Optimal Life: The Essentials of High Cholesterol
()
About this ebook
Read more from Christine Lee, Pharm. D., Bcps
Optimal Life: The Essentials of Insulin Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOptimal Life: Essentials of Asthma Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Optimal Life
Related ebooks
Chronic Medical Conditions Go To Hell Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Wellbeing Manual: Your Guide to an Optimally Healthy Mind and Body Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHealth Now: The Alkaline Lifestyle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dairy Allergy Handbook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHeart Disease: Simple Lifestyle Changes to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Naturally Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLupus: Alternative Therapies That Work Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Wtf?! I Have Cancer?: How to Get Through the Hardest Time of Your Life with Strength and Optimism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOral Cancer: Easy And Simplified Strategies to Cure Oral Cancer Forever : Early Detection, Prevention And Treatment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsManaging Menopause Naturally: Before, During, and Forever Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMCT Oil Smoothies Recipe Book: A Beginners Guide to MCT Oil Smoothies for Weight Loss Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMedical Conditions Requiring Paleo Diet: Health Learning Series Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lectin Avoidance Cookbook: 150 Delicious Recipes to Reduce Inflammation, Lose Weight and Prevent Disease Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsImmunity Strong: Boost Your Natural Healing Power and Live to 100 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEat To Cheat Dementia: What you eat helps you avoid it or live well with it. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsType 2 Diabetes: How to Eat Better, Lower Blood Sugar, and Manage Diabetes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Insulin Guide: Ways and Recipes to Lower Blood Sugar and Beat Insulin Resistance: Metabolic Syndrome & Weight Loss Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWTF* is Wrong with Our Health? (*What the Food): A Rebel Physician's Manifesto for Reversing Disease and Increasing Smiles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGut Cleanse For Weight Loss: Better Health, More Energy, & Detoxification Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTOP Diets + Fatty Liver Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDetoxification and Healing: The Key to Optimal Health Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Understanding Type 2 Diabetes: Fewer Highs, Fewer Lows, Better Health Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDyspepsia (Indigestion), A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHealthy Eating: Understanding Foods and our Body Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow and When to Be Your Own Doctor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHealthy Cooking Recipes: Eating Clean and Green Juices Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings"Cancer 101: What You Need to Know About Causes, Symptoms, and Prevention" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Wellness For You
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Illustrated Easy Way to Stop Drinking: Free At Last! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sex Hacks: Over 100 Tricks, Shortcuts, and Secrets to Set Your Sex Life on Fire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Woman's Guide to Oral Sex: Your guide to incredible, exhilarating, sensational sex Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Big Book of 30-Day Challenges: 60 Habit-Forming Programs to Live an Infinitely Better Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Am I Doing?: 40 Conversations to Have with Yourself Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Brain Hacks: 200+ Ways to Boost Your Brain Power Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diabetes Code: Prevent and Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Naturally Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When the Body Says No Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of Anna Lembke's Dopamine Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Glucose Revolution: The Life-Changing Power of Balancing Your Blood Sugar Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of Lindsay C. Gibson's Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Blue Zones, Second Edition: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thinner Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemy of Herbs - A Beginner's Guide: Healing Herbs to Know, Grow, and Use Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Secret Language of Your Body: The Essential Guide to Health and Wellness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wim Hof Method: Activate Your Full Human Potential Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Optimal Life
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Optimal Life - Christine Lee, Pharm. D., BCPS
info@optimalife.net.
Introduction
WHEN YOU PICKED UP THIS BOOK, you already had the idea that you wanted to become healthier. The good news is you recognized this need. In this book, I provide you with information to help you make that change with ease, not fear. Fear freezes decision making and can hinder your ability to create an action plan to achieve your goal. Deciding to change is a beautiful thing, and you should view it as such. You have created a shift in your life, and you should smile, regardless of the motivating factor. Don’t view it as giving up something; instead, let it create joy because you’re going to do something wonderful for yourself.
No one can reward you better than yourself by making good decisions. How great is that? This is worth repeating:
No one can reward you better than yourself by making good decisions.
When your brain receives positive feelings, you receive kindness back from neurons bathing your brain in neurochemicals that create happiness and decrease depression. I believe that people put so much stress on themselves to change that they set themselves up for failure. There is a difference between making a strong decision to reach your target with obtainable goals, and penalizing yourself for not reaching the first target, or the next target, and then giving up. When goals are obtainable, the beautiful thing is that pressure is decreased. This doesn’t in any way decrease your ability to reach your goals; rather, it builds the confidence you need to get the job done. Focusing on the positive affects not only you but also others around you who respond to your positive demeanor.
You just took the first step by buying this book. Now, I want you to seize this moment and allow yourself to feel good that you took another action step by reading it. That’s two steps closer! So, smile really big for your brain to feel it. Your brain will thank you by releasing positive feel-good chemicals called neuropeptides that allow neurons to communicate this good feeling to your body. These positive neurotransmitters are dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin. They help your body relax, lower your heart rate and blood pressure, and lift your mood. Endorphins, in addition, act as a natural pain reliever.
Every positive step is rewarded by another positive step, which increases the chance of a successful ending. In fact, you’ll find yourself smiling often — and smiling more at other people. When you smile at a person, that person naturally smiles back, causing both of you to release those feel-good chemicals in your brains.
Success is the brain’s ability to learn and create good habits at your command.
I really want you to get the essence of what I am saying. When you realize the power you have to become healthier by setting attainable goals, you are unstoppable. No one can take that away from you. Life’s good and bad situations come and go, but you are in control of your brain. This doesn’t mean you can’t have bad days. The difference is when you become a positive thinker with positive goals, you rebound faster and get back on track. There is a logical reason for this. Usually, your state of mind is healthier from being positive before a bad situation; therefore, it can be easier to pull out of sadness and get back on track with your goals.
This book gives you an essential education on high cholesterol and how important it is to control this condition. You will have the information you need to help you work more efficiently with your health care provider, which results in a healthier you. It’s easy to read and won’t overwhelm you, so turn the page and take the next step in creating the healthy lifestyle you deserve.
~ CHAPTER ONE ~
Cholesterol and Your Health
I’D LIKE YOU TO THINK ABOUT THIS: How much time do you spend with your doctor over the course of a year? One 15-minute appointment? Two 15-minute appointments? OK, let’s say it’s three 15-minute appointments. Whatever it is, you know it’s definitely less than 1% of your entire year (365 days × 24 hours = 8,760 hours). You’d have to spend 87.6 hours with your doctor to hit the 1% mark. When you realize you’re with your doctor for such a small amount of time, you can see that it doesn’t leave your doctor much time to educate you on your condition. This means it’s really up to you to understand high cholesterol and how it affects you.
The Good and the Bad
Cholesterol is much like a spouse or significant other: you can’t live without it, but too much can kill you. So how do you walk that fine line between enough and too much? As in all relationships, it’s a matter of balance, proportion, and knowing your limits. Human nature is such that most of us indulge to excess or push it to the limit unless there are strong enough reasons to change our behavior. Perhaps you’ve heard the old saying Once you burn your hand on the stove, you won’t do it again.
Learning to manage your cholesterol is akin to making sure you don’t burn your hand again. It’s all about education. When you know more about your high cholesterol, you’ll follow through more easily on your health goals. I want to provide you with enough strong reasons to change your behavior now, before you’re burned
by the consequences of ignoring it.
What Is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance produced naturally by the body and taken into the body through the foods you eat. Total cholesterol is made up of three components: high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides (TG). LDL cholesterol is referred to as the bad
cholesterol because it contributes to heart disease and other problems. Consequently, most cholesterol treatments are designed to lower LDL cholesterol.
Cholesterol is necessary for normal body functions. Your body is made up of millions of cells, each one with a membrane to protect it from its surroundings and to allow certain substances in and out of the cell. Cholesterol is required to build and maintain cell membranes. Cholesterol is also involved in cell signaling and nerve conduction. Each nerve is covered by a fatty substance called myelin, which insulates the nerve and helps transmit messages between the nerves and the brain and other parts of the body. These messages control muscle movements, such as walking and talking. If the myelin is destroyed, the signals sent by the brain for muscle movement are not received, and movement is difficult in the area affected.
The liver changes cholesterol into bile, which is necessary for fat digestion and the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, such as A, D, E, and K. Cholesterol is also an important precursor for vitamin D and is instrumental in creating certain hormones, such as cortisol and aldosterone, as well as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, which are important sex hormones.
As you can see, cholesterol is essential to many body functions. You need cholesterol to live, but there is a limit to how much your body needs. When there is more cholesterol than your body needs to maintain normal functions, you need to address that condition to stay healthy.
LDL and HDL Cholesterol
LDL and HDL are both lipoproteins, meaning they contain fat (lipo), cholesterol, and protein, and are referred to as carrier lipoproteins. LDL carries cholesterol back to the bloodstream from the liver. HDL carries the cholesterol out of the blood circulation back to the liver. The connection between the fats you eat or make in the body is in the form of triglycerides, which is the chemical form in which most fat exists in food and in the body.
The danger of having high LDL (bad) in the bloodstream is that it carries triglycerides and cholesterol from your liver back into the blood circulation, which can be deposited in your arteries. The major structural protein component of LDL cholesterol is called apoB. It is responsible for carrying cholesterol to the tissues. The apoB