Demon Rum - How Alcohol Affects Heart Disease

Last post we talked about Triglycerides, the Very Low Density Lipoproteins. Too much of them is bad. We mentioned that alcohol and carbohydrates increase triglycerides, while Omega-3 and Omega-6 oils and exercise reduce levels.

Alcohol's impact on Triglycerides

Alcohol are a source of excess calories which are being turned into fat - usually, triglycerides, so the fat levels in your blood go up. But that’s only part of the story. Researchers have found that apart from adding calories to the diet, alcohol also prevents the burning of fat. According to a Swiss study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, alcohol in the bloodstream can slow down fat metabolism more than 30 percent.

When alcohol is present in the blood, the liver prioritizes removing alcohol from the blood over other metabolic processes. The liver can detoxify about one ounce of alcohol per hour, which is about one serving of an alcoholic beverage - equivalent to 12 ounces of beer or 4 ounces of wine. In the meantime, however, any sugars present in the drink will also be further processed into triglycerides which raises their blood levels. Additionally, alcohol reduces the amount of the enzyme that breaks down triglycerides and spurs the liver to make more triglycerides. Some people have increased susceptibility to developing raised triglycerides in response to alcohol. So if you do not require insulin, or are not diabetic, and consume alcohol regularly, you may be able to lower your elevated triglycerides just by avoiding alcohol.

By taxing the liver and reducing the ability to detoxify blood, alcohol causes more harm to blood vessels. When the liver is busy processing alcohol, it is less able to process cholesterol. As a result, LDL-"bad" cholesterol levels go up. In addition, alcohol will potentiate the toxicity of cholesterol-lowering medications much more than the drugs would do alone. Actually, this is the major problem with the statins. By drinking alcohol daily, you may increase your chances of serious statin side effects, especially liver problems. Therefore, to protect your liver, you should go easy on alcohol or avoid it completely while taking a statin.

Lowering Triglycerides

Changes in lifestyle habits are the main therapy for high triglyericdes. These are the changes you need to make:
* If you're overweight, cut down on calories to reach your ideal body weight. This includes all sources of calories, from fats, proteins, carbohydrates and alcohol.
* Reduce the saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol content of your diet.
* Reduce your intake of alcohol considerably. Even small amounts of alcohol can lead to large changes in plasma triglyceride levels.
* Eat fruits, vegetables and nonfat or low-fat dairy products most often.
* Get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on five or more days each week.
* Substitute monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats —such as those found in canola oil, olive oil or liquid margarine — for saturated fats.
* Substituting carbohydrates for fats may raise triglyceride levels and may decrease HDL ("good") cholesterol in some people.
* Substitute fish high in omega-3 fatty acids instead of meats high in saturated fat like hamburger. Fatty fish like mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon are high in omega-3 fatty acids.

The National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines for triglycerides are:
Normal Less than 150 mg/dL
Borderline-high 150 to 199 mg/dL
High 200 to 499 mg/dL
Very high 500 mg/dL or higher
These are based on fasting plasma triglyceride levels.

I get my blood lipid tested next week. I'll report on my cholesterol numbers once I have the results back!