The rules of good diet apply whether an individual already has a high blood cholesterol level or is trying to avoid such problems by keeping fit The foods to avoid or eat in extreme moderation are red meat, such as beef and pork; processed meats; eggs, especially if you already have a cholesterol problem; whole milk and most other dairy products, including ice cream and yogurt made with whole milk; and anything fried. Foods containing saturated fatty acids are bad for you; those containing polyunsaturated fatty acids are good; in between are the monounsaturated fatty acids, which can be consumed without harm as long as total fat in the diet is moderate.
The key is moderation, as in the Golden Mean. Even the strictest of non-fat diets for confirmed heart patients should include at least one tablespoon of a polyunsaturated oil each day. The reason is that polyunsaturated fats are a source of the essential fatty acid, linoleic acid, without which the body cannot make fats properly. As noted earlier, polyunsaturated fats also help lower the blood cholesterol level. In addition, without some fat in your diet, you would not absorb vitamins A, D, E and K. A diet utterly devoid of fats would be a disaster.
But saturated fatty acids are not needed in the diet at all. And diets rich in saturated fats raise the level of blood cholesterol.
Stay away from oils or fats that are solid at room temperature. Even though some solid shortening products say they contain no cholesterol, it pays to read the fine print. Any label that reads, "Contains partially hydrogenated fat" is a tipoff that the product can increase cholesterol levels. Studies have shown that the process of hydrogenation (to turn a liquid vegetable oil into a solid) saturates an unsaturated oil.
One egg yolk contains practically the entire recommended adult daily allowance of cholesterol consumption. Three ounces of beef kidney or beef liver exceed it. Such organ meats as brains, sweetbreads and heart also are very high in cholesterol, as are sardines, anchovies, caviar and fish roe.
No cholesterol is naturally present in any vegetable foods, although some (coconut and palm oil, for instance) contain saturated fats. Vegetable fats do contain sterols, but unlike cholesterol, vegetable sterols are not absorbed by the human digestive tract Therefore, vege-tables, fruits and nuts should be high on your list of preferred foods. Broccoli is the single most complete food of any kind. A combination of oatmeal and grapefruit for breakfast has been found highly effective in lowering blood cholesterol.
As indicated above, there are two dietary keys to controlling blood cholesterol levels: one, rationing the amount of cholesterol we consume; two, limiting the total amount of fat consumed, especially saturated fats. For this reason, chicken is a more healthful food than beef or pork because it contains less total fat and less saturated fat, even though three ounces of dark chicken and three ounces of lean beef contain the same amount of cholesterol (77 milligrams). White meat of chicken and white turkey meat are even better, and such fish as halibut, haddock and flounder are low in cholesterol and in both saturated and total fat Even beef of the right kind is okay: Broiled lean top round, dark-meat chicken with the skin removed, and salmon cooked with dry heat all have about the same amount of saturated fat.
Two natural means of controlling cholesterol levels besides diet are exercise and meditation or relaxation techniques.
The best exercise, according to Senior AMEs Dr. Robert P. Tucker and Dr. Richard O. Reinhart, is fast walking because such "endurance aerobics" raises the level of HDLs relative to LDLs and reduces lipids without the damage to the joints involved in jogging or some other forms of exercise. The purpose of the fast walking, Dr. Tucker said, "is to get your heart rate up to about 60 to 75 percent of maximum. The formula for this is 220 [beats per minute] minus your age times point-six (0.6)-get it up somewhere around there." For a 40-year-old pilot, that would be about 108 beats per minute. (For most adults, from 60 to 80 beats per minute is a typical range of heart rate at rest, according to Dr. Jerry Hordinsky, who heads the Aeromedical Research Division of the Civil Aeromedical Institute of the Federal Aviation Administration in Oklahoma City.) After a session of fast walking or any other exercise that raises the heart rate, you should "cool off" slowly, continuing your walk at a slower pace or engaging in three or four minutes of slow-down exercises, in order to allow your heart and pulse rate to return gradually toward resting rate. This regimen will help you avoid damage to your heart.
Convenient for the person who wants to follow a total program and reduce stress, fat intake and the buildup of harmful LDLs produced by inactivity is the fact that aerobic endurance exercise not only raises "good cholesterol" and helps burn fat, but also triggers the release of endorphins. An endorphin is described as "a morphine-like chemical in the brain that acts as a natural tranquilizer." So an exercise program becomes the first part of a "tranquility" program.
Relaxation techniques, supportive relationships and reduced stress all can contribute to psychological and physical well-being. By contrast, studies have shown that cholesterol levels rise and lipids are knocked out of balance during various types of emotional stress. In other words, fighting with your spouse could mess up your arteries. A confrontational lifestyle is not prudent.
Rather, the prudent lifestyle calls for a mode of life that will promote tranquility, fitness and health. You became a professional pilot partly in order to enjoy the good life. Perhaps the time has come to redefine that good life.
If you do not, your heart, your lungs, or your blood pressure could end up doing the redefining.
If you smoke and manage to avoid dying of any cause that is clearly smoking-related, you still do not come out ahead, medical studies show.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, smoking costs $26 billion in lost productivity each year in this country, while another $ 16 billion is spent annually on smoking-related medical costs.
Again, smokers arrive at old age with 20 to 30 percent less bone mass than do non-smokers. The results of this deficiency are a more fragile skeleton and a greater risk of fractures. That is a hard landing for anybody's life.
Mind dulled, health impaired, body debilitated: If you like this picture, then smoking is the habit for you and yours.
Or maybe this fact will make you think twice before lighting up. According to Captain Dick Stone, ALPA Executive Chairman for Aeromedical Resources, some airlines do not even hire smokers. "They don't want to make problems for themselves down the road."
