Keys, a pioneer in the cholesterol hypothesis, current evidence overwhelmingly suggests that dietary cholesterol has minimal impact on human blood cholesterol levels.

This perspective challenged the once widely accepted belief that dietary cholesterol significantly influenced the body’s cholesterol levels and misled people not to eat healthy fats, cheese, meat, butter, and eggs, as documented in a pioneering masterpiece by Nina Teicholz.

The body creates cholesterol for other reasons. Besides, every cell in the body needs it. Cholesterol is essential for various bodily functions, such as building cell membranes and producing hormones.

Triglycerides are also essential. They serve as a significant source of energy. Both cholesterol and triglycerides play crucial roles in our cells, tissues, organs, and systems functioning.

However, when these molecules are in excess, they can form plaques in the arteries, obstructing blood flow. When their levels rise beyond healthy limits, they pose risks, especially concerning cardiovascular health. Plagues can trigger heart attacks and strokes. So, elevated levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the body can adversely impact our health and well-being.

The good news is that healthy fats can help manage and control these elevated levels when consumed in moderation. Including these fats in our diet can positively influence the body’s lipid profile.

Healthy fats like avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, fish, seafood, grass-fed beef, and egg yolks can raise HDL (good cholesterol) and improve overall cholesterol balance. They can also help regulate triglyceride levels.

These healthy fats also contribute to reducing inflammation in the body, which can be a factor in cardiovascular issues associated with elevated cholesterol and triglycerides.

When I was on low-fat and high-carb diets, not eating any animal products, paradoxically, my cholesterol and triglycerides levels and chronic inflammation markers were much higher. I have consumed around 200 grams of healthy fats daily for many years, and now I have an excellent lipid profile with no chronic inflammation.

A balanced diet with adequate healthy fats can significantly prevent and treat elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. It is not a carte blanche to consume fats liberally as their calories matter, but it highlights the importance of moderation and choosing the right kinds of fats for health.

The principle is about making informed dietary choices to maintain a healthy lipid profile with low inflammation and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The key point for lipic management is replacing unhealthy fats like trans fats with healthier alternatives like monosaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids.

Understanding the Importance of Lipids in the Body

Lipids (fats) are vital for our bodies. They are essential for cellular, metabolic, endocrine, neurological, and mental health. Three important lipids are cholesterol, triglycerides, and phospholipids.

Cholesterol and phospholipids build cell membranes and make hormones. Triglycerides store energy. Cholesterol travels with LDL and HDL in the bloodstreanm. Triglycerides move in VLDL. Phospholipids are like triglycerides but have extra parts and travel with HDL and ATP-binding cassette proteins.

Cholesterol is a sterol lipid in cell membranes. It is essential for synthesizing hormones like vitamin D and sex hormones. Lipoproteins (LDL and HDL) transport it in the bloodstream.

Triglycerides swim in the bloodstream and are stored in adipose tissue. They are used as fuel when energy is needed.

Triglycerides comprise three fatty acids and a glycerol molecule. Lipoproteins like VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein) transport them in the bloodstream.

Phospholipids exist in cell membranes and have a similar structure to triglycerides, with a glycerol backbone and fatty acid tails, but they also contain a phosphate group and a polar head group. HDL and ATP-binding cassette transport phospholipids.

From my previous stories, you can learn about the critical role of healthy fats in cellular, hormonal, neurological, and mental health.

A High-Level Overview of Hyperlipidemia

Any abnormality of lipids in the body is called dyslipidemia. However, I only cover hyperlipidemia, which is an excess amount of some lipids.

Hyperlipidemia refers to elevated levels of lipids, including cholesterol, triglycerides, and phospholipids, in the bloodstream. Among these, LDL cholesterol is often the most prominently elevated lipid in cases of hyperlipidemia.

However, this paper on Frontiers states that “Dietary phospholipids have been demonstrated to decrease the serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels and change total/HDL in humans.”

While cholesterol is crucial for numerous bodily functions, an excess of LDL, especially when coupled with factors like inflammation, can significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Scientists classify hyperlipidemia under two major categories: Hypercholesterolemia (elevated cholesterol levels) and Hypertriglyceridemia (elevated triglycerides levels).

These names directly signify their causes. Various factors can prompt these conditions, each carrying distinct health implications.

Hyperlipidemia is categorized as primary and secondary. Primary hyperlipidemia is associated with genetic disorders. Secondary one originates from lifestyle factors, medications, hypothyroidism, and uncontrolled diabetes.

From dietary and lifestyle perspectives, the key risk factors of hyperlipidemia are obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and unmanaged stress. A combination of them causes other conditions, like chronic inflammation.

From a diet perspective, excessive trans fats and saturated fats might cause it. The evidence is still inconclusive. However, indirectly, excessive sugar, which turns into visceral fat, is a significant cause.

For example, in this video, medical doctor Kevin Berry asserts that healthy fats do not cause an elevation of triglycerides. They are mainly caused by eating high amounts of refined carbs.

Another medical doctor clarifies the cholesterol paradox in a video titled “Cholesterol is NOT the cause of heart disease. I’ll prove it,” cholesterol is not the primary cause of heart disease.

The bottom line is that when levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides are persistently high, they can build up in the arteries and form plaques called atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis refers to the process of plaque building up in the walls of the arteries. Increased plaque narrows the arteries. As a result, it makes blood flow harder, causing stroke or heart attack.

As informed by this paper, “Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease; unstable atherosclerotic plaque rupture, vascular stenosis, or occlusion caused by platelet aggregation and thrombosis lead to acute cardiovascular disease.”

Atherosclerosis might be initiated by injury to the endothelial cells that line the blood vessels, leading to inflammatory responses. These responses attract immune cells to the affected areas and might cause further vessel complications.

Plaques in endothelial cells that line blood vessels can narrow the arteries. Then ruptured plaques can cause blood clots to form, blocking blood flow and leading to cardiovascular diseases like coronary artery disease, heart attacks, and strokes.

Atherosclerosis is the root cause of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, we need to find efficient ways to improve endothelial cells and prevent the formation of plaques in the artery’s walls.

I documented ten steps to improve the health of the endothelial cells, lowering the risks of cardiovascular disorders. Endothelial cells regulate blood flow, prevent clotting, maintain vessel integrity, form new vessels, balance fluids, and modulate immune responses.

Prevention and Treatment of Hyperlipidemia

The key point is preventing the formation of atherosclerosis. Managing risk factors of hyperlipidemia to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is referred to as “primary prevention” in the literature.

Being mindful of the intersection between Hyperlipidemia and Inflammation is crucial. When these conditions coincide, they can significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular disorders, yet they are controllable with proper management and treatment.

Inflammatory responses triggered by high levels of lipids can lead to the activation of immune cells. They can contribute to the formation of plaques on the walls of arteries.

Chronic inflammation can damage the walls of blood vessels, adding more lipids and forming plaques. Besides, inflammation can affect the production and metabolism of lipids, leading to higher levels of circulating lipids.

The accumulation of lipids in the walls of arteries can cause oxidative stress. It can also contribute to inflammation, creating a catch-22 situation.

More specifically, reactive oxygen species can react with lipids in the arteries’ walls, forming oxidized lipids, which can trigger an inflammatory response.

Hyperlipidemia can induce endoplasmic reticulum stress, a type of cellular stress that occurs when misfolded or unfolded proteins accumulate.

An excessive amount of oxidative stress and inflammation might promote the growth of plagues in arteries. Besides, inflammation can loosen plaque in the arteries and trigger blood clots, as documented in this source.

From the perspectives of endothelial cells and atherosclerosis, patients might have a heart attack when a blood clot blocks an artery to the heart. However, if the blood clot clogs an artery to the brain, they have a stroke.

The critical point to lower chronic inflammation is to reduce inflammatory causes and increase anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Our healthy lifestyle approaches can contribute to this two-pronged approach.

Healthy lifestyle habits can contribute to decreasing chronic inflammation. The key points are controlling blood sugar, making the body more insulin sensitive, reducing visceral fat, regular exercise, customized nutrition, cutting inflammatory food, and getting enough restorative sleep.

Some people might need anti-inflammatory and lipid optimization medication or treatment despite healthy habits. Thus, getting inflammation and lipid markers checked and diagnosed promptly and obtaining a corrective plan is essential.

Treatments (lifestyle changes, medication, and surgery) are available to manage hyperlipidemia. If left untreated, hyperlipidemia can increase the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and other health problems.

This paper informs that “statins are the mainstay treatment for hyperlipidemia. However, the limitations of statins include treatment resistance, intolerance due to adverse events, and a lack of adherence, which contribute to poor outcomes.

As such, many patients require adjunct therapies to properly control hyperlipidemia, including niacin, bile acid sequestrants, fibric acids, and ezetimibe. Guidelines for the management of patients with hyperlipidemia vary in their recommendations.”

Statin medications work by blocking the HMG-CoA reductase enzyme responsible for producing cholesterol in the liver. By inhibiting this enzyme, statins reduce the amount of cholesterol produced by the liver, reducing the amount of LDL and possibly increasing HDL.

Statin medications with different active ingredients are sold under brand names such as Lipitor, Crestor, Zocor, Lescol, Livalo, and Pravachol. There might be different names in different countries.

Hyperlipidemia and chronic inflammation are major risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease and other metabolic disorders. However, the body needs adequate amounts of healthy fats and acute inflammation for recovery and function.

We need to understand the risk factors for prolonged inflammation. According to NIH, major risk factors associated with chronic inflammation are age, obesity, diet, stress, sleep disorders, smoking, and low sex hormones.

Valuable Reference: The National Library of Medicine published a helpful book chapter in 2022 authored by Marcus Hill and Bruno Bordoni. You might read the details for free at this link.

Conclusions and Takeaways

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally. A combination of hyperlipidemia and inflammation increases the risks substantially.

Therefore, they must be managed proactively, diligently, and systematically with support from qualified healthcare professionals. We must take personal responsibility and get timely professional support.

The critical point is that the combination of hyperlipidemia and inflammation can contribute to the development and progression of atherosclerosis, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Furthermore, the combination of hyperlipidemia and inflammation can lead to metabolic syndrome, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, insulin resistance, pancreatitis, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes, increasing the risks of cardiovascular diseases.

Literature also indicates that a combination of hyperlipidemia and inflammation might increase the risk of developing neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s.

Therefore, managing hyperlipidemia and inflammation is essential to reduce the risk of developing these conditions.

Here are some practical tips for managing hyperlipidemia and inflammation and lowering the risks of cardiovascular disorders.

1 — Fix your diet by getting adequate calories and nutrients from whole foods. Customizing your diet for your needs is the best option.

2 — Move the body regularly, and manage your weight.

3 — Get nightly restorative sleep, take breaks, rest, recover, have fun, manage your stress, and improve your social connections.

4 — Quit smoking and avoid other toxins, drugs, and excessive alcohol.

5 — Regularly get your lipids and inflammation markers checked. If abnormalities exist, ask your family physician for referrals to relevant specialists timely.

6 — Follow the guidelines specialists provide and take your medications for both conditions until they ask you to stop.

7 — Learn symptoms of cardiovascular diseases from your family physician and if you experience severe ones immediately call an ambulance for an emergency department as an early medical intervation can save your life.

While we can’t control aging or genetics, we can enhance our cardiovascular function and health by making healthy lifestyle choices and seeking timely professional guidance and support.

Understanding mechanisms, impacts, implications, and viable solutions for managing hyperlipidemia and chronic inflammation can help us take control of our cardiovascular health and reduce our risk of developing these common disorders.

I wrote about cardiovascular diseases, particularly heart disease and strokes. These stories have practical tips, including valuable molecules like nitric oxide, nutrients like citrulline malate and COQ10, and improving endothelial cells, in addition to the points mentioned in this story.

You may also check out relevant articles for further information through a Google search if you are interested in details.

Here’s the Cholesterol Paradox and How It Impacted My Health Positively.

Why High Triglyceride Levels Matter and How to Optimize Them

Beware of the Combination of Hyperlipidemia and Inflammation

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

To inform my new readers, I wrote numerous articles that might inform and inspire you. My topics include brain and cognitive function, significant health conditions, longevity, nutrition/food, valuable nutrients, ketogenic lifestyle, self-healing, weight management, writing/reading, science, technology, business, and humor.

I compile my health and wellness stories on my blog, EUPHORIA. My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experiences, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.