On a recent Wellness Webinar with Cade and Regan, they dove into cholesterol and debunking what it is and what it isn’t.
Many people think that by eating cholesterol, you create more cholesterol in your body. That isn’t necessarily the case.
One thing that does have a large impact on our cholesterol levels is our blood sugar levels.
The Importance Of Cholesterol
Something that is very important when we are talking about cholesterol is to make sure that you are eating well.
You need to ensure you are getting good macro nutrients and good macro ratios. You need to find nutrient dense foods.
For example, you need to get at least 130 to 150 grams of healthy fats a day. Many people get concerned when they hear this and think that they will get higher cholesterol if they are eating large amounts of fats.
People also think that they will get fat if they are eating a lot of fats. That is not the case. Our bodies need fats to survive.
The fats that we put into our bodies can be used as a source of energy. It is a fuel source. If you don’t eat right, then you won’t have that energy available to burn the calories you need to burn.
Carbs are still important in your diet. You need about 20-100 grams of healthy carbs. You could get these carbs from sweet potatoes, yams, or leafy greens.
These are healthy carbs that can fuel your body and give your body the nutrients it needs. As far as protein goes, you need about 100- 150 grams of protein.
Make sure your proteins are good and coming from good sources, such as grass fed or wild caught animals.
Have you ever been told that you have high cholesterol? In 2015, a study came out that found that triglycerides to HDL ratio is the most significant marker of cardiovascular mortality.
So most people see their cholesterol levels are really high and they start stressing out thinking they are going to have to have a stint put in their heart, etc. etc. but that is usually not the case.
There are lots of things that contribute to our cholesterol in our bodies and what we can do to keep our levels at a healthy level. Our liver makes up about 75% of the body’s cholesterol.
So your liver health is really important to your cholesterol levels. So if your cholesterol levels are off, you need to look at you liver and see how you can have a healthier liver so that you can get your cholesterol levels under control.
You may need to detoxify and clean out your liver so that it can function properly and help control your cholesterol levels.
We Need Cholesterol
Our brains are made of fat and cholesterol. If you were to eliminate all of the cholesterol in your body or if you were to reduce it significantly, you would experience some memory fog and brain fog.
Obviously, you would not want to reduce your cholesterol levels so low that you experienced these side effects due to the lack of cholesterol in your body.
When a person goes to the doctor and they are told that they have high cholesterol, the most common solution is to get a prescription and take a pill everyday for the rest of your life.
But, there are other solutions to that. One of the most important things you need to do when you find out that you have high cholesterol is to determine what might be off in your body and that could be contributing to the rise in your cholesterol.
One of the things that you would need to look at are the foods that you are eating. High cholesterol is caused when there is inflammation somewhere in the body so you would need to see the foods that you are eating that is causing some sort of inflammation somewhere in your body.
For example, any added sugars, bleached and refined flours, industrial plant oils, or vegetable oil. These can all be very inflammatory.
Other foods that have artificial ingredients or are processed or packaged will also be inflammatory and have an adverse effect on your cholesterol levels.
The other foods that are inflammatory to your body are, what we like to call, the big 5. Those are gluten, dairy, soy, corn, and peanuts.
Reduce Inflammation, Find A Healthy Level Of Cholesterol
So when people take the little magic pill that their doctor has prescribed and they see that their cholesterol levels have decreased, they think that everything is good in their bodies and that they are healthy.
But, in reality, there is still inflammation in their body and there are still some things that need to be corrected. The contents on the medications are only decreasing the cholesterol levels while they are in your stream.
But, once the medications leave your bloodstream, your cholesterol will shoot back up. Also, there can be some negative side effects from the medications.
Our thyroid creates a receptor site on your cell for cholesterol to be utilized. Cholesterol is the parent molecule of sex hormones, so when your cholesterol levels are off, your hormones will be off as well.
Cholesterol helps with your cell membranes and helps with better digestion. It helps with your immune system and vitamin D synthesis. So basically, if you don’t have cholesterol, your body does not function how it should.
So if you find out that you have high cholesterol, change your diet and come and see us so that we can get you and your body on the right track and so that you can feel your best.