My friend told me yesterday that she has high LDL or “bad” cholesterol. She was shocked. She isn’t overweight, she doesn’t eat fatty foods or sugary foods. She excersises on a somewhat regular basis, eats decently and has no family history of high LDL cholesterol.

It turns out, which I had no idea, that not coping well with stress can raise your levels of LDL cholesterol.  Adrenaline and cortisol trigger the production of cholesterol, which is a substance the liver makes to provide our bodies with energy and to repair cell damage. When our cholesterol levels are too high our arteries become clogged.

The thought is that stress causes our bodies to release adrenaline and cortisol. When we do not burn off the stress hormones (thus the adrenaline and cortisol) it builds up in our body as fat deposits. The cortisol, which produces sugar in the body, turns into triglycerides (LDL cholesterol) and fatty acids. These then put us at risk.

As adults we need to learn coping mechanisms and we need to learn to incorporate exercise into our daily lives. By coping with our stress we are not allowing fear and anxiety to trigger our bodies into producing adrenaline and cortisol. By exercising we are burning off the fatty acids and deposits created  in our bodies.

Recommendations:

• Yoga
• deep breathing
• daydream
• excercise
• walk 3o minutes a day
• listen to music
• engage in a hobby
• sleep eight hours a night
• eat well

The great news: You can do all of these activities, with the exception of sleep, with your children. You can teach them how to cope with stress and how to be well without them even realizing it.

Ideas:

• Have you taken a walk with your children lately? I can’t imagine anything more relaxing than watching your child discover the world, or listen to them tell you stories about their day. Teach them to talk about their emotions instead of holding them in.
• What about finding a hobby you can do with your children and then make sure you do it once a week at least.
• Find ways to make family goals for exercise.
• Practice meditation with your children, teach them how to sit quietly in one position and just breathe. If you make it cool they will want to do it.
• Ask your children to help you watch for stress triggers and then learn together how to take deep breaths and relax.
• Teach your children to daydream and then you can each share your dreams with each other. Were your thoughts silly,  did you dream of traveling to far away places or think about how to make something really fun or cool?

The most important thing you can do with your day is show your children how to live a healthier more peaceful life. You will both live longer, and happier.