Fats and Cholesterol

[Fearun9033]

Hey everyone,

As a medical student, people's health is something I am very passionate about. When I last was around the hospital making small talk with some patients, I noticed that a lot of people are conscious about their health but are confused by so many warnings and information out there.

I decided to put whatever knowledge I have and make small articles about healthy living and stuff like that. The first topic I chose is about fats and cholesterol, which I am sure you've all heard a lot about in the news these days. Many people are confused about the differences and their effects so I will make an article on that. Depending on the response to this article, I might consider making more in the future! So here goes for healthy living!

Introduction

So what are fats and cholesterols? Without going into too much detail, the mushy part of our body (yes, that mass hiding all of our amazing six packs) is mainly comprised of fats. Fats (made of fatty acids stored in adipose/fat tissues) serve many functions in our body: Not only do they supply energy to our cells for all kinds of reactions, they provide insulation from cold and cushion our tissues from trauma and damage.

Cholesterol, on the other hand, are a class of small molecules called steroids (don't be alarmed, these are not what un-ethical athletes dose on). These substances are vital for our body's function too as they are what our cells use to make its membrane and many of our body's hormones.

What's the problem then?

If you believe statistics, 65% of Americans are overweight and 35% of them are obese. In short, they have too much fat in their body. In addition to social stigma and the annoyance of having to buy an extra seat on an airplane for a person that isn't travelling with you, being overweight has many health implications.

The main concerns about being overweight are heart disease (such as heart attacks, strokes and high blood pressure) and diabetes (when your body is unable to properly regulate blood sugar levels).

High levels of cholesterol, on the other hand, can lead these substances to be deposited in your arteries (leading to a thickening of the arteries in a condition known as arteriosclerosis). Not only does that lead to an eventual blockage of the arteries, cholesterol tends to oxidize over time (think of rust). When cholesterol oxidizes, your body perceives it as foreign and your immune system is activated, causing inflammation at the site of the blockage. Sometimes, these deposits (known as plaques) can burst, causing even more damage and even death in a heart attack.

So in short, high levels of fat and cholesterol in the body is undesirable.

Where did I get the fats and cholesterols?

Fats are mainly taken in from the diet. Before we go any further, we must clarify the two main types of fat you find in food:

- Saturated fats: are fats that are found mainly in land animal products such as meat and butter. Without going into organic chemistry, saturated fats are "saturated" because all of their fatty acid chains are saturated with hydrogens. These fats stack very well together at the molecular level and are very stable. That is why they are usually solid at room temperature (think for example, butter).

- Unsaturated fats: are fats that are mainly found in plant oil and fish oil. From an organic chemical point of view, these fats have kinks and bends in their fatty acid chains because not all of their carbons are associated with hydrogens (some have double bonds). As a result, they don't stack as well and tend to be liquid at room temperature (think for example, olive oil).

Unsaturated fats are usually good for the health. Still, remember that moderation is key. It is important to watch those nutritional infos they print on the package.

Saturated fats, on the other hand, are usually not that good for health mainly because they stimulate the body to produce cholesterol. In fact, the body produces 80% of the cholesterol, with the other 20% coming from the diet. Be aware that some food labels can be misleading when they say CONTAINS 0 CHOLESTEROL but contain quantities of saturated fat; the end result will still be a raise in cholesterol levels. Also note that cholesterol is ONLY found in animal products. Fruits and vegetables will never contain cholesterol (unless they are somehow evilly engineered to do so, God help us all).

Now I'm sure you've all heard about trans-fats. These fats are originally unsaturated fats that have undergone some chemical reactions to make them more saturated (and stable) for purposes like frying. The problem with trans fatty acids is that, although they are unsaturated fats, they behave just like saturated fats and also help raise blood cholesterol levels.

There are also two kinds of cholesterol out there (actually, there is 1 kind of cholesterol that is imbedded/carried in two types of lipoproteins):

- LDL (or Low-Density Lipoproteins): generally considered the "bad" cholesterol.

- HDL (or High-Density Lipoproteins): considered the "good" cholesterol.

Suppose your cells work like a shipping port that receives shipments of cholesterol from these LDL and HDL carrier ships. LDL usually arrives at the docks, dumps the cholesterol in the cells and moves on. However, when you have too much LDL in your body, all the unloading docks at the port are occupied. Any stray LDL simply dumps their content into surrounding tissue (such as your arteries). HDL, however, salvages those dumped cholesterol and keeps them away from the arteries.

When you visit the doctor to get your levels checked, they usually calculate your total cholesterol but also your individual LDL and HDL levels. Doctors will often suggest you to lower your overall cholesterol and raise your HDL levels if possible. However, note that foods that contain cholesterol tend to raise both so avoiding cholesterol in excess is generally the best path.

So there you have it folks, a quick guide to the different fats and cholesterol in your food and diet. For healthy living, one must try to limit intakes of fat and avoid saturated fatty foods whenever possible (yes... bye bye steak ).

A routine checkup with the doctor is also highly recommended as you do not need to be overweight to have a high cholesterol level and be predisposed to heart attack and strokes. Also, a routine checkup can find tumors early and increase treatment possibilities (not that I wish cancer on anyone! It's just that it's better to find it early than late).

So thank you all! And may you all live healthy and happy lives.

If you have any comments, suggestions for improvements/future topics or insults about this article and future (possible) articles, please PM me or reply directly to this threat.

[todome]

There's no need to quit steak. The guideline is that 10% of a healthy caloric intake can be in saturated fats and, depending*, as much as 30% SHOULD be in fats in general. I manage to maintain my current body weight with around 2600 kcals/day so I can consume around 2600*10%/9 = 29 grams of saturated fats per day.

The general guideline for cholesterol is less than 300 mg daily.

Monday to Friday I eat the same damn thing every day for my first 4 meals. In terms of fat and cholesterol sources, I have two of my three dairy servings a day by drinking 1%, a serving of meat alternatives (black walnuts in my morning whole milk yogurt), a can of sardines and a half a cup of a lentils cheese and rice concoction that takes the edge off my morning workout. After that its all oatmeal, tossed salad and fruit salad so other than a nip of salad dressing I haven't accounted for yet that makes for a total of about 14.5 grams of saturated fat and 155 mgs of cholesterol for the day. What that mis is that with basically one or two servings of meat to chow down and one big meal and a snack to go,o n an average day I've got plenty of room for error.

*even when trying to lose weight as much as 20% is still recommended.

[Fearun9033]

There's no need to quit steak.

Ah steak is so good it's hard to quit xD But I succeeded. I was actually joking a bit. In all seriousness, a good piece of steak is only good for the protein content. Eating meat is generally not that good for health.

You are right, we are allowed 300mg of cholesterol/day. A steak piece contains anywhere around 50 to 100mg of cholesterol.

BUT, a piece of steak, even one that looks lean, contains around 6 dice-sized cubes of butter in terms of saturated fat. Even if you can't see the fat, it is there. It is more the combined effects of these 2 substances. Don't forget that along with steak, I tend to have fries (uh oh), gravy (double uh oh) and soft drink (dead).

There are also a lot of environmental concerns about eating meat, but I won't go into details about that. Just for general knowledge,

a single kilo of beef requires 7 kg of grains and 16,000L of water to produce. Compare this with corn which only requires around 900L per kilo and you see how much of an impact we have on our environment.

[todome]

We’ve been told for decades to lower our intake of saturated fat to guard against heart disease. The rationale: Saturated fat can raise LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood, a risk factor for heart attack and stroke.

But according to a new report that will be published in the March issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there’s no evidence that saturated fat is linked with a higher risk of heart disease...

Rethinking saturated fat: It’s not your heart’s enemy

I'm well within current guidelines and my blood tests just fine so in my case like I already said, there's no need to quit.

[KarateGeorge]

Great article. Thank you!

I think ultimately, like anything we consume, it comes down to moderation.

I've been working with a couple of friends lately trying to help them improve their diet and exercise habits to get in better shape. There are a lot of things I thought were just common sense about how to eat properly. I really kind of figured that for the most part people know if what they're eating is a healthy diet or not, that a lot of basics just comes down to common sense. Now granted, I understand that there really is a lot to knowing proper diets, people devote entire careers to that kind of thing, but I still figured that there were certain things that people grasped at a basic level.

My sample size was by no means a representative or scientific sample, as it was just kind of a personal little query of maybe a dozen or so friends and acquaintences, but I was surprised at the lack of a grasp on basic dietary and exercise knowledge. Not only did several of them not have any significant clue as to what a moderately healthy diet consists of, but they didn't even know where to begin on the process. The same went for exercise, as several of them really didn't have any clue as to what to do for even basic exercise. They knew they didn't eat healthy and they knew they weren't getting exercise, they just didn't know how to go about even starting to improve their habits.

It was definitely an eye opener for me. Even though most of us are not doctors or dieticians, many of us do have at least a basic understanding of healthy eating, but there are a lot of people who really just don't know how.

[Fearun9033]

KarateGeorge, you are absolutely right. I know a lot of people like your acquaintances who really want to eat healthy (who doesn't?) but have no clue how or where to start. Many of us are very used to the North American diet. I used to have meat almost everyday. Then I learned that one of the healthiest diets in the world is the Mediterranean diet which includes a LOT of vegetables, fruits, nuts and fish but very little actual meat. I tried changing to that in one shot but it was very very difficult because we are just so used to our way of eating.

But yes, everything in moderation. We should all avoid fast foods whenever we can. I remember one of my friends who was shocked that McD's salad is not as healthy as he thinks! Indeed the veggies are good in there but take a look at the dressing and the amount of saturated fat and sodium is shocking! Personally, I take salad the simplest and healthiest way: extra virgin olive oil with balsamic vinegar (and a little pepper).

Oh well, we need more awareness about healthy eating and exercising. Many companies are jumping the "healthy" bandwagon and flooding the media with lots of (often misleading) information. I am trying to give the most basic and [hopefully] right info with my little articles.

[mr_obvious]

Good article. I for one am a fanatic about what I eat. Down to the point where I track and plan the nutrition of nearly everything I eat through the day.

My fitness strategy is targeted at muscle size and strength, of course sacrificing extended cardio stamina. Therefore my diet is primarily solid proteins, complex carbs and veggies. Aside from Whey, Casein and NO2 supps; I try and get two servings of red meat and fish (usually Salmon) every week. The balance of my protein target is usually through chicken breasts.

So despite the love of a good steak 2x/wk, my last CBC showed total cholesterol was in double digits and HDL higher than LDL. I train like a freak though

[JusticeZero]

I like my steak recipe, personally.

Get some petite sirloin steak. It's the cheap stuff because it's so lean that it cooks a bit wonky, and has no marbling whatsoever.

Trim the fat off the edges, and cut it into single serving pieces.

Sprinkle a little bit of garlic powder at it for taste.

Now take kosher salt and completely cake the steak on all sides. Set it out somewhere (that isn't cold) for just under an hour.

Rinse the salt off. Pat it dry to get the rest of the excess off.

Grill it up as normal.

The meat is now exceedingly tender; you can cut it with a plastic knife. It tastes juicy, and not too excessively salty. (Most of the stuff you get in a can is this salty or more.)

[yamesu]

Excellent information!

Cheers-