- Blood Fats And Diabetes

Fat is a part of EVERY cell in your body. Find out how it affects diabetes.

Fats are a part of every cell in your body. Fats include cholesterola and triglycerides. Both of these are made by your body. You can also get these type of fats by eating foods that come from animals. People with diabetes often have high blood fat levels. The puts them at risk for heart disease, heart attack, and strokes. If you want to reduce your risk, first ask your doctor to do a test and find out what your blood fat levels are.

HOW YOUR BODY USES FATS

Your body uses cholesterol to build cell walls and to make certain vitamins and hormones. Your body uses triglycerides as stored fat which keeps you warm, protects your body's organs, and givesyou energy reserves. Cholesterol and triglycerides travel through your bloods. These fats travel by being carried by lipoproteins. Three kinds of lipoproteins are:

a) Very-low-density (VLDL) - carries triglycerides, cholesterol and other fats. It also drops off triglycerides and other fats in fat tissue. VLDL then becomes LDL

b) Low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) - LDL carries cholesterol to parts of the body that need it. Along the way LDL cholesterol can stick to blood vessel walls, which can lead to blood vessel disease. The less LDL in your blood, the better.

c) High-density-lipoprotein (HDL) - HDL carries cholesterol away from the blood vessel walls to the liver. The liver breaks the cholesterol down and sends it out of the body. The more HDL in your blood, the better

BLOOD LEVELS

Total cholesterol under 200 mg/dlLDL Cholesterol under 130 mg/dlHDL Cholesterol over 35 mg/dl Triglycerides under 200 mg/dl

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR BLOOD FAT LEVELS

b) if you are overweight, try to lose some weight. Extra weight raises the total cholesterol level. Losing weight raises the good HDL cholesterol.

c) start cutting back on all fat in your diet. You liver uses the fat you eat to make VLDL. The more fat you eat, the more VLDL your liver will make. More VLDL means more bad LDL cholesterol.

d) replace saturated fats (butter, lard) with unsaturated fats (vegetable oils.). Saturated fats raise your LDL and total cholesterol levels. Unsaturated fats lower them.

e) Eat high-cholesterol foods less often. Foods high in cholesterol include organ meats, such as liver, and egg yolks. If you eat eggs every day, cut back to three or four days per week.

f) Eat foods that are high in fiber (oats, beans, peas, fresh fruits, etc...)

g) Exercise! Aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, etc..) raises your good HDL cholesterol. Find something you enjoy and do it.