Reducing Cholesterol For Our Health

Reducing Cholesterol.

Yes, it's true, I have good reason to be reducing cholesterol. I received the results and my cholesterol is elevated - not too bad - but I am, in fact, in the group considered to be a moderate risk of a cardiac event in the next ten years.

That is really depressing. (There have actually been studies that show that stress effects cholesterol.) Great!

I am actually surprised my cholesterol levels are high because I have a pretty active lifestyle. I eat healthy, pretty much low fat, and I don't smoke or drink.

The thing I do have going against me is family history. All the men in my family on my dad's side have died from massive heart attacks, including my dad, and a few women on my mom's side. My mom has always had super high cholesterol. Not fair.

Having read that in up to 40% of cases, the first symptom of clogged arteries is a sudden-death heart attack, I decided that waiting for symptoms to appear was not a good idea.

I decided that it was time to take a more serious role in reducing cholesterol so that I don't end up having a heart attack and dying.

What I Did First.

I went quickly to the American Heart Association website and found out that high cholesterol, also known as hyperlipidemia, has been clearly identified as a major cause of cardiovascular disease.

And coronary heart disease is the most common cause of death in both males and females. As is obvious in the men in my family, the symptoms for them did not manifest themselves until the dreaded pain in the arm and the chest - then the heart attack.

Stroke can also be caused by high cholesterol. Another very good reason for reducing cholesterol. Stroke is the nation's third leading cause of death. They can be devistating for those who experience them as well as for those who care about them.

If an artery going to the brain is clogged and blood can't get to the brain or to a certain part of the brain, a stroke occurs and the part of the body controlled by that part of the brain is effected.

What Is Cholesterol?

Learning about reducing cholesterol and what it is, cholesterol lowering foods we can eat, herbs we can use to reduce our cholesterol, and the importance of exercise and water, as well as the benefits of oatmeal and olive oil, are all important steps in knowing why we should reduce cholesterol. We will talk about these things on other pages.

How Do We Go About Reducing Cholesterol?

• Check Your Total Cholesterol Level.
  • Cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams of cholesterol per deciliter of blood (mg/dL).
  • Keeping our total cholesterol levels under 200 mg/dL is the first measurable step to take. Less than 200 mg/dL is desirable. You don't want to go too low because you need cholesterol, but it needs to be under 200.

• Check Seperate Levels.
  • LDL cholesterol (low density or "bad cholesterol" lipoprotein) should be less than 100 mg/dL.
  • HDL cholesterol (high density or "good" lipoprotein) needs to be around 60 mg/dL. Less than 40 mg/dL is low for a male and 50 mg/dL is low for a female.
  • Triglycerides (blood fat) should be less than 150 mg/dL. Borderline is 150-200 mg/dL and over 200 mg/dL is high.

It's not hard to find out if you need to be reducing cholesterol levels. All you have to do is go to the doctor and ask to have your cholesterol checked.

Everyone over 20 years old should have a fasting cholesterol panel (that means you need to go have your cholesterol checked in the morning before you eat anything) every five years.

When you get older - men 45 and women 55 - should have it checked more often.

The really good thing is that every time your cholesterol drops by one point, the risk of heart disease drops by 2%!

If your cholesterol is too high it may take prescription drugs to get it under control and back in the safe range. Studies have shown though, that 90% of a great many people with high cholesterol have been successful at reducing cholesterol by using nutrition and exercise.

Don't you find that fact that rather amazing? Instead of subjecting ourselves to all of the side effects that come with perscription drugs, we can usually (90% of the time) control it or completely cure it by the way we eat and move. Awesome!

For answers of things we can actually do, go to the following pages:

What Is Cholesterol

Lower Cholesterol Naturally

Cholesterol Lowering Foods

Herbs to Lower Cholesterol

Benefits of Oatmeal in the Fight Against Cholesterol

Benefits of Olive Oil

Exercise and Fitness

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