TLC to rid of your fat (cholesterol) problem

CEBU, Philippines - Picture this: You are 5'6", 250 pounds, and work as a clerk at a government office. You wake up at 7 am on weekdays to prepare for work where you sit all day pretending to be busy by tinkering on your computer checking Facebook updates.

Lunch time, you order humba and three servings of rice from your suki and enjoy it on your desk not even bothering to get up. After work, you go out with your friends to a nearby videoke place where you have three bottles of beer plus some pork sisig for pulutan.

You arrive home at 9 pm, have pork barbecue or nilagang baboy minus the vegetables for dinner, and then lounge for a while in front of the TV to catch the late night news before finally calling it a night.

With this kind of lifestyle, it won't be a surprise if you are taking medication to lower your blood cholesterol level.

In his recent lecture at St. Louis Review Center, Mr. Gerard Martin pointed that the most effective management for patients with heart conditions is not merely pharmacological (medicines), but more importantly, TLC or therapeutic lifestyle change.

Martin is a US-licensed physical therapist and is one of the country's leading lecturers on health-related practice-based topics.

Recently, stroke became the buzz of the town when a national daily mocked a stroke victim who took the witness stand in a highly publicized impeachment trial. The paper ran a series of pictures on the victim, distorted and frail, as he tried to answer the questions posed on him.

When one fall victim to stroke, he becomes dependent on other people. Simple everyday tasks like conversing would be very difficult to do, so much more, complicated tasks like taking a bath or even defecating.

Although physical therapy significantly address stroke-caused impairments still, it is better that we not experience this debilitating condition and for this reason, prevention is the best answer – TLC.

So what is TLC? The US Department of Health and Human Services recommends these three basic steps:

The TLC diet. One of the major components of TLC is food, recognizing that what we put in our mouths have significant influences on our body.

TLC recommends a diet rich in plant stanols and sterols and high in soluble fibers with decreased amounts of saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol.

Plant sterols and stanols, as well as soluble fibers are found in fruits and vegetables, while saturated fats, trans fat, and cholesterol are found in animal-based products. Saturated and trans fats, however, may also be present in small amounts in plant-based food like coconut oil. Saturated fat usually solidifies in room and refrigerated temperatures.

On the other hand, unsaturated fat is good for the body because they help lower blood cholesterol levels. It comes in two forms: mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated. The former is present in canola, olive, and peanut oils, while the latter is found in sunflower, corn, and soybean oil. Omega-3 fatty acids are also classified as poly-unsaturated fats, the reason why in naturopathy it is used to help control cholesterol levels. Generally, if it remains liquid regardless of temperature, it's good fat.

Physical activity. The shift of our lifestyle from outdoors to indoors is taking its toll on our health.

Physical activity has loads of benefits to the body. Regular whole body movement also exercises the heart and lungs, allowing them to endure activities that are more strenuous. Also, since with physical activity you'll be spending the energy that you accumulated during meals, it won't be hard for you to control your weight. And if you get to engage in more physical activity, then you might just spend all those extra energy you've been reserving all these years in the form of fats.

Physical activity doesn't necessarily mean exercising. On the contrary, simple household chores or simple decisions to make you move in the office could help in lowering your cholesterol levels.

Moderate forms of activity that can be done as part of your regular routine is walking to and from the office, climbing the stairs for at least 15 minutes, washing windows and floors for at least 45 minutes, gardening for at least 30 minutes, or doing the laundry for an hour or so.

If you prefer to exercise, then you can choose to jog, play outdoor sports like basketball and volleyball, do aerobics, or go for a swim.

It is always advisable to start slow and then progress one's your body is able to adapt. Also, remember that the best gauge for you to know that your body has had enough physical activity is your body itself. Once you feel uncomfortable doing the activity, or when you feel dizzy and totally exhausted, then it's time to stop and take a rest.

Healthy weight. Being overweight does not only mean carrying those extra pounds around your waist, it also means a lot of stress for your body.

Overweight individuals have high levels of triglycerides, a substance produced in the liver and found in the blood. Triglycerides levels of 150 mg/dL means that you have a high risk in getting heart diseases and if it reaches 500 mg/dL then you are running the risk of getting an inflamed pancreas.

Aside from being overweight, other factors that could trigger an increase in production of triglycerides are smoking and the taking in of alcoholic beverages.

In addition, overweight individuals also have higher levels of low density cholesterol (LDL), which tends to accumulate in our bloodstream causing a myriad of diseases, and lower levels of high density cholesterol (HDL), which is dubbed as the good cholesterol as it helps remove LDL's out of our system.

By controlling our weight, we would be able to lower our triglyceride and LDL levels, and increase our HDL levels.

Medicines and other chemical-based solution to one's health problem may give some form of temporary remedy, but if we would not eliminate the cause of the problem, no solution will ever be effective.

For this reason, a total lifestyle change is sought should we wish to live a more meaningful life. Of course, remember that before embarking on a new diet regimen or an exercise program, it is always advisable that you consult a professional first, be it a doctor, a nutritionist or a dietician, or a physical therapist.

Visit the author's blog, Tribo's Cup, at http://tribong-upos.xanga.com or follow him on Twitter at @tribong_upos. Download the TLC Guide at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart.  (FREEMAN)