GOOD VS. BAD CHOLESTEROL
Pure cholesterol is an odorless, white, waxy, powdery substance. You can’t taste it in the foods you eat, and you can’t see it. Despite all its bad press, your body needs it to make essential body substance such as cell walls and hormones.
Like other fats, cholesterol won’t mix with water. Therefore to carry cholesterol and fat in the blood, the body “wraps” them in protein packages. This compound is called a lipoprotein.
Low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) contain the greatest amounts of cholesterol. They’re believed to be responsible for depositing cholesterol on artery walls.
High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) contain the greatest amounts of protein and the least amounts of cholesterol. They’re believed to remove cholesterol from artery walls and carry it away to the liver for reprocessing and removal from the body. To better understand any total cholesterol reading, it’s useful to know what portion is HDL and what portion is LDL (see the table below)
Higher levels of the HDL—the good stuff-are usually found in people who exercise regularly, don’t smoke and stay at a desirable weight.
| LDL | HDL | |||||
| Level | Risk | Level | Risk | |||
| 160 or over | High | under 35 | Additional risk | |||
| 130-159 | Borderline-high | 35 or over | Desirable | |||
| Under 130 | Desirable | |||||
| Total Cholesterol | ||||||
| Level | Risk | |||||
| 240 or over | High | |||||
| 200-239 | Borderline-high | |||||
| Under 200 | Desirable |
Resese’s Peanut Butter Cups my former favorite. I welcomed Cracker Jacks (“sugar, corn syrup, popcorn, molasses, salt and soya lecithin,” only 120 calories per box, 22 grams of carbohydrate, 3 grams fat). Hard pretzels contain only 10 percent fat, and they too joined my list of safe bets. Oreos, which you might think are harmless, actually contain lard, among other ingredients. I placed them on restricted status.
As for the holy trinity of fruits, whole grains and vegetables, it was a struggle at first to be a believer. I thought of them in the same way I thought of G-rated movies, notable primarily for what they leave out: barbecue, bacon, warm Brie with almonds, Slim Jims, eggs Benedict, Personal Pan Supreme pizza.
I could go on.
As I would load up my lunch tray at the Healthy Hut salad bar with rice, steamed broccoli and cantaloupe—Billy’s Pit Beef was now strictly off-limits—I tried to tell myself it wasn’t so bad. Outside I was smiling; inside I was crying. It wasn’t so much that I missed the ribs. I missed what used to come after the ribs—rich, lovely desserts. I mourned the death of pastry of all kinds, including the German and Italian but most dearly the French.
