Counterculture Health

Intro: 00:00

Welcome to the Counter Culture Health podcast. I'm doctor Jen McWaters. And I'm coach Kaitlin Reed. We're here to help high achieving women overcome mental blocks, find freedom from anxiety, create an abundant life, and build the body and life that they deserve and desire. In this weekly podcast, we'll uncover the raw truth about mental health, nutrition, fitness, and beyond. Let's get to it.

Jen: 00:25

Hey, guys. Welcome back. Today, we have a health focused episode. Kaitlin is gonna walk us through a really important topic. We've actually been requested to do this episode, and it is on cholesterol. I know there's a lot of myths around it, misunderstandings, misinformation. So we wanna clear some of that up today and help us all understand what is cholesterol, why is it important, and if you have issues with it, often because you've gone to the doctor and they tell you you have high cholesterol, what are some things you can do to manage that and ideally from a more holistic standpoint? So, Kaitlin, start us off. What is it in the first place?

Kaitlin: 01:05

Yeah. Sure. So, cholesterol is a lipid or a type of fat. It's like a waxy like, fat like substance in our body, and it's found in every cell of our body. And I think cholesterol has a bad rap, because we often hear that it's bad.

Kaitlin: 01:23

It contributes to heart disease, to health conditions, all sorts of things. But it is also essential for a lot of bodily functions and plays a very important role in our body and maintaining our health too. So it's not all bad. It's necessary. We need it for things like, cell membrane structure, for hormone production, for synthesis of vitamin d, for bile production.

Kaitlin: 01:53

So we have a good gut health and digestion for protecting our brain and nervous system, for immune support, for wound healing and tissue repair. Also plays a big role in strength, essential for pregnancy and having a healthy baby, and supports energy production. So it actually is very important, and necessary for us to have. So, hopefully, that clears up, a lot of things too for people. But so then we can get into types of cholesterol, and this is what we most often hear about is, LDL and HDL.

Kaitlin: 02:36

So, well, I wanna start something that's very interesting is our our body, our liver produces pretty much all the cholesterol that it needs. So 75% of our cholesterol is made internally, which is pretty interesting and fascinating. It doesn't all come from dietary, and food choices either. But to get into, LDL and HDL, so LDL is the low density lipoprotein, which we often hear as, like, the bad cholesterol. So, LDL carries cholesterol from the liver to our cells.

Kaitlin: 03:13

And if there's too much LDL in the bloodstream, then this is where it starts to build up on the walls of the arteries, forming plaque. It can lead to atherosclerosis, which is the hardening of the arteries, which then, of course, increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. So say LDL that, we really wanna pay attention to, you know, when we're referring to our cholesterol. And then we have the HDL, which is a high density lipoprotein, which is we hear as a good cholesterol. So this HDL helps remove cholesterol from the bloodstream and carries it back to the liver so it can be processed and then removed from the body.

Kaitlin: 03:58

So then, of course, this helps reduce the risk of plaque buildup and reduce our risks of heart disease. So, generally, are the recommendations like, the standard recommendations for cholesterol now are a total cholesterol under 200, LDL should be less than 100, and HDL, should be 60 or greater. However, I think I shared this with you before as I came across a video by a doctor, discussing how, total cholesterol recommendations used to be at 300 and claimed to be safe at 300, but we have now moved it down to 200, as a way to get more people on medication. And that was like to come across the video, I was like, I'm not surprised. That's very interesting.

Kaitlin: 05:03

You know, I definitely have to do a lot of research to see, you know, is 300 safe? Is this, you know, accurate? Who is this doctor that is saying this? But I thought that to be very interesting and not surprising from the, you know, medication standpoint of things when it comes to cholesterol.

Jen: 05:25

Yeah. I didn't see that video, but I definitely have heard things like that. And then remind me again, what is the type of medication that people typically go on?

Kaitlin: 05:33

The I guess statins.

Jen: 05:34

Statins. That's right. And I just read a lot about the dangers of statins. And, again, I'm not saying that you shouldn't be on a statin. Like, some people might need to be.

Jen: 05:41

Right? There's individual cases. But in general, they are overprescribed, and we are, as a cultures, like, Western medicine, like, obsessed with lowering cholesterol too. And perhaps we've gone too far with that. Like, to point maybe there is a different number that is safe and healthier.

Jen: 05:57

But also, there's so many health impacts, negative ones, of having low cholesterol. Like, there's mental health impacts to have low cholesterol. You're more likely be anxious and depressed if your cholesterol is too low. So, you know, either extreme is not good. And I think also statins are overprescribed, and it's like the menu they see a number.

Jen: 06:14

It's like you need to be on a statin, but also there's probably other things you can do to modify that. But again, there are people I know that do all of the lifestyle things, and it's still maybe not in a safe range for them. And so they might need to do something medication wise. But I think in general, it's you know, medicine leans towards one size fits all, and we wanna move away from that. We think what is way more reasonable is each person's individual by individual and perhaps I mean, the science changes all the time.

Jen: 06:42

Right? I mean, we've heard for decades of, like, eggs are bad for you. They raise cholesterol. And now it's like, actually, there's people who have eaten lots of eggs, and they lower the cholesterol through eating eggs. It's so confusing.

Jen: 06:52

So, you know, we're with there with you because we're trying to sort through the science and the data and the reels and all the clips and hot takes, and it's hard because this information seems to change a lot.

Kaitlin: 07:06

Yeah. Yeah. Well and I'm glad you brought that up about dietary cholesterol because that's what we used to hear, like stop eating red meat, stop eating eggs, stop eating, shellfish, things like that that can raise your cholesterol. But what we have actually found is that dietary cholesterol doesn't actually have as big of an impact on your cholesterol as we once thought. So, really eliminating red meat and eggs and stuff is not, like, a protocol to help, lower cholesterol.

Kaitlin: 07:40

It's more the, saturated fats and trans fats, which comes from processed foods, fried foods. So it's more thinking about what does, my diet look like. Am I consuming a lot of processed foods and fried foods, and not a lot of old foods and just making that switch, because those are the things that have been found to contribute more to, cholesterol, high cholesterol levels rather than dietary cholesterol itself, which is very fascinating. Mhmm.

Jen: 08:17

Yeah. So that was my question too. It's like, what then are the things that will lead to high cholesterol? Like, what's are you, familiar with some of the data? Like, what what are the big things that contribute the most?

Jen: 08:29

Because we know now, like, right, it's not eating the organic pasture day or having steak even. It's not it's not that for the for the majority of it.

Kaitlin: 08:38

If I may Yeah. Like I mentioned, dietary factors. So, consuming a lot of, processed foods, trans fats, which comes from processed foods and fried foods, lack of physical activity, being obese or overweight, genetics, and family history. So genetics act have a pretty significant plays pretty significant role in, high cholesterol. So looking back at your family history and knowing that too, like, am I prone to this too?

Kaitlin: 09:10

And making sure you're really taking extra precaution too. People that are genetic have that genetic factor too might need to be a little more mindful of the saturated fats that could come from, like, fatty cuts of meat or whole fat dairy products, things like that, just because they already have that underlying genetic factor. But most peep that don't or butter, things like that, that don't, should are still fine consuming those things, especially if you're exercising too. Age and gender. So something that's very interesting too is that typically women around menopause start to see their cholesterol levels increase.

Kaitlin: 09:55

I I don't exactly know why. My I would say, like, changes in hormones because cholesterol on the hormones have a very strong connection, but also people tend to become more sedentary, and they're not as active as much either, you know, as they age and go through menopause. Typically, I would say, you know, like, the standard person starts to slow down, and they're not as active. So I think that really contributes to higher cholesterol with increased age too. And then underlying health conditions like, type 2 diabetes, hypothyroidism, kidney disease, liver disease, things like that can certainly contribute to high cholesterol.

Kaitlin: 10:41

And then smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and stress can also be

Jen: 10:48

Oh, my favorite one. It's like stress, which is the root of everything.

Kaitlin: 10:53

Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. So then what do we do about our high cholesterol? So looking at your diet, evaluating your diet, and then thinking about, am I consuming a lot of saturated fats and trans fats?

Kaitlin: 11:09

Am I consuming a lot of processed foods and fried foods? And then making a shift to more real whole foods can certainly help with that. Incorporating more monosaturated fats like olive oil and avocado and nuts and also polyunsaturated fats, like fatty fish or flaxseed, walnut, sunflower seeds, things like that. But this there's 2 that I think people should really focus on and incorporate into their diet and lifestyle that can really make a significant change in cholesterol, and this is fiber and omegas. So the interesting thing with fiber is that it binds to cholesterol in the digestive system, and it removes it from the body.

Kaitlin: 12:03

So this is why another reason why, you know, fiber is not just great for our our digestion, but can also help improve our cholesterol levels for this exact reason too. So foods that are rich in fiber, I want everyone to get out a pen and paper and write this down so you have your fiber cheat sheet to refer to each day. And this is something that I work with my ladies on and really attract this with you know, I can look at their food logs, and I look at their fiber intake every single day to make sure they're getting enough fiber, because it it makes a huge difference for a lot of different reasons. And we should get so women should get at least 25 grams of fiber a day, and men should be 35 grams of fiber a day. So apples have 4 grams of fiber per 1 medium apple.

Kaitlin: 13:00

Blueberries have 4 grams of fiber per one cup. Blackberries, 8 grams for 1 cup. Peas, 7 grams for 1 cup. Avocados, 10 grams for 1 medium avocado.

Jen: 13:17

We will an avocado.

Kaitlin: 13:19

Yeah. Avocados are amazing. You should eat 1 a day. That's great. Artichokes, 5 grams for a half a cup, Chia seeds, 10 grams for 2 tablespoons.

Kaitlin: 13:34

Raspberries, 8 grams for 1 cup. Edamame, 8 grams for 1 cup. All brand buds, 13 grams for a half a cup. So those those are like a hack. If you I mean, if you do a half a cup of all brand buds a day is

Jen: 13:52

What is that? What is that? All brand buds?

Kaitlin: 13:54

All brand buds are like, honestly, it looks like rabbit food, but it's it's a cereal. But it's just like it's fiber. So you can I mean, you could eat them straight as, like, a cereal? I like to put them in yogurt so it gives, you know, it helps out with the taste a little bit, gives you yogurt, like, a little crunch too. You could add some, like, honey, fruit with it, things like that.

Jen: 14:18

Is this sweetened or no? Not sweetened?

Kaitlin: 14:20

No. Exactly. I don't wanna

Jen: 14:22

I was like, I don't wanna encourage people to have cereal if it's sweetened.

Kaitlin: 14:25

Yeah. No. It's like straight fiber pellets. It's

Jen: 14:31

Tell me on that, but I hear how that could be very convenient.

Kaitlin: 14:35

It's I mean, yeah, touch cup, you're halfway there for the day, so it's a great hack. And then Mission Carb, tortillas have 15 grams for 1 tortilla. So there's a few I mean, yeah, one tortilla, you get 15 grams, so definitely some higher options there. But I always encourage people well, one of my principles is you should be eating a fruit or a vegetable with every single meal that you're having anyways. And so if you do that, you're gonna hit your fiber intake pretty easily if you're eating a whole food, fruit, veggie with every single meal that you have.

Kaitlin: 15:19

But, you know, people that aren't, I've you know, I see 6 grams of fiber, 8 grams of fiber a a day a day. And so it's I mean, track that's another reason why I love tracking. It just reveals so much about your habits. And then you're like, oh, well, no wonder my digestion sucks. No wonder I'm not going to the bathroom every single day.

Kaitlin: 15:46

No wonder I have high cholesterol or high blood pressure. It's it just reveals so much. It's like, you know, now we have data where you are and now where we need to go and also this accountability, you know, this tracker to keep you on track and making sure you're doing the right things. So that's out on fiber. Now omega threes, help improve cholesterol by, raising HDL, so the good cholesterol and reducing LDL, the bad cholesterol, decreasing inflammation, improving blood pressure, lowering triglycerides.

Kaitlin: 16:27

So this can come in, like, fatty fish, like salmon, sardines, oils, olive oil, things like that. Or you could take an omega supplement. If

Jen: 16:41

And I promote that for a couple of reasons. 1, most people don't can't get enough fish in. 2 Yep. Fish also can be higher in heavy metals. So, like, I'll enjoy salmon, like, once a week, but I also daily supplement with omega threes.

Jen: 16:55

And I think, there's some great, like, brands like Nordic Naturals that I'm a huge proponent of and some much more potent omega threes and way more than you could ever get in a week's worth of eating fish, especially if you're trying to be careful with heavy metals and toxins as we all should be. And there's also mental health benefits to having more omega threes in your diet as well. Helps with mood, depression, ADHD even. There's some cool research on that. So I'm a huge out of all of the supplements, I'm really big on omega threes and vitamin d, and often also it's like b 12 or a complex b.

Jen: 17:30

Those are, like, the 3 across the board that most people need. Could do labs on it too. But, again, like, it's a it's a food source, so omega threes are really great thing to have and start taking daily. And, again, Norwood Naturals is a great brand to buy, and you can get that online and or health food stores, but there's specific ones too that you can work with a coach, or someone on to know what specific type and and amount that you need to get, like, a therapeutic dose.

Kaitlin: 17:59

Yep. Yep. Love it. Yeah. Omegas are on my top too.

Kaitlin: 18:04

Typical is creatine, and vitamin d. Yeah. Because those are usually the ones that people are naturally low in. So always recommend those. So that is, fiber and omegas.

Kaitlin: 18:18

Big with, when it comes to food and your nutrition with lowering cholesterol. So I think those are, like, the 2 big things people should focus on if they are trying to lower their cholesterol now. And then, of course, other things outside of just nutrition, exercise, resistance training. You know? And it doesn't have to be if if people could just move, like, 20 to 30 minutes a day and strength train at least twice a week would put them in such a good place.

Kaitlin: 18:50

It doesn't have to be, you know, all this this crazy long extreme thing to have benefit for your cholesterol and your overall health. Just a little bit goes a long ways. And so if we can at least make that happen, Huge. Huge. But specifically strength training.

Kaitlin: 19:11

So strength training increases good cholesterol, decreases bad cholesterol, also helps improve insulin sensitivity. So, when we can regulate our blood sugar better, it helps with fat metabolism, and can help lower our cholesterol. And, you know, strength training helps promote fat loss, so we're not we don't have as high of a body fat percentage when we're increasing our muscle mass, improves our metabolism, so we decrease body fat. So so that can help as well. Already mentioned increasing lean muscle mass has a huge impact on our bod our body composition and, our metabolism of cholesterol in the body as well, and just having a improved resting metabolic rates.

Kaitlin: 20:07

This helps out with weight management, so much better too. So big points on strength training there and why that's also super important outside in of just doing cardio as well, when it comes to lowering cholesterol.

Jen: 20:25

I have a question for you, Katie. Ask you a question. So if you had a client coming to you and they had high cholesterol, and you would probably put them on this protocol and checking what they're eating, increasing the fiber, omega threes, potentially, depending on genetics, monitoring saturated fats, obviously, and and processed foods. How long would in the strength training, how long would you do that for and then recheck them? And if they're still high cholesterol, at that point, would you refer them back to doctor?

Jen: 20:51

Or, like, what you know, is there, like, a time frame someone should try this for before they reconsider the protocol?

Kaitlin: 20:58

Yeah. I think retesting with blood work, like, every 3 to 4 months is is a good idea, you know, especially if we're implementing a protocol, you know, rechecking to see if we're improving, if anything's changed. I would say if they go back and there's improvement, we would just continue on this trend. You know, because it it takes time. We didn't just get cholesterol overnight.

Kaitlin: 21:27

Right? It's it it took years of buildup to get to this point, so it's not going to improve, overnight either. So I would say as long as we are seeing improvement on this protocol, we would just keep keep going with it. I don't I've never experienced or I've never, seen anyone where their cholesterol has gotten worse by implementing something like this, so I've never seen it go in that direction. And in that circumstance, I would say it's probably more of a genetic factor that is, you know, something else, something underlying, maybe another health issue or something else that's going on that could be contributing.

Kaitlin: 22:08

But then once again, pretty much a lot of health issues resolved with exercise, strength training, eating well too. So, I would say, yeah, as long as we're going in, we're seeing results and progress, continuing on with that and and just rechecking and monitoring every 3 to 4 months with blood work.

Jen: 22:30

Yeah. Yeah. No. That makes sense. I I usually say the same thing.

Jen: 22:33

I encourage people to make the changes, and then somewhere between 3 to 6 months, depending on what the issue is, get rechecked no longer than 6. Like, you wanna get you wanna have your baseline then at least 6 months, ideally, probably 4 months Yep. And see if it's working, whether that's vitamin d deficiency, cholesterol, b 12, other factors that you can measure via blood. That's really important because if you're not testing, you're guessing, as they say. So we need to know it's working.

Kaitlin: 23:03

Yeah. Yeah. Especially, you know, something like this is very serious too, and it could lead to, you know, heart condition or stroke or something as well, making sure you are monitoring that, especially when there's a family history.

Jen: 23:18

Yep. And to your point with the menopause, which is interesting because I hadn't thought about that, but because of all the, like you said, lifestyle changes that happen around that time, the hormone changes in particular, often weight gain is accompanied by that. Inside from just doing what you can to lower the cholesterol, it'd be also addressing the hormonal components that seem to be also driving this. So working with someone to also look at that piece of it, which is a little different outside of our scope together, but working with, like, a naturopathic doctor. I know some people who are fabulous.

Jen: 23:50

We had doctor Mona send me on the podcast a few, months ago, and she is a functional medicine doctor, works with menopause in particular, like hormone health. Right? Things like that. Like, making sure you're also looking at from all those angles and getting support from other providers, not just your doctor that manages cholesterol medicine, because that's what mess Western medicine does. It's like, this is the doctor you see for this rather than thinking about, well, what are the driving factors making this this number be high?

Jen: 24:20

And then how can I also look at that? Like, how do I address maybe the hormonal dysfunction going on, or metabolic issues going on? Whatever it is, it could also be contributing in stress. Like, seeing a therapist for stress, if that might be driving it, right, or working with a coach. So just thinking of it too from, like, a bigger picture rather than just focusing on the number and, like you said, not fixating on the number in food as being the only things that are going on there.

Kaitlin: 24:47

Mhmm. Yeah. And then outside of, I mentioned this earlier too, outside of, nutrition and exercises, not smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, and I think that can be a huge one for a lot of people too, You know, especially when you're not feeling well, then we use something to cope with that, and then it just it's just this vicious cycle, and I know alcohol is used, you know, in a lot of situations like that. I see it increase around menopause too for women start increasing or even start drinking around that time too, I think, just to kinda cope with the changes that are happening. That's that's been a very interesting, thing that I have noticed, with the increased alcohol consumption around with women around menopause.

Kaitlin: 25:42

And then that just that just makes everything worse. It's a it just it makes it a wreck. So it's definitely yeah. Although it might provide that temporary relief, it's just wreaking havoc on everything else, too.

Jen: 25:56

I also know a lot of women who don't drink, and they have that issue, but I it's probably more connected either to genetics and or processed food diets, lack of movement, those kinds of things, and weight gain. So, it kind of goes right? Depends. But, definitely, I think that's a big one in general. Like, why we have such a high rate of diabetes and cholesterol in our cultures, the processed foods and inflammatory foods, all of that.

Jen: 26:23

So read labels. Right? Let's just read the labels. If you don't know what's on the label, probably don't eat it. Like, if if it's a long word, if it's a chemical Yeah.

Jen: 26:33

If you don't have it in your pantry, probably don't

Kaitlin: 26:35

Yeah. Or just, you know, reduce your consumption of it is, you know, make make most of your diet real whole food Yes. And not the other way around. Yes. And that alone can make significant improvements.

Jen: 26:50

Exactly. Yes. And there's alternatives. There's so many alternatives. Right?

Jen: 26:53

At the store too. You can

Kaitlin: 26:55

Yeah.

Jen: 26:55

Buy something less processed and still taste amazing.

Kaitlin: 26:58

Yep. Mhmm. Yeah. Absolutely. And then manage stress.

Kaitlin: 27:02

We've touched on that already. It just impacts us so much in so many different ways. So things yeah. Doing a meditation each day or, you know, taking time for yourself or deep breathing practices or going outside or finding a hobby, you know, something outside of work or, you know, the stressful thing and making sure you incorporate that, into your day to day as well.

Jen: 27:32

Yep. And we have a whole episode on stress too. So Yeah. We have lots of great backlog. If you guys need help with foods, Caitlin has amazing episodes on food and strength training.

Jen: 27:41

We did one on stress. So look back at those episodes too because as Caitlin is

Kaitlin: 27:45

saying today, like, all those pieces together play into things like

Jen: 27:46

cholesterol issues, blood pressure issues, play into things like cholesterol issues, blood pressure issues. It's all connected. So we need all of these components and pieces to be aligned to be at our optimal health.

Kaitlin: 27:59

Yep. Yeah. I think the biggest takeaway today is just, like, it's not all bad. Like, we we need cholesterol. It's important.

Kaitlin: 28:09

It plays a role in a variety of different functions in our body. So not really think, like, I need to cut it out of my diet, just being more mindful and monitoring those things. Because like you mentioned before, it's if it's too low, that could cause problems as well. So it's not all bad. There are some benefits to it.

Kaitlin: 28:31

We do need it. It's just more about monitoring. Yes. And then if you do have issues, follow those protocols.

Jen: 28:39

Yes. Well, thank you so much for that really practical rundown on what it is, and I learned a lot too. So hopefully this was helpful for you guys out there. Just good information to have because I'm sure you if it's not you, you have someone in your life who is struggling with this, saying most of us do, even especially in the older generation. So it's great information to have at hand to be able to share with someone.

Jen: 28:59

So if you guys, find this information helpful, again, please like and follow, but also share for someone who could benefit from that because that's what we're here for. We are about helping people and wanting them to thrive and have optimal health and well-being. So please consider sharing this information too if you can think of someone who might benefit. Makayla, thank you so much for sharing this with us today, and we will see you guys next week. Thanks for joining us on the Counter Culture Health podcast.

Jen: 29:27

To support this show, please rate, review, and share with your friends and family. If you wanna be reminded of new episodes, click the subscribe button on your preferred podcast player. You can find me, Jen, at awaken.holistic.healthand@awakeningholistichealth.com.

Intro: 29:44

And me, Caitlin, at Caitlin Reed wellness and Caitlin Reed wellness.com. The content of the show is for educational and informational purposes only. As always, talk to your doctor

Kaitlin: 29:56

and health team. See you next time.