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PATHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Abnormal levels of blood lipids, the major portion of which is cholesterol, resulting in atherosclerosis, a condition in which cholesterol is depositing in the walls of the arteries, narrowing the channels through which blood passes to the point that circulation is markedly decreased or totally blocked.

PHYSIOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The increased levels of fatty substances in the blood, particularly cholesterol, may be the result of certain inborn metabolic errors with disorders of metabolism caused by endocrine pathologies or specific organ failures. However, it is becoming more evident from research and clinical observation that the major factor in causing this condition is dietary. Much has been said about the high content of fat in the diet, but more and more it is being realized that excessive use of concentrated carbohydrates in the present-day diet is responsible for the prevalence of this condition in the western world.

Fatty deposits seriously complicate such diseases as diabetes and nephrotic syndromes and are common in biliary cirrhosis. The deposits may be uniformly spread throughout the circulatory system causing hypertension and they are prime factors in coronary artery disease, heart attacks and strokes.

The body produces two grams of cholesterol each day. Only that produced in the liver reaches the bloodstream, although all tissue synthesize cholesterol it is estimated that under normal conditions the amount of cholesterol in the blood at any given time registers from 180 to 280 milligrams of blood. Majority opinion indicates that 200 mgs. is the desired result of attention to the cholesterol problem.