Common queries about cholesterol, lipid profile, VLDL, HDL, triglycerides…

You have your latest lipid profile reports in front of you and the doctor says it doesn’t look good. You’re utterly flummoxed by the numbers and the strange terms on the report like cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides and lipid profile. Don’t worry help is at hand:-
What is cholesterol?
Just like the fat you have in your body, cholesterol is also a fat/ lipid that is produced in the liver and its normal levels are necessary for the proper functioning of the body.
If our own body produces it, why is cholesterol harmful?
When cholesterol levels are in the normal range, in a healthy body, the blood flows freely through the veins and arteries. When the cholesterol levels are high, it starts forming clots (plaques) in the blood vessels causing hypertension (high BP), angina (chest pain), heart attacks, strokes and peripheral vascular diseases.
What do the terms LDL, HDL and VLDL that figure in my lipid profile reports mean?
As cholesterol is a fat that is insoluble in blood, it needs something to carry it or transport it in our body. LDL, HDL, VLDL are small molecules called lipoproteins that help with the same.
I’ve heard there is ‘good’ and ‘bad’ cholesterol. What are they?
‘Good’ cholesterols are good because they help get rid of excess cholesterol by transporting them from the blood vessels to the liver for excretion. HDL (High Density Lipoprotein) is a good cholesterol.
‘Bad’ cholesterols are bad because they deposit more cholesterol in the blood by transporting it from the liver, causing more plaques and dangers of high BP, chest pain, heart problems etc. VLDL (Very Low Density Lipoprotein) which is eventually converted to LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) is the “bad cholesterol” as it mobilizes the cholesterol from the liver depositing it in your blood vessels.
What are triglycerides?
Triglycerides are another type of fat or lipid that combine with cholesterol to form plasma lipids and gets deposited in the vessels.  When your calorie intake is more than what you need, the excess is converted and stored in the form of triglycerides. In between meals, when the body needs more energy, this triglyceride store is burned to convert into energy.
How do I know I have excess cholesterol and lipoproteins?
 A simple investigation called the Lipid Profile done by drawing your blood is the answer (after an overnight fasting on consuming a diet low in fat for three days) is recommended. It measures the Triglyceride levels, Total cholesterol, LDL, VLDL and HDL levels.
The normal ranges are as given below:

	Desirable	Borderline	High risk
Cholesterol	<200 mg/dl	200-239 mg/dl	240 mg/dl
Triglycerides	<150 mg/dl	150-199 mg/dl	200-499 mg/dl
HDL Cholesterol	60 mg/dl	35-45 mg/dl	<35 mg/dl
LDL Cholesterol	60-130 mg/dl	130-159 mg/dl	160-189 mg/dl
Cholesterol/HDL ratio	4.0	5.0	6.0

If your values are slightly deranged or ‘borderline’, you need to be careful but there’s no cause for alarm. They could also result due to an interplay of genetic and acquired factors. While nothing can be done about one’s genes, efforts to modify our lifestyle can really prove beneficial.  Modify your diet, increase your level of physical activity and keep your weight under watch!
What foods can help me control my cholesterol levels and maintain heart health?
Just a few simple tweaks to your daily diet can help you get your cholesterol levels under control:
 1. Olive oil:  Switch to olive oil for cooking. Research has shown that the Mediterranean people consume olive oil and have very low incidence of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Olive oil contains a mix of various anti-oxidants which lower your bad cholesterol (LDL). Use it for your tadka or add it as a dressing to salads. Extra virgin olive oils are even more beneficial as they are less-processed and retain more anti-oxidants than the other varieties.
 2. Nuts: Walnuts and almonds are rich in omega three fatty acids and PUFA (poly unsaturated fatty acids) which help reduce LDL cholesterol and keep the blood vessels healthy. A handful of these nuts (unsalted, unfried) should help.
 3. Oats: Being high in soluble fibre, oats reduce the absorption of cholesterol (Total & LDL) in your blood. Eating 1 ½ cups of cooked oats with milk and bananas or apples gives you your daily requirement of soluble fibre.
 4. Fish: High in omega 3 fatty acids, it helps increase the levels of the good (or HDL) cholesterol.
It is recommended that you have atleast two servings of Salmon (rawas fish), herring (bhing) or mackerel (bangda) per week. For restricting calories, they are best eaten grilled, shallow fried with very little oil or baked.
If you do not eat fish or do not have access to good fish, add ground flax seeds (alsi), pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds (til), soyabean oil, canola oil to your diet. Omega 3 fatty acid supplements are also available.
 5. Garlic: Though the cholesterol lowering effects of garlic has been debated in recent times, it has been shown that allicin in the garlic does help.
 What foods need to be avoided?
 Avoid processed foods like biscuits, cookies, cakes and fried stuff. Avoid red meat and egg yolk.
 How much exercise do I require?
 Just a walk daily isn’t enough, as is often recommended. The intensity and the amount of time spent exercising is very important to have significant beneficial effects. If you have been a sedentary person all your life, you can start with a 45 minute walk but should soon increase the intensity by adding jogging and other forms of cardio exercises to your routine. Try and change some of your sedentary habits – walk down the road for shopping, climb those stairs, play football with kids, do your household cleaning yourself.  Every calorie you shed counts!
 Start your fight against cholesterol today and let us know what your next lipid profile reads.

Harmful dye in pickle set for export

Hotel owners get food safety, hygiene tips

Restaurants are no longer places where we eat during weekends and on special occasions. Our changing lifestyle means that some of us eat there every day. So, the hygiene and quality of food served at restaurants is crucial for our safety and health.
The new Food Safety and Standards Act, 2011, came into effect in August last year, and by August 4, 2012, all restaurants and eateries with a certain turnover will have to comply with them.
To help restaurateurs understand the Act, DNA held its latest workshop under the Hygiene for Kitchens campaign for them. The workshop, organised in association with the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (Ahar), at the organisation’s head office in Wadala on Tuesday. Ahar is the biggest association of restaurant owners with nearly 8,000 members in the city.
“The industry is facing tough times,” said Sudhakar Shetty, Ahar president. “Restaurants are closing down because of the high cost of real estate and competition from hawkers who sell food at much cheaper rates because they do not pay taxes or rent.”
Ashwin Bhadri, head of business relations at Equinox Laboratories, which is a partner in the campaign, told the participants that while many restaurants look at food safety and hygiene requirements under the new Act as an expense, the new measures could help improve their business.
Restaurant owners were worried that the new rules could make scapegoats out of them, while ignoring blatant violators like street vendors.
The Act requires every restaurant to appoint a food handler who will be responsible for food safety. It also lays down heavy fines and jail sentences for food adulteration and bad hygiene.
The seminar also helped participants get answers to rarely-asked questions about food safety.
Bhadri informed the participants that monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is used as a flavour enhancer, is banned in India and it is okay to use food colours as long as it was a permitted colouring agent and used in the right quantity.
The DNA Hygiene for Kitchens campaign was launched after around 600 students fell ill at IIT--B after eating at the hostel canteen in September 2011. The incident brought in focus worries about the safety of food served in restaurants and canteens.

Maharashtra bans sale of gutka and paan masala

MUMBAI: Maharashtra on Wednesday banned the sale of gutka and paan masala. The state cabinet approved a proposal for banning the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of these products.

Following the cabinet nod, the government is expected to officially announce the decision in the legislature on Thursday. While a gutka ban already exists in four states-Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh-Maharashtra will be the first to ban paan masala.

TOI was the first to report about the state's plan to ban the two products. A senior cabinet minister said the decision was being taken in the interest of public health. Offenders can face jail time of six months to three years.

The state has witnessed a rise in the incidence of oral and other forms of cancer, since a sizeable population is addicted to such products. Health activists and NGOs had been pushing for the ban on the grounds that the addiction was claiming many lives every year.

What caught the attention of the government was a recent survey sponsored by it, which showed a significant rise in the consumption of gutka and other tobacco products among children in the 14-16 age group. At least 60% of the respondents were found to be addicted to the products.

While the precise extent of pan masala consumption was unavailable, government officials said gutka worth Rs 360 crore was consumed in the state annually. The ban would mean that the state treasury will lose Rs 100 crore in revenue, but ministers said the prospective loss was nothing compared to the lives saved.

Even as food and drug administration (FDA) minister Manohar Naik informed the cabinet that the police and FDA officials would be responsible for enforcing the ban, questions remain about the means at the disposal of the government. It must be pointed out that the state machinery has failed to implement the ban on the sale or consumption of tobacco products within 100 metres of educational and religious institutions.

To make it difficult for manufacturers and distributors of the products to obtain a stay on the latest ban, the FDA, which initiated the proposal, has invoked stringent provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. According to the fine print, the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of gutka-found to contain nicotine, tobacco and magnesium carbonate-is being banned in the state, as is paan masala, which contains magnesium carbonate. An attempt to ban the products in 2004 using provisions of the 1954 act had not succeeded.

A survey carried out by the FDA previously had found excess magnesium carbonate in 99 of 115 samples of gutka and paan masala.