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A Danish study just released found a connection between cholesterol deposits on the eyelids, a condition called xanthelasmata, and the risk for cardiovascular disease and heart attack. With heart disease being the number one killer of American men and women, the more we know how to determine who is at risk, the better we will be at fighting this disease.
The researchers found that the presence of the eyelid cholesterol deposits may be a useful predictor of future heart problems. The study tracked almost 13,000 patients and found that those with xanthelasmata were 51% more likely to be at risk for a heart attack and 40% more likely to suffer from ischemic heart disease, a condition where blood flow to the heart is reduced, generally due to atherosclerosis narrowing the heart’s blood vessels. Cholesterol is a major culprit in the development of atherosclerosis.
They also found that blood levels of cholesterol were not directly related to the presence of xanthelasmata, making these a possible better indicator of future heart health than the traditional method of looking at blood cholesterol levels.
So, what does this study mean to a heart healthy diet? Current recommendations are to keep dietary cholesterol under 300mg per day for those with no heart health risk factors. The American Heart Association advises only 200mg per day or less for those who already have high LDL, bad cholesterol.
A vegetarian diet, composed of only plant foods, is a guaranteed way to eliminate cholesterol from your diet. It does take a level of commitment that many don’t have, so simply increasing the amount of plant foods and reducing the amount of animal products helps decrease dietary cholesterol. A few examples of cholesterol amounts in common foods may help. An apple has no cholesterol, neither does a banana or a tomato.
At the other extreme, one whole cheesecake contains over 2000mg of cholesterol! Three ounces of tuna canned in water has about 48mg, and a cup of roasted turkey with a mix of light and dark meet has about 105mg of cholesterol. A slice of pumpkin pie has just over 100mg. Finding a good chart listing nutritional values of commonly eaten foods can help you judge how much cholesterol you are consuming each day.
Although dietary cholesterol intake alone sometimes isn’t enough to lower blood levels of cholesterol, watching dietary intake of cholesterol is an essential part of caring for your heart and cardiovascular system. Each individual reacts differently to dietary changes, some with rapid lowering of blood levels of cholesterol, while others have a much smaller drop. Altering your diet to meet the American Heart Association’s recommendations can only help your heart, even if your cholesterol doesn’t drop as fast as you would like.
This Danish study seems to indicate that there is more going on than just what can be found by measuring the blood levels. Take your heart health seriously and decrease the amount of cholesterol in your diet!
To Your Heart’s Health
Monique Hawkins
540-858-2885
Related articles
- Cholesterol on Eyelids Might Point to Heart Risk (nlm.nih.gov)
- Good news for ‘good’ cholesterol (scientificamerican.com)
- Joel Fuhrman, M.D.: Heart Health: How You Can Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease (huffingtonpost.com)
- Researchers find tie between fat outside of the arteries and cardiovascular disease (eurekalert.org)
