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[G370]Good And Bad Cholesterol

by Groshan Fabiola, Gro

How many of you know that besides the cholesterol that causes many medical conditions there is also a "good " cholesterol. In your body there are two types of cholesterol: HDL, which is the good cholesterol and LDL, the bad cholesterol. For many years now, having a high level of HDL was thought to be very beneficial to your health. This high level of cholesterol was thought to give you some kind of protection against heart conditions. However, lately there have been some attention to lowering all cholesterol levels, not only the LDL cholesterol level, known as the bad cholesterol.

In spite of their intial believes that said that HDL cholesterol levels which are high can protect you from heart problems, recent studies have shown that this cholesterol level is actually a risk of heart disease. But this risk is only if you have a low HDL cholesterol level. So the advice that you were given, to lower both cholesterol levels was wrong. This was discovery that shook a little all the knowledge about cholesterol that people had. Furthermore, it was also discovered that even if the LDL cholesterol level was in normal limits, people that had the good cholesterol levels a little lower were very much at risk of developing an artery problem. A normal HDL cholesterol level is when you have minimum 35 mg/ Dl. There was also another cholesterol question that has found it' s answer. Why is the HDL cholesterol "good " ? Well, it seems in fact that not the actual cholesterol is beneficial, but the work that it does. This cholesterol, HDL cholesterol is actually a very complex molecule. This type of
cholesterol is the combination of lipids, protein and cholesterol. What this cholesterol molecule does is to clean out the walls of your
blood vessels. The HDL cholesterol actually takes out the cholesterol excess that is found in your blood. Yes, this means that actually the "god " cholesterol cleans out the "bad " cholesterol that is found in your blood. This LDL cholesterol is then taken back to your liver for more processing. This is the reason why, one cholesterol must be risen: to help the other cholestrol level to lower and thus protecting you from heart conditions.

The most common thing that one can to rise their HDL cholesterol levels is exercise. Jogging, riding a bike, even walking can rise your "good " cholesterol levels.

Cholesterol is the name for a class of chemicals found in every cell in the human body. Serving structural and regulatory functions at the cellular level, these chemicals are absolutely essential to survival. However, in recent years, high cholesterol levels have been linked to heart diseases and other illnesses, so there is a push within the health care community to make sure that people monitor their cholesterol and receive professional assistance to reduce the cholesterol in their bodies if necessary. Poor diet and sedentary life styles are typically the culprits behind the disorder, and it can often be treated with diet and exercise. However, for those who do not respond to diet and exercise, there are also medications that have successfully lowered cholesterol levels in many patients.

Lowering cholesterol levels is one of the most important public health initiatives in current years. In many ways, having high cholesterol levels can be a silent killer since it typically presents no symptoms until serious damage has already occurred. Hardening of the arteries is one of the most common disorders associated with the condition. What many people do not realize, however, is that not all cholesterol is bad. The "bad" form of cholesterol that forms fatty deposits in the blood vessels is known as low density lipoprotein (LDL). The other type that has beneficial effects and does not contribute to fatty build up is the high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterols. So, cholesterol reduction is really a misnomer--the idea is to increase the ration of HDL to LDL.

High cholesterol levels have been linked to a number of factors, with both genetics and lifestyle choices playing a key role. Diet is one of the most important factors, with diets rich in fatty substances being particularly detrimental. Exercise has shown to be an effective way to treat many different cardiovascular disorders, and high cholesterol disease in no exception. Of course, as in almost any condition, genetics plays a key role. Those who have a family history of the disorder are much more likely to develop similar problems. Gender is also a fact--men tend to have higher levels than women, though the levels in both men and women elevate as they age. Menopause is a key factor in women, as high cholesterol occurrence increases sharply as women pass the stage of menopause.

When lifestyle changes alone are not enough to bring levels back to within normal parameters, a number of cholesterol lowering drug treatments are available. Drugs such as Lipitor, Mevacor, Zocor and others have had a major impact in the way that the disease is managed and treated. There have been a number of major clinical studies that have confirmed the effectiveness of these and similar drugs, with many showing heart disease reductions of over forty percent in patients with high cholesterol.

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Both Groshan Fabiola & D. Cannon are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Groshan Fabiola has sinced written about articles on various topics from Woman Menopause, Medical Condition and Health. For greater resources on please review. Groshan Fabiola's top article generates over 6120000 views. to your Favourites.

D. Cannon has sinced written about articles on various topics from High Cholesterol, Medical Condition and Heart Conditions. Dustin Cannon writes on a variety of subjects and recommends to your Favourites.