One of the proposed issues with keto is that it raises your cholesterol. What the heck is that? Is higher levels of cholesterol good or bad? Why does keto affect it? Is it true that keto can harm your heart? In this series, we are going to cover the basics of cholesterol so you can make your own informed decision on whether keto will make a negative or positive impact on your health.
The Basics of Cholesterol – What is It?
Cholesterol is a waxy, fax-like substance found in your bodyâs cells. We actually need cholesterol. It helps to make hormones, vitamin D, and things that help you digest food. Usually, your body makes what it needs on its own. But, we also get cholesterol in some of our food, like meat, cheese, and egg yolks. Remember when the advice was to stay away from egg yolks? This was what it came from. Turns out, there are other healthy things in the yolks our body needs, but thatâs a rant for another time.
The Basics of Cholesterol – The Good and the Bad
So, youâve probably heard of âgoodâ cholesterol and âbadâ cholesterol. HDL (high density lipoprotein) is the “good” cholesterol. It takes cholesterol back to the liver, and the liver then disposes of it.
The âbadâ cholesterol is what LDL (low density lipoprotein) is commonly called. Too much of this cholesterol can build up plaque in your arteries and cause blood clots, heart attacks, and stroke. Yeah, we definitely donât want too much of that!
Causes of High Cholesterol
There doesnât tend to be symptoms of high cholesterol, so your doctor will test you using a blood test. There are signs you may have it, such as being overweight and smoking. These signs will signal your doctor that you should probably test for cholesterol levels.
One cause of high cholesterol is food. People often link fatty foods with high cholesterol, and this is why people often link keto to this. Like I mentioned above, cheese, meat, and egg yolks do contain cholesterol. However, it actually tends to be foods that are highly processed, sugary foods, and deep fried foods (especially using trans fats) that are the major culprits to high cholesterol.
Other causes of high cholesterol include a lack of activity. If you sit a lot and donât exercise, your HDL lowers. Smoking also reduces HDL and raises your LDL – especially in women. Genetics also has a part in all of this.
The Basics of Cholesterol and Keto
So, is keto a recipe for disaster when it comes to high cholesterol? Are all the nay-sayers right and Iâm going to die of heart disease? Turns out, research doesnât think so. An article in Everyday Health reviewed a piece of research published by the National Lipid Association. This research shows that keto doesnât really have much of an impact on our cholesterol levels.
They do qualify this by saying it depends on how you do keto. If you do keto and donât care about your sources for fat (i.e. doing dirty keto), it can significantly raise your LDL levels. But, if you get your fat intake from healthier sources, like avocados, nuts, and olive oil, keto can be very beneficial.
Final Thoughts on Cholesterol and Keto
The risks of obesity seem to be higher than the risks of increasing your cholesterol on keto. In fact, preliminary research shows that weight loss reduces your LDL levels. The research published by the National Lipid Association states that if you have normal cholesterol levels, it is safe to try keto. If you have insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and/or abdominal obesity, they recommend trying keto. They also donât rule out trying keto even if your cholesterol levels are high. They just say to keep in contact with your medical team.
Personally, we keep an eye on our overall health. We use healthier fat sources, although we do eat a lot of dairy. Our carbs come from vegetables, which gives us our nutrients and vitamins we need. And, for us, it is working. We are healthier than ever, and our cholesterol levels are within normal ranges. Better, in fact, than before we did keto and were obese.
Wendy
