Diet. Eating too much saturated fat and cholesterol can raise your cholesterol. Saturated fat and cholesterol are in foods that come from animals (such as beef, pork, veal, milk, eggs, butter, and cheese), many packaged foods, stick margarine, vegetable shortening, and snack foods like cookies, crackers, and chips.
Weight. Being overweight may raise triglycerides and lower “good" HDL.
Activity level. Not exercising may raise “bad" LDL and lower HDL.
Overall health. Diseases such as hypothyroidism can raise cholesterol. Smoking may lower HDL.
Age. Cholesterol starts to rise after age 20. In men, it usually levels off after age 50. In women, it stays fairly low until menopause. After that, cholesterol levels rise to about the same levels as in men.
Family. Some people inherit a rare disease called a lipid disorder. It can cause very high total cholesterol, very low HDL, and high triglycerides. If you have this problem, you will need to start treatment at a young age.
How is high cholesterol diagnosed?
Doctors use a blood test to check cholesterol.
A fasting cholesterol test (also called a lipoprotein analysis) is the most complete test. It measures total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides. You cannot have food for 9 to 12 hours before this test.
A simple cholesterol test can measure total cholesterol and HDL. You can eat before this test. Sometimes doctors do this test first. If it shows you have high cholesterol or low HDL, then you will get a fasting cholesterol test.
How is it treated?
The two main treatments are lifestyle changes and medicines. The goal of treatment is to lower your "bad" LDL cholesterol and reduce your risk of a heart attack. You may also need to raise your "good" HDL cholesterol. A high level of HDL helps reduce your risk of heart problems.
Some lifestyle changes are important for everyone with high cholesterol. Your doctor will probably want you to:
Follow the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diet. The goal is to reduce the amount of saturated fat you eat. Eating saturated fat raises your cholesterol. The TLC diet helps you learn to make better food choices by picking lean meats, low-fat or nonfat products, and good fats like olive and canola oils.
Lose weight, if you need to. Losing just 5 to 10 pounds (2.3 to 4.5 kilograms) can lower your cholesterol and triglycerides. Losing weight can also help lower your blood pressure.
Be more active. Exercise can raise your “good" HDL and may help you control your weight.
Quit smoking, if you smoke. Quitting can help raise your HDL and improve your heart health.
Sometimes lifestyle changes are enough on their own. But if you try them for a few months and they don't lower your cholesterol enough, your doctor may prescribe a cholesterol-lowering medicine called a statin. You also may need medicines to lower triglycerides or raise HDL.
You may need to start taking medicine right away if your cholesterol is very high or if you have another problem that increases your chance of having a heart attack. People who have a high risk for heart attack benefit from taking higher doses of statins to lower their LDL cholesterol as much as possible. The more these people can lower their LDL, the less likely they are to have a heart attack. To find out your risk, use this Interactive Tool: Are You at Risk for a Heart Attack?
It is important to take your medicine just the way your doctor tells you to. If you stop taking your medicine, your cholesterol will go back up.
You will need to have your cholesterol checked regularly. Your results can help your doctor know if lifestyle changes have helped or if you need more or different medicines.
What Causes High Cholesterol
Just what is this matter we call cholesterol, anyway? Webster's College Dictionary, 1995 edition, states: "a sterol, abundant in animal fats, brain and nerve tissue, meat and eggs, that functions in the body as a membrane constituent and as a precursor of steroid hormones and bile acids: high levels in the blood are associated with arteriosclerosis and gallstones."
That's a mouthful. But without cholesterol the body cannot make the sex hormones, adrenal hormones, and vitamin D. Excess cholesterol is converted in the liver to bile acids, which are normally eliminated in the feces.
Some experts feel high levels of cholesterol have very little to do with dietary intake of it. There is a correlation between blood cholesterol levels and the incidence of coronary artery disease. One must, however, distinguish between the total blood cholesterol level and the cholesterol portion in the blood carried by HDL (high-density lipoprotein).
Before you begin a strict program to reduce cholesterol blood levels, check the total cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol ratio first. This risk ratio can be determined by a simple blood test by any medical doctor.
There does exist hope, however, when one has reason for concern over their blood work. But remember--the body is a fantastic mechanism and always moves itself toward health. To help it along, it needs proper information.
This "information" that I speak of has to do with more than adequate nutrition. In addition to eating more raw fruits and vegetables, and drinking pure water, try to locate a sound nutritional supplier. Years ago, Dr. Linus Pauling's work demonstrated the value of vitamin C in helping the body dislodge and eliminate harmful arterial plaque. If you were to go to your favorite health store or drug store for vitamin C, you probably would not receive the same benefits as Dr. Pauling did. Why is that? (Pauling, Linus & Cameron, Ewan. "Cancer and Vitamin C." Camino Books. Philadelphia, PA, 1993.)
Because nutrients must be in an appropriate electrical matrix or else they are not functional to the human body. For instance, vitamin C is sold worldwide but as a synthetic supplement, usually in a chewable tablet.
Unfortunately, isolated vitamin C is not in a proper electrical matrix making it as useless to the human body as sawdust. Instead, vitamin C must be combined in a matrix form with trace minerals, bioflavonoids and electrolytes. Only when introduced in this particular matrix or pattern can the human body actually use the nutritional information present in the vitamin C.
Vitamin C has been known—for 40 or 50 years—to reduce cholesterol levels. That is not news. The reason most of us have high cholesterol —which means high plaque levels in the blood, veins and arteries—is that the liver produces low density cholesterol (LDL), then it sends it out to patch up arteries so we don’t die of internal bleeding. That low density cholesterol builds up over the years and becomes plaque. Eventually, it clogs the arteries and we go into a condition of stroke.
When you start consuming vitamin C in the right electrical pattern, you are supporting the body’s ability to build collagen. As the collagen restructures arteries and veins, plaque is released from the walls of the arteries. Cholesterol levels go up at first. Then they go down. The plaque build-up on your arteries goes down. Your liver stops producing LDL, because you now have collagen to build tissue.
Augmenting your nutritional program with high-quality, plant-based enzymes help the body grab stray protein profiles (plaque), digest them in the bloodstream and deliver them to the liver, which eliminates them from your body. All the tools are here for a clean and well-fed body . . . which means this condition may disappear, as it has in many cases.
Please do not be overwhelmed with all the technical jargon. Simply upgrade your lifestyle and eating habits. Couple that with supplements that mimic natural creation and you've got a winning combination. And who knows, maybe you'll be the next to live your own success story!
Both Dadhwal & Rita Lambros-segur, M.h. 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.
Dadhwal has sinced written about articles on various topics from Types of Cancer, Massage and Asthma. . Dadhwal's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.
Rita Lambros-segur, M.h. has sinced written about articles on various topics from High Cholesterol, Supplements and High Cholesterol. Editor of the health ezines, "Your Electrical Body", and "Far Infrared Technology Comes of Age", Rita has studied with master herbalists and naturopaths alike. Endeavoring to follow the precepts of Dr. John Christopher and the principles of electrical sci. Rita Lambros-segur, M.h.'s top article generates over 3600 views. to your Favourites.
Barbeque Beef Brisket Recipe When ready to cook piece bag in a couple of places, place in roasting tin and cook in slow oven as for ?Oh So Tender? above