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Peanut butter is a great food to fuel up on before a 5K or 10K because of its low GI, high carbohydrate and high protein content.
What to eat before a 5K or 10KAccording to Heart UK, 6 out of every 10 people in the UK have high or abnormal levels of blood cholesterol. With high cholesterol being such a common issue, it is important to understand why the problem comes about and what you can do to ease it. In this blog I explain the connection between exercise and cholesterol, however, I also provide information on other lifestyle tips that can help to lower cholesterol levels.
Before we discuss exactly how exercise affects cholesterol levels, we must first explain exactly what cholesterol is and what it does.
Cholesterol is a type of fat that is found in the bloodstream and in the cell membranes of all body tissue. Most of the time cholesterol is made by the liver from the saturated fats in food, though it can also be found in eggs, liver and kidneys.
Cholesterol is used to make hormones and to build cell walls. It is important for brain and nerve function, as well as the synthesis of vitamin D. The liver also converts cholesterol into bile acid which helps to digest food.
Cholesterol is carried to and from the liver by proteins. The combination of cholesterol and protein is called lipoprotein, of which there are 2 types:
If you have more LDL than HDL then the cholesterol levels in your tissues and blood stream will rise.
High cholesterol levels in the blood will lead to atheroma (fatty deposits on the artery wall). This starts to block the arteries, building up layers of a fatty substance on the artery walls. As oxygen-bearing blood flows through the arteries, the narrowing of these channels reduces the efficiency of the circulatory system and reduces the quantities of oxygen available to the organs.
With a high cholesterol level, the pressure in the arteries will increase as the space for blood to pass through becomes narrower. This may cause blood pressure to rise as well. If the arteries leading to the heart are affected, the likelihood of a heart attack increases.
In a blood test, cholesterol levels show up as triglycerides. Regular physical activity can reduce levels of triglycerides as it is used and removed by muscle cells. This means the triglycerides aren’t deposited into adipose tissue (fat) and they aren’t processed by the liver to create more cholesterol.
In addition, training increases LDL activity, thus it shifts cholesterol from the dangerous LDL to the favourable HDL. This indicates that the muscle fibres are capable of taking up and oxidising fatty acids. As fat is used before it can be deposited in the adipose tissue, this also shows just how exercise can influence weight control.
Making a realistic exercise plan is essential to managing cholesterol levels but we mustn’t forget the range of other things that can influence it too.
Inherited factors
High cholesterol levels can be inherited from parents or grandparents, for example, so if you can it is worth finding out if there is a family history of this. Inherited factors may mean that we take up cholesterol from the blood into the tissues at a slow rate, increasing the amount of cholesterol measurable in the bloodstream.
Saturated fats
The liver is capable of synthesizing the cholesterol we need so additional sources in our diet may cause a surplus. If high cholesterol becomes a problem, it is likely we are eating large amounts of saturated fats which are turned into cholesterol.
Dietary intake of trans fats will also encourage the production of cholesterol, particularly of the LDL type that increases cholesterol levels in the tissues and bloodstream. Trans fats are found in dairy products, some meat and other animal-based foods, as well as in processed foods where they are used to ensure a long shelf life.
High calorie diets
A high calorie diet will also influence cholesterol levels because the extra calories are made into triglycerides. Calories that aren’t used immediately after being eaten are also converted into triglycerides and stored in the fat cells. Hormones then regulate the release of triglycerides from fat tissue so that they meet the body’s need for energy between meals.
High sugar foods, and refined carbohydrates that break down quickly and easily into sugar, fuel the production of triglycerides.
Other than exercise…
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Peanut butter is a great food to fuel up on before a 5K or 10K because of its low GI, high carbohydrate and high protein content.
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