LDL,Atherosclerosis,Triglycerides,and Exercise

What Happens to Your Body after a Big Meal is the title of an article in the Wall Street Journal dated November 22, 2011? Because everyone absorbs fats, sugars, and nutrients differently, the variations provide clues about heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Even “healthy” individuals or bodies function less efficiently (cells that line the blood vessels) after a high – fat meal.  Unfortunately, after, a high fat meal, LDL (bad cholesterol), gets into artery walls to form plaques. As you know, plaques block blood flow and can rupture, which leads to heart attack or stroke, which is called atherosclerosis.  The triglycerides (a type of fat) generally peak after a big meal and are also converted by the body from other nutrients like carbohydrates.  These triglycerides are particularly problematic because they are good at penetrating the arterial wall.

Recent medical studies found that testing for elevated triglycerides after eating is a good predictor of future heart attacks.  For example triglyceride counts after eating were an accurate predictor of stroke in women.  You probably will not be surprised to learn that high levels of triglycerides are probably early warning signs for diabetes. A professor in Japan suggests that reducing the amount of “fat meals “can minimize this negative impact on the blood-vessel cells.   Fish and nuts   are commonly considered healthier sources of nutrients, and do not appear to cause the same spike in triglycerides.  These foods may even bring down triglyceride levels.  Also, eating smaller amounts of food more frequently is better than eating large meals.

Other ways to deal with or reduce your triglycerides and LDL levels: 1.Take a 30 minute stroll or more vigorous physical activity the day before a high-fat meal. 2.   Eat a healthy breakfast to boost metabolism. 3.  Avoid snacks .4.  After the fat meal take a leisurely walk, skip the late-night leftovers and then get back to regular meal sizes and schedules.

 For the good news, exercise induces a number of cellular responses that can last as long as 48 hours.  If you have not started an exercise program, you might consider the “slog” the slow jog. Remember, we are only talking about 15 to 30 minutes a day before the big meal.  Surely you can fit that in your busy schedule. One way to simplify this process is to begin doing a 15 to 30 minute daily slog.  Begin this for a month to establish your base.    The holidays can be a good excuse for you to begin your change. Once you establish a base, and I bet you can, and then you will be in a good position to begin the New Year differently, so that you can better to yourself.

 I will be doing a book signing tomorrow at the Placer County Farm Supply, from 12 to 2, location 10120 Ophir Rd. in Newcastle, California.   E-mail placerfs @ foothill.net.  I will look for you tomorrow.  Prior to the book signing, a group of us are going to do a trail run.  I like to get my run in early in the day, if I can. The following quote from Bertoit Brecht is right on and pertinent to this blog.    "None will improve your lot if you yourself do not."– Bertoit Brecht