Cholesterol
What is Cholesterol?
- Cholesterol is a soft, fat-like, waxy-substance found in your bloodstream and in all your cells
- Some Cholesterol is normal, but too much is very dangerous and can lead to heart disease, heart attack or stroke
- Cholesterol is naturally made in the liver but also comes from the fatty foods we eat such as meat and egg yolks(yellow part)
How can I know my Cholesterol?
- High cholesterol has NO symptoms, you must ask your doctor for a test
- Your doctor will take some blood from your arm and send it to a lab
- Your doctor may want to do a “fasting test” there you will be told not to eat or drink anything before the blood is taken.
- In a few weeks, the results will be mailed to you
– The results will include 1 overall number plus 3 other numbers
Three Types of Cholesterol
- There are 3 important types of cholesterol that your doctor will check for
– HDL- good cholesterol
– LDL- bad cholesterol
– Triglycerides
- On your cholesterol results, you will see a number for all three of these
What do the Cholesterol Numbers Mean?
- Total Blood Cholesterol
– This number should be less than 200mg
– If the number is between 200-239 your cholesterol is a bit high and you may be at greater risk for heart disease
– If your number is over 240 you have a high risk for heart disease
- HDL-good cholesterol, high number is best
– less than 50mg- high risk for heart disease
– over 60mg- protection against heart disease
- LDL- bad cholesterol, low number is best
– Less than 100mg- great, low risk of heart disease
– 100mg-129mg-good
– 130mg-159mg- borderline high
– 160mg-189mg-high
– Over 190mg- very high, high risk of heart disease
- Triglycerides- lower is best
– Less than 150mg- normal, good
– 150mg-199mg- borderline high
– 200mg-499mg- high
– Over 500mg- very high
Why is High Cholesterol Dangerous?
- High cholesterol is a major risk for heart disease
- Heart disease kills more than 500,000 people in the United States each year
- Too much cholesterol can block blood from getting to the heart, this is known as a heart attack
- When you have too much cholesterol in your blood, the cholesterol can become hard and stick to your arteries
- Too much cholesterol can also cause your arteries to harden
What Causes High Cholesterol?
- Family History- High cholesterol is genetic and can be passed along to you. If your mother or father had high cholesterol, you may have high cholesterol too.
- The foods you eat can cause high blood cholesterol, these foods include
– Meat and dairy that are high in fat such as egg yolks, fatty steak, whole milk and ice cream
- Lack of exercise- if you never exercise, or exercise once and awhile, you may have high cholesterol
- Diabetes-if you have diabetes you may have high cholesterol
- Obesity- being overweight causes high cholesterol levels
How Can I Lower My Cholesterol?
- Adding exercise to your life can help lower your cholesterol.
- Limit the amount of animal products you eat (meat and dairy) as well as the amount of saturated fat.
- Losing weight may also help to lower cholesterol, as well as lower your risk for many other diseases.
- If you have a family history of high cholesterol and diet and exercise are not enough, your doctor may give you medicine.
- Talk to your doctor about any cholesterol concern.
