Portland Chiropractor | High Cholesterol? Think Again….
Here’s a great article that discusses how the lowest rate of mortality (death) was seen in individuals with cholesterol levels (total) between 200-240 mg/dl. All of you who have come to see me for this take note…. remember when I told you your cholesterol wasn’t that high and you looked at me in disbelief? Who would have thought a Portland chiropractor would be the one to tell you this 
Here’s the article: Cholesterol Levels and Mortality
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum Health
Triglyceride to HDL Ratio a Good Predictor of Heart Attack Risk
Not very many people know this and few doctors look at this ratio but it is fairly well established that your Triglyceride to HDL ratio (TG:HDL) is an important calculation to make. Many studies have shown this. A study in 2004 showed that a low TG:HDL is associated with a better heart rate recovery. Heart rate recovery is an excellent marker to predict a heart attack. Another study done in 1997 related a lower TG:HDL to a lower risk of heart attacks. While many doctors do not calculate these numbers; it is easy to do so. Simply divide the number for your triglydcerides by your HDL number. Here are the optimal ranges:
- 2 or less is considered ideal
- 4 – high
- 6 – much too high
If your TG:HDL ratio is greater than 2, contact your doctor to find ways to decrease it. If you would like to have a complete baseline blood chemistry performed and evaluated using the optimal ranges that are supported by research, email info@OptFunction.com or leave a comment on this post; you can also click on the following link for more information about my Portland, Oregon chiropractic, functional medicine and nutrition clinic, Optimum Function: Optimum Function, Portland, Oregon’s Premier Chiropractic, Functional Medicine and Nutrition Clinic.
Yours in Health, Tim Irving DC, MScan. LMT, CKTP, Nutritionist, Hypnotherapist Optimum Function: Portland, Oregon, 97214 Optimum Function = Optimum HealthReferences:
- Gaziano JM, Hennekens CH, O’Donnell CJ, Breslow JL, Buring JE. Fasting triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, and risk of myocardial infarction. Circulation. 1997 Oct 21;96(8):2520-5.
- Shishehbor, M, DO,Hoogwerf, B, MD, Lauer, M,DO; “Association of Triglyceride-to-HDL Cholesterol Ratio With Heart Rate Recovery;DIABETES CARE, VOLUME 27, NUMBER 4, MARCH 2004
Statin drugs, miracle drugs or unruly cholesterol “thugs”:
The most widely sold pharmaceutical drugs in the USA are cholesterol-Lowering drugs AKA, statins. In recent years, statins drugs sales accounted for a large monetary yield, over 12 billion dollars! (Click Here to read an article I wrote about this)
Yours in Health, Dr. Tim Irving Optimum Function Portland, Oregon www.OptFunction.com www.FunctionalDetox.com www.YourOptimumNutrition.com Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum HealthALERT: Niacin May Effect the Liver to Raise Good HDL Cholesterol
Niacin has been touted as positiviely affecting our cholesterol ratios, but did you know this? Niacin’s cholesterol-lowering effects may by located in the liver. New research completed at the Atherosclerosis Research Center in Long Beach and UC Irvine helps to fill the gaps in our understanding of the heart healthy benefits of this important B vitamin. The research was focused on a certain component in the enzyme ATP synthase. ATP is our body’s “energy currency” without it, our cells and thus we could not survive. A subunit of the enzyme known as the ‘beta chain’ can take up and thus remove HDL cholesterol from our bloodstream. The authors wrote:
“In this report, we show, for the first time, that niacin decreases the surface expression of beta chain of ATP synthase in cultured HepG2 cells ,”
In other words, the results of this research indicates that niacin impedes the liver from removing HDL cholesterol from our blood, thus maintaining high plasma levels of HDL. High levels of HDL in our blood has been correlated to lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
Reference:
J Lipid Res. 2008 Jun;49(6):1195-201. Epub 2008 Mar 3. Niacin inhibits surface expression of ATP synthase {beta} chain in HepG2 cells: implications for raising HDL.Zhang LH, Kamanna VS, Zhang MC, Kashyap ML.
Yours in Health,Tim Irving DC, MS, LMTOptimum Function: 819 SE Morrison St. ste. 215, Portland, OR, 97215Optimum Function = Optimum Health