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| It's time to adjust my intake of these. |
Hearing my internist utter the words "high cholesterol"and "vitamin deficiency" and "medication," had been strangely surreal. Could she mean those dreary conditions applied to me?
Next thing you know I'll be carrying my teeth in a cup and wearing Depends. No wonder I'm having a midlife crisis.
Luckily, the lovely Dr. T - who radiates fitness and health -agreed to help me make sense of my issues, which are pretty common for women over 40.
High Cholesterol
The fact that my bad cholesterol (LDL) has been creeping up is probably related to my hot flashes. Dr. T says that bad cholesterol is likely to rise in women as they approach menopause and estrogen levels decline. She also says that LDL is only one risk factor for heart disease and others, like heredity, can be of greater concern. Still, says Dr. T, there's no reason to live with high cholesterol.
"Cholesterol is easy to fix," says Dr. T. " We know so much about it." Her recommendations to reduce the waxy, wicked stuff are:
- Eat a diet that's high in fiber and low in saturated fat
- Eat more frequent, smaller meals throughout the day
- Include protein in every meal
- Exercise!
She also recommends foods that contain cholesterol-blocking phytosterols like Benecol margarine. If you want to read why these steps are important, check our Dr. T's blog post on the subject.
Making changes like these can significantly lower cholesterol for some, but if it still stays high, Dr. T says we shouldn't hesitate to medicate. "Get on the drugs! They prevent heart disease and we know they work."
Vitamin D Dilemma
Vitamin D is essential to maintaining healthy bones and may lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of cancer. Unfortunately, other than fatty fish like salmon and mackerel, few foods contain much vitamin D. The biggest natural source is sunlight, which means most of us in Northern climates are deficient for part of the year. But there're conflicting opinions about how much vitamin D we really need.
