Smoking, Cholesterol, Healthy Heart

Most of us accept that there is a link between cholesterol levels and a healthy heart.  I certainly didn’t expect to find smoking tied to that link.  Comprehending that something I inhale influences a waxy, fat-like substance in my blood to the point that it has a negative impact on my heart was difficult.  And, I found that cholesterol was not the only way smoking affects the heart.

When I looked into this I had and “aha!” moment—a connection between unhealthy cholesterol levels and smoking that should have been obvious:  Because smoking adversely affects the lungs, it decreases tolerance and inclination for exercise.  While exercise has a positive influence on the levels and quality of both good and bad cholesterol, inactivity allows the presence of (bad) LDL cholesterol to increase and (good) HDL to decrease.  Also, both of these lipoproteins tend to be smaller in people who do not exercise regularly.  (And, in this case smaller is, definitely, not better.)  Smaller means more LDL is likely to stick to arterial walls, hardening into a plaque that narrows the passageways for blood flowing away from the heart.  It takes time for this plaque to form, but as it develops the heart has to work increasingly harder to keep blood moving.  This effort elevates blood pressure, another detriment to a healthy heart—one that can end in a heart attack.  I did a post on this topic recently.

In addition to setting the body up to develop long-term high blood pressure there are chemical compounds in tobacco products that produce much the same effect immediately: In the first minute of a smoking session the heart starts to beat significantly faster.  Other compounds cause blood vessels to constrict.  Together these two effects increase the heart’s workload.  Another consequence to this dual problem is that the over stimulated heart can push enough blood into a constricted artery to make it balloon.  Small injuries may result and these are ideal places for more cholesterol to settle.  (A really big tear would be an aneurism, which can quickly result in death.)

The heart will, also, be working in a debilitated state because carbon monoxide in the tobacco smoke fills the lungs and steals the place of oxygen in the blood on the way to the heart as it passes through them.  Oxygen deprivation leads to a buildup of carbon dioxide (a poisonous waste product) in all parts of the body, including the heart.  One of the ways the body tries to compensate for oxygen deprivation is to produce more red blood cells (blood cells that have the function of carrying oxygen and removing carbon dioxide).  An over abundance or these cells creates a sticky environment conducive to forming blood clots—which can lead to a heart attack.

The heart is not the only organ affected by smoking.  It infiltrates the whole body—and, ultimately, every body function has a connection with the heart.  I might look into some of these, but the focus for this post was how smoking interacted with cholesterol to affect heart health.  I’ve shown the relationship to be significant.  And, the only way I understand to diminish the influence is to quit smoking.  (There is a lot of information on the web and from anti-smoking organizations about how quickly a body begins to restore itself after a person quits smoking.)

Smoking exacerbates the buildup of cholesterol in arterial walls.  It causes the heart to work harder and slowly poisons it.  It is detrimental to a healthy heart.

Cholesterol Healthy Heart

Almost like the reverse side of a coin, exercise goes with diet to improve unhealthy cholesterol levels and maintaining a healthy heart. Just as the foods we eat affect both LDL and HDL, so does activity. Regular exercise will help lower the level of (bad) LDL in your blood and increase your (good) HDL level.

Reasons why exercise helps control cholesterol:

1) It helps you lose weight. And, after you’ve lost any extra weight, it helps you
keep it off. Being overweight tends to increase the amount of LDL (the kind
of cholesterol associated with heart disease) in your blood. It’s also
overworks your heart as a muscle and all your other muscles as well.
—Remember it doesn’t really work to take any one facet of your body and try
to regard it without considering its relationship to the whole. The human body
is an integrated entity.

2) It stimulates your body to makes enzymes that help cholesterol “move along” in the blood stream. Keeping it moving keeps LDL from settling on artery walls and hardening—gets it to the liver where it’s broken down to be expelled from your body. (So, the more that gets there, the better.)

3) It causes your body to increase the size of the carrier proteins to which cholesterol is attached in the blood. The combination of the cholesterol and its carrier is called a lipoprotein: there are two basic forms—LDL (bad) and HDL (good). This increase in size is significant especially with regard to LDL. Molecules of LDL cholesterol are smaller and more compact than those of HDL. Its small size lets LDL settle into creases and irregularities of your artery walls where it hardens into a plaque that creates an environment conducive to heart disease. Increasing the size of the carrier decreases the risk of LDL finding a place to stick and so contributes to a healthy heart.

Even without knowing the specifics of how or why it lowers cholesterol risk and promotes heart health most of us hear that we need to exercise so often that we at least will give it lip service as being true. What you may not know (or fear to learn) is what kind of exercise and how much of it you need to do. Therefore, it may come as a surprise that activities of even moderate intensity help reduce your risk of heart disease—if done daily. These kinds of activities include walking, yard work, swimming, dancing, biking, etc. You may already enjoy doing some of these… And you don’t have to do the same thing everyday. In fact, it may be better to vary your exercise from day to day. (Variety helps some people stay interested.) As for the commitment of time, health oriented organizations recommend a minimum of 30 minutes a day—most of us can surely find that amount of time.
In addition to changing cholesterol levels, exercise yield other heart healthy benefits. It helps control weight, diabetes, and high blood pressure. It works and, therefore, strengthens your heart (and lungs).
Of course, there’s a catch. Like almost everything else, when exercising to change cholesterol levels, it can be said, “You get out of it, what you put into it.” Moderate activity for a minimum amount of time is good; vigorous activity for longer periods of time will yield more impressive results and it’s wise to seek advice from your health care professional so you can devise a plan that fits your needs.
Physical inactivity adds to the risk factor for heart disease. Exercise contributes to a healthy heart in more ways than just controlling cholesterol levels.

Cholesterol and Heart Health

Cholesterol is an issue. It’s an issue I avoided for a long time, but recently decided to look into. In a recent blog I talked about what it is and why we need to be concerned about it. As I read about cholesterol I realized it’s really part of a bigger issue—heart health.

I found six recurring topics:

• Cholesterol Levels
• Diet/Weight
• Exercise
• Diabetes
• High Blood Pressure
• Smoking

Heart health is a complex issue and each of these six topics intertwines with the others. But, I like to keep things simple (and if I can, short). Even though they overlap, I plan to spotlight each subject.

When we hear the word diet most of us tend to think weight. When I consider cholesterol and heart health this seems to be a misconception. For now I’d like to consider weight a side-effect or consequence of diet. —We can also view unhealthy LDL cholesterol levels in this way.

Did you know that our bodies make cholesterol? Among other things, we need it to build, maintain and repair the integrity of cell walls. Generally, we manufacture all we need and sometimes more. Excess is carried by the blood stream to the liver where it is broken down and excreted. Except—except sometimes LDL cholesterol will adhere to artery walls where can harden and contribute to heart problems (raising blood pressure and increasing the possibility of blood clots). We add to the excess when we eat animal products and foods containing saturated fats and transfats. In contrast grains, nuts, beans, fruits and vegetables do not contain cholesterol.

Many doctors and health oriented organizations recommend that our intake of dietary cholesterol be limited to 200 to 300 mg per day. They recommend that most of the food we eat be from plants and without added fats. As a food source plants (grains, beans, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables) supply a lot of fiber; fiber can reduce the amount of LDL that adheres to artery walls. Substituting non-dairy products for milk and eggs can also help. Meat does have a place in most diets, use lean cuts and consider trimming away any exposed fat as part of your food preparation. Do be sure to include fish as a source for protein. Also, there are some studies indicating moderate alcohol consumption may raise HDL levels which is a good thing as this type of cholesterol helps mitigate the negative effects of LDL.

Look at the American Heart Association food pyramid for information about number and size of portions. You will also find that your intake of highly processed sugars and starches should be limited as your body easily converts these to fat (think overweight). This contributes to elevated levels of LDL cholesterol and I’m sure you would rather eat for heart health.

What is Cholesterol

For as long as I can remember there’s been a lot of talk about cholesterol. And for years, I’ve pretty much ignored it. But, hey—I’m getting older; I’m starting to think a bit about “health issues.” Much of the talk about this stuff makes me concerned about my heart: hardening of the arteries, heart disease, heart attack, stroke (So, cholesterol isn’t good for my brain either?). Do I have reason to be concerned? I wanted to know, so I did a little research. —Here’s what I found:

Cholesterol is an alcohol. It is carried through our body by blood. And, in fact, it can be found in every one of our cells. It mainly functions in building cell membranes and some hormones. So, it’s certainly necessary. But, with cholesterol, as with so many other things—when there is too much of it, it presents a potential for trouble. Too much cholesterol (high cholesterol or hypercholesterolemia) contributes to the risk of heart disease and possible heart attack.

Excess cholesterol is carried by blood from our cells to the liver where it is broken down for excretion. (The liver also manufactures cholesterol.) It is carried along in the blood stream by proteins called lipoproteins (fatty protiens). That combination forms a soft waxy substance in the blood. Basically, it is a solid mass moved along by our blood; it does not dissolve. It’s possible for some of this substance to settle out of the blood and adhere to artery walls. Of particular concern are low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and high density lipoproteins (HDL).

LDL is the most common cholesterol in our blood. It’s called bad cholesterol because we are likely to have an excessive amount of it. When there is too much LDL cholesterol in our blood, it can settle and build up on the walls of arteries. This forms a thick hard deposit. The deposit becomes a plaque that narrows arterial passages and constricts the flow of blood. This is a condition called atherosclerosis. The constricted blood flow increases the possibility of clot formation. When a clot cuts off or significantly reduces the flow of blood to the heart, a heart attack is quite likely. Or, the blocking of blood to the brain may cause a stroke. To prevent this doctors recommend keeping your LDL level at or below100 mg/dL.

In contrast HDL cholesterol is called good cholesterol. This form takes the the excess away from the arteries and to the liver. It may even have a scrubbing effect that causes some settled LDL to move along. Doctors recommend levels of at least 60 mg/dL. They believe that as too much LDL contributes to the risks of stroke and heart attack, the opposite is true of HDL—too little will introduce a risk factor.

There does seem to be reason for concern. Maybe ignoring the cholesterol issue isn’t such a good idea? I did some further research to find out what can cause high cholesterol. I learned my body makes enough cholesterol for its needs (sometimes more than it needs) and that the food I eat can contribute to any excess. I read about testing and the medicines doctors prescribe for control. Medicine is best discussed with a personal physician, but I also found some lifestyle suggestions that seem to be practical for anyone, especially if they have a cholesterol problem. Among the things that contribute to cholesterol levels and heart health are diet and exercise. We can exert a significant control of these.

In addition to cholesterol, I found quite a lot of information about factors that can contribute or be a detriment to heart health. I’ll share some of this in future blogs.