Understanding Your Cardiac Risk Blood Work

Heart disease affects one out of 2 people.  It’s currently the number one disease killer of Americans, slightly ahead of cancer.  For half a century, we were told that elevated cholesterol levels were to blame.  As has always been and has turned out, cholesterol is not the enemy (anybody that knows physiology well will tell you the same thing).  Twenty-three billion dollars are spent every year on statin medication in an effort to treat heart disease.  What have we got for it?  We have more heart disease.  Why?  Because we’re fighting the wrong battle.  

Here is a typical cardiac panel of someone who consumes grains:

Triglycerides: 170 mg/dl

LDL: 150 mg/dl

HDL: 40 mg/dl

Total cholesterol: 224 mg/dl

So, triglycerides are high, LDL is high, and HDL is low.  Let’s leave total cholesterol alone for the moment since there are more important things to look at here.

Triglycerides are the byproduct of de novo lipogenesis (conversion of amylopectin of grains into VLDL particles in the liver that enter the bloodstream) and the absorption of triglycerides themselves.  

LDL cholesterol is a calculation, not a measurement.  The Friedwald Calculation is an estimation  of the quantity of cholesterol in the low density lipoprotein fraction.  One of the huge pitfalls of the Friedwald Calculation is that it assumes that all LDL particles are the same size.  This isn’t true because we know LDL particles come in different sizes and diameters.  

Consuming grains, via de novo lipogenesis, increases blood levels of VLDL (harmful LDL particles or “very low density lipoproteins”) and triglycerides.  VLDL particles interact with LDL particles which essentially enrich LDL.  This process creates small particles (the dangerous ones), causes glycation, oxidation and inflammation.  Grains trigger this process and not fat.  

HDL cholesterol is, on the other hand and different from LDL cholesterol measurements, a measured and reliable value.  Consuming grains can cause low HDL levels because the elevated triglycerides and very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) particles interact in the blood stream with HDL particles.  This process enriches HDL particles in triglycerides and reduces cholesterol content.  This will lead to a reduction in HDL size and quantity.  The lower the HDL, the higher the cardiac risk.

Total cholesterol is the sum of all three values.  Given what’s truly valuable in accessing cardiovascular risk, total cholesterol measurement is essentially useless.  

Several nutritional observations can be made regarding these processes:

• Saturated fat increases HDL, shifts HDL to larger particles which will trigger formation of large particles.
• Amylopectin in grains cause high triglycerides which provide more VLDL particles that will interact with the HDL and LDL.  This will lead to triglyceride enrichment and smaller HDL and smaller LDL.
• Given the persistence of the small LDL particles, consuming grains is FAR worse than consuming fat.     

According to usda.gov, humans are recommended to consume between 6-11 servings of bread, cereal, rice and pasta and people are following those recommendations.  What have we gotten for it?  According to cdc.gov, heart disease accounts for every 1 out of 4 deaths.  For all the money spent, doctor’s visits, diagnostics, and drugs taken, shouldn’t the outcome be better than that?  We’re doing something wrong and it starts with what we’re feeding ourselves.

If you're looking for a valuable way to reduce/eliminate cardiac risk and the PROPER tests to run, contact us at http://greinerhealthsolutions.com/new-patient-center.html.