Controlling Your Cholesterol
Reducing Ldl Cholesterol
Hdl Cholesterol Level
How To Raise Your Hdl Cholesterol
Fish Oil Triglyceride
Cholesterol
HDL LDL
normal triglyceride levels
Changes need to be made if you hope to lower your bad cholesterol level in order to keep your blood flowing freely as it should. Over time, the blockage grows, so much so that enough amount of oxygen does not reach the heart or other vital organs. Health is wealth; treasure it while you have it because recovering it may cost you dearly and it may never be the same again.
elevated cholesterol
What is Bad Cholesterol and What is Good Cholesterol? By HDL, it is meant high-density lipoprotein and by LDL it is low-density lipoprotein. A conscious effort should be made to keep your cholesterol level managed to a point where you dont become a risk for heart disease, heart attack or stroke; its all about maintaining a healthy lifestyle. There are treatment measures for people who have high cholesterol. Unlike LDL and triglycerides, the risk factor of heart attack and stroke is inversely related to the concentration of HDL in blood. How do you measure your cholesterol, and what is the right proportion that should be maintained to stay healthy?
The waxy, fatlike substance known as cholesterol is necessary for the body to function properly. Cell walls or membranes everywhere in the body naturally have cholesterol including the brain, nerves, muscles, skin, liver, intestines and heart. Cholesterol helps your body to produce many hormones such as Vitamin D and the bile acids that are required to digest fat. However, only a small amount of cholesterol is necessary to achieve these results. Too much cholesterol in your bloodstream can cause the excess to be deposited in the arteries which narrows and blocks the arteries causes the signs and symptoms of heart disease.
When cholesterol is deposited in the walls of the arteries that supply your heart with nutrients and oxygen it results in coronary heart disease. The heart depends on these oxygen and nutrients just like any muscles. When the coronary arteries harden or calcify and narrow then it can cause chest pain. There are less severe cases of narrowing with is caused by a fatty plaque. Although this unstable plaque can rupture which can cause a clot or no blood flow and result in a heart attack.
You can check for high cholesterol with a simple blood test. It is not enough to just know your total cholesterol level. Rather you need a complete lipid profile which measures your LDL, total cholesterol, HDL and triglycerides. It is recommended that individuals have these blood tests performed every five years since a fluctuation in levels can occur rapidly. This way you can catch high cholesterol early enough and begin treatment through lifestyle changes to improve your heart condition.
Causes
High cholesterol can be caused by several drugs and diseases but most of the time high cholesterol results from a high-fat diet and inherited risk factors. A doctor can help rule out causes such as under active thyroid, kidney or liver disease. Then once you know what causes the problem you can focus on reversing it if your high cholesterol is related to a drug or disease.
Your genes play a large part in determining how high your LDL or bad cholesterol is by affecting how fast this cholesterol is made and removed from the blood. Familial hypercholesterolemia is one type of high cholesterol that is inherited and affects about one in every five hundred individuals. Even without a specific genetic condition, genes play are large role in influencing high cholesterol.
High cholesterol can be affected modestly when it comes to excess weight. You can lower your cholesterol level by losing weight. Weight loss is very beneficial to help with lowering triglycerides and raising your good cholesterol levels. This is why regular exercise or activity is important.
Women will generally have a lower total cholesterol before menopause when compared to men of the same age. Blood cholesterol levels raise as women and men age until they reach about sixty to sixty-five years of age. Women often have higher cholesterol levels than men after about the age of fifty.