Читать книгу Anti-Inflammatory Diet For Dummies - Artemis Morris - Страница 47

LDL cholesterol molecules (the bad cholesterol) get oxidized in the blood vessels, leading to the inflammatory reactions that result in clogged arteries. It turns out that the key to high levels of LDL causing a problem is inflammation. For that reason, make sure your integrative physician tests for oxidized LDL cholesterol, not just LDL cholesterol, to truly know how much inflammation is going on in your cardiovascular system. LDL doesn’t become a risk factor until it’s oxidized by inflammation.

As the figure here shows, any type of damage to the blood vessel wall — due to infection, high blood pressure, bad food, and so on — gets the immune system involved by telling LDL cholesterol and monocytes (a type of white blood cell) to release inflammatory mediators, like CRP, to help address the damage. The monocytes continue to transform and secrete inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species (ROS), creating more free-radical damage to the blood-vessel cells and more oxidation of the LDLs. This eventually turns into the atherosclerotic plaque that builds up and clogs the arteries, leading to heart attacks and strokes.

Eating a diet rich in antioxidants such as vitamin E prevents the oxidation of the LDL cholesterol molecules that initiates the inflammatory cascade that results in clogging of the arteries.

Understanding what those numbers mean and how they relate to you is an important step in taking away the fear of numbers while you tailor your lifestyle to keep you from being a statistic. The best way to do that is to look at the risk factors, compare them to your lifestyle, and make changes to reduce the risks you can control. Table 3-1 lists some of the more common risk factors for heart disease and what you can do to counteract them.

TABLE 3-1 Risk Factors for Heart Disease

Risk Factor	What You Can Do to Reduce Your Risk
Smoking	Quit smoking immediately.
High blood pressure	Eat foods low in saturated fat and sodium.
Obesity	Eliminate refined sugars and processed foods; eat foods low in saturated fat.
Inactivity	Exercise daily.
Poor diet	Replace processed foods with lean meats, vegetables, and legumes.
Stress	Include 30 minutes of yoga in your daily routine.
Family history of heart disease	Eat foods low in saturated fat; increase vegetables.