The Doctor Weighs In : Cholesterol

Don’t pass the mayo…high calories from condiments we usually forget to count

Hey, calorie counters out there. Did you add it all up and think you did a pretty good job this week? But you still didn’t lose any weight. Must be your slow metabolism, right? Or maybe it’s your condiments. Condiments are those little dabs of this and that we slather on food to make it taste better. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of different kinds of condiments, ranging from the more mundane (ketchup and mayo) to the exotic, such as raita (a South Asian treat made from yogurt, vegetables, herbs and spices), bagoong monamon (salted fish sauce), and ponzu (a Japanese dipping sauce). Like all other foods, some are low fat and low calorie and others pack a diet-busting wallop of both. If you aren’t paying attention, you could be getting more calories and more fat from your condiment than you are from the food you put it on. Here are some examples from my own refrigerator: Read More

posted by: Pat, Friday, July 14, 2006 9:37 PM (Comments Off)
Filed Under: Weight loss behaviors, Benefits or hazards of certain foods, Dietary Fat, Food labels, Overweight/obesity, Cholesterol, Food policy, Nutrition, Healthy eating

New Targets for LDL (“bad cholesterol”) for people with diabetes and coronary heart disease

This study adds to the growing body of evidence that suggests when it comes to LDL, lower is better. Although the authors point out further studies are needed to prove it definitively, I suspect we will see the major medical organizations, including the American Diabetes Association, coming out with stronger recommendations regarding attaining even lower targets of LDL (i.e., less than 70 mg/dl) for people with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. If you fall into this category, take some time to discuss these new findings with your doctor. When it comes to management of diabetes, it is important to “know your numbers and know your target.” Read More

posted by: Pat, Tuesday, June 06, 2006 2:21 AM 5 Comments
Filed Under: Diabetes , Lipids, Medications (diabetes and pre-diabetes), Cholesterol, Healthy behaviors

When it comes to lipids, size matters

Most of us know that having a high total cholesterol level in our blood is not a good thing. We also may have learned that one type of cholesterol, LDL or low-density lipoprotein, is particularly bad and places us at risk for coronary artery disease and other forms of atherosclerosis, such as stroke. However, a significant number of individuals who have had heart attacks and other forms of atherosclerotic disease do not have high total cholesterol or high LDL levels. So screening for total cholesterol or LDL cholesterol alone will miss a some people who are at risk for bad things, like heart attacks and strokes. It is important to know and control your LDL cholesterol, but, for many people, it is not enough. Read More

posted by: Pat, Thursday, December 22, 2005 8:08 PM 57 Comments
Filed Under: Lipids, Cholesterol

Worried about your cholesterol? It may not be what you eat, but how much you eat.

One reason for this is that obese people make cholesterol at higher rates than do lean people. So the contribution of dietary cholesterol is less important than that being produced internally. The report goes on to state that "the most effective way for obese people to normalize their blood lipids is to lose weight." Read More

posted by: Pat, Monday, December 19, 2005 7:21 PM (Comments Off)
Filed Under: Lipids, Dietary Fat, Weight loss (benefits), Cholesterol, Healthy behaviors