How To Support Healthy Lipids With a Few Lifestyle Changes

Lipids are fatty compounds that are part of your cell membranes. They help cells maintain structure, help move and store energy, and absorb vitamins and make hormones. They also help control what goes in and out of your cells.

Are Lipids That Same As Fats?

Not exactly. Lipids are often used to mean fats, but lipids are a group of biomolecules that includes phospholipids, steroids, fatty acids, plus cholesterol and triglycerides.

Fats are a type of triglyceride lipid that your body stores in adipose tissue under your skin. They help regulate body temperature and help the body use the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Fats are also a concentrated source of energy that helps protect tissues and organs.

Lipids and fat get a bad rap, but they are vital to life.

Blood Lipids: The Numbers And The Facts

It’s typical to get a blood draw that includes a lipid panel as part of a full physical examination. Doctors pay attention to fluctuations and levels that are flagged red . . . and so should you. Here’s why.

• Total cholesterol is the most common measure of blood cholesterol. It is measured in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) of blood. A reading below 200 mg/dL is desirable; 200-239 is borderline high, and 240 and above is high cholesterol and a high risk of heart disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 86 million U.S. adults have total cholesterol levels great than 200 mg/dL, and nearly 25 million U.S. adults have total cholesterol levels above 240 mg/dL. The average cholesterol level of coronary artery disease victims is 225 mg/dL.¹
• HDL cholesterol is “good” cholesterol. The way to remember is to think “H” for hero. HDL helps carry cholesterol out of your body, including the cholesterol that is built up in the arteries. The higher your HDL number is the healthier. Aim for 60 or above. A reading of 40 or less puts you at risk for heart disease.
• LDL cholesterol is the “bad” cholesterol. Think “L” for lousy. LDL cholesterol helps deposit cholesterol into blood vessels. The lower number the better. Less than 100 mg/dL is optimal. Aim for 130 and below; 130-159 is borderline high, and 160 or above is high.
• Triglycerides make up most of your body’s fat. Triglycerides in plasma are derived from fats eaten in foods or made in the body from other energy sources like carbohydrates. The calories you ingest in a meal that are not used immediately are converted to triglycerides and transported to fat cells to be stored. A reading less than 200 is normal; 200-400 is borderline high; 400-1,000 is high and above 1,000 very high.

Tweak Your Diet

Although the body needs cholesterol to help produce hormones and vitamin D and form part of your cell membranes, we don’t need to eat it since the liver produces all the cholesterol we need. 

The latest studies have found that a plant-based diet supports healthy lipid levels more effectively than other diets. In 2017, researchers reviewed nine studies that compared plant-based diets with omnivorous diets to test their effects on cholesterol. Plant-based diets lowered total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL levels when compared to diets that include meat. Low-fat, plant-based regimens typically reduce LDL levels by about 15-30%.²

We’re not suggesting that you become a vegan. However, health professionals suggest that everyone should strive to eat a plant-based diet and cut back on animal products, fried foods and highly processed baked goods.

These Are Plant-Based Diets That Help Support Healthy Lipids:  

• The Mediterranean diet emphasizes including fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes, fish and extra virgin olive oil.
• The Ornish Diet (Dr. Dean Ornish) emphasizes eating fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy.
• The MIND diet is similar to the Mediterranean but includes poultry, fish, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, berries, beans and nuts.

Other Ways To Support Healthy Lipids

• Eat more fiber. Soluble fiber including oats, rye, beans, barley, root vegetables, apples, oranges, pears, and soy products, traps cholesterol in the intestine and eliminates it with body waste. Fiber also helps reduce triglyceride levels, while increasing HDL (“healthy”) cholesterol levels.³
• Exercise at least 150 minutes per week. That comes out to just 30 minutes five days of the week. 
• Limit your intake of animal protein and replace it with soy such as tofu, legumes, nut butters, nuts, and protein shakes. Be aware that calories from nuts add up quickly, so limit your intake to a small handful.
• Eliminate sodas and highly processed foods like pastries, cookies and chips, and anything made with hydrogenated oils. These oils are chemically hardened to make them solid at room temperature to increase their shelf life.  
• Stop smoking! 
• Get the right amount of sleep. Although the exact link between sleep and lipids isn’t totally understood, some studies suggest that both too much and too little sleep can negatively impact lipids.⁴
• Take resveratrol, grape seed extract, CoQ10 and omega 3 fatty acids to support cardio and artery health.

Some recommendations for lowering cholesterol still include consuming chicken and fish. Studies have shown that overall, people who adopt a low-fat, plant-based diet, exercise daily, avoid tobacco, and manage stress have the best chance of supporting healthy lipids and cardiovascular health.⁶

References

1. Centers for Disease Control. High Cholesterol Facts. https://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/data-research/facts-stats/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/facts.htm

2. Yokoyama Y, Levin SM, Barnard ND. Association between plant-based diets and plasma lipids: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutr Rev. 2017;75(9):683-698. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nux030
3. Anderson JW, Baird P, Davis RH et al. (2009). “Health benefits of dietary fiber”. Nutr Rev 67 (4): 188–205.
4. Korostovtseva L, Alieva A, Rotar O, Bochkarev M, Boyarinova M, Sviryaev Y, Konradi A, Shlyakhto E. Sleep Duration, Lipid Profile and Insulin Resistance: Potential Role of Lipoprotein(a). Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Jun 30;21(13):4680. doi: 10.3390/ijms21134680. PMID: 32630105; PMCID: PMC7369827.

5. Physicians Committee. “Cholesterol and Heart Disease.” https://www.pcrm.org/good-nutrition/nutrition-information/lowering-cholesterol-with-a-plant-based-diet
6. Bergeron N, Chiu S, Williams PT, M King S, Krauss RM. Effects of red meat, white meat, and nonmeat protein sources on atherogenic lipoprotein measures in the context of low compared with high saturated fat intake: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2019;110(1):24-33. doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqz035. Erratum in: Am J Clin Nutr. 2019 Sep 1;110(3):783.