Digestion Connection --
The Recipe for Optimal Cholesterol
We spend an inordinate amount of time talking about how to raise good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol, but that discussion may well be missing the point. The body actually needs both kinds, and it's the balance between the two that is most important. I recently discussed this -- how the media, along with all those "cholesterol lowering" drug manufacturers, are delivering the wrong message -- with Daily Health News consulting medical editor Andrew L. Rubman, ND. So, today, Dr. Rubman explains the balance theory of cholesterol management.
"Cholesterol is necessary for life," says Dr. Rubman, "ergo it can't really be 'bad.'" It only causes trouble when it gets out of proportion, with too much LDL and too little HDL relative to each other. When it comes to total cholesterol/HDL ratio, the American Heart Association recommends a ratio of less than 5:1, optimally, 3.5:1. Dr. Rubman says the ratio is more useful than a fixed target number as people are prone to striving for." So, the real focus with cholesterol is -- or ought to be -- how to manage it better." In order to accomplish that, we need to understand what cholesterol is and what it does.
PROTEIN BUILDING BLOCKS
What we commonly call "cholesterol" -- both the 'bad' (LDL) and the 'good' (HDL) -- is actually a little container of protein and fat (called "lipo-proteins" -- lipo means fat) synthesized together by the liver. These help your body produce cell membranes, create estrogen, testosterone and other vital hormones. (See Daily Health News, June 12, 2003, for more information about the job of cholesterol in our bodies.)
Properly nourished, the body naturally balances HDL and LDL. However, our modern diet doesn't accomplish this so easily. Since the body works with whatever elements it has on hand to produce HDL and LDL, a first step to achieving balance is to eat and digest the right forms of protein.
What kind of protein should you eat? "High-quality, minimally processed food," said Dr. Rubman, suggesting you strive to include one "good high-value protein" at every meal. Dr. Rubman's favorite sources of protein include lean organic chicken or beef, and wild, deep-water fish, as well as beans and other legumes.
ABSORBING THE PROTEIN
Equally important (and less often understood) is that we need to make sure the protein is adequately digested and absorbed. "There's a huge digestive link to the whole issue of cholesterol," Dr. Rubman told me. "Protein can't be used if it isn't properly digested. It can't be digested properly if you don't break it up with your teeth -- after all, there's no grinder in your stomach." So it turns out that proper chewing can actually influence how much cholesterol your body will absorb and then synthesize. Depending on what's on your fork, aim for 30 or more chews per bite to insure optimal digestion.
Similarly, having adequate amounts of stomach acid will help ensure complete digestion of your proteins. This means that older people and regular users of acid-suppressing medications (both OTC and prescription) may be inhibiting their body's ability to fully digest protein.
In order to manufacture cholesterol optimally, the liver also needs B vitamins, Dr. Rubman said. For his patients, he prescribes a good, high-potency B complex vitamin to be taken at least twice daily, and often a separate vitamin B-12. Second, he advises regularly eating dark green, cruciferous foods (optimally one serving daily) like Brussels sprouts, broccoli and kale.
Garlic can also be helpful in balancing cholesterol. Even in the mainstream medical community, garlic is understood to be an agent for lowering LDL cholesterol, while some research has shown it to actually raise HDL as well. Garlic supplements are usually unnecessary, says Dr. Rubman. "For most people, cooking regularly with garlic is adequate and helpful."
Finally Dr. Rubman recommends fiber: "Many types of soluble fiber can bind cholesterol and carry it out of the body with the bowel movement," he explains. This is how the body eliminates excess cholesterol. As a supplement he often prescribes glucomannan or Konjac fiber, taken a half-hour before the largest meal of the day with a large glass of water.
One last recommendation from Dr. Rubman on achieving cholesterol balance -- exercise. It increases the metabolic use of lipids, enabling your liver to make more high-density lipoproteins (HDL).
THE RECIPE FOR BALANCED CHOLESTEROL
According to Dr. Rubman, if you're controlling your diet correctly by increasing your intake of good protein, perhaps spiced with garlic, and attending to your digestion by making sure you chew every morsel and are maintaining adequate stomach acid, you're well on the way to naturally increasing HDL cholesterol -- and creating the proper balance of HDL and LDL. Avoid highly processed carbohydrates, which can interfere with these benefits in numerous ways, both directly and indirectly. Add exercise, B vitamins, and some fiber, along with medical oversight, and that, says Dr. Rubman, "is a recipe for cholesterol success."
Source(s): Andrew L. Rubman, ND, consulting medical editor for Daily Health News and director of the Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines in Southbury CT.