Health Cholesterol
Health Cholesterol
Health Cholesterol
Page 1 of 3
Index
Food Movies Music Travel Fashion Shopping Money Games
Home
Puzzles
Fitness
Illusions
Personality
Paranormal
Linguistics
Software
Health
Stop Smoking Cholesterol Hygiene CR Calculator Calorie Restriction Nutritional Data (Page 1 of 3) 1 |2 |3 | Next >
Cholesterol and Heart Disease Heart disease or cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the primary cause of death in the United States. Each year, more than one million Americans have heart attacks, and half a million die from heart disease. The chance of developing heart disease or having a heart attack increases as your level of blood cholesterol increases.
Cholesterol is a fatty substance produced mainly by the liver and intestines. Cholesterol is a constituent of cell membranes, and it is used by the body to produce bile acids and steroid hormones such as testosterone, estradiol, progesterone, and cortisol. Exposure of the skin to direct sunlight converts cholesterol to vitamin D, which is necessary for bone development. Besides being produced by some organs, cholesterol can also originate from foods of animal origin such as meats, fish, and dairy. Cholesterol travels through the bloodstream in compounds called lipoproteins. Low-density lipoproteins (LDL or "bad" cholesterol) deliver cholesterol to the body, whereas high-density lipoproteins (HDL or "good" cholesterol) take cholesterol out of the bloodstream. Hyperlipidemia is an elevation of lipids in the bloodstream. These lipids include cholesterol, cholesterol esters, phospholipids, and triglycerides. Excess cholesterol builds up gradually in the walls of the arteries causing atherosclerosis or "hardening of the arteries". The cholesterol plaques narrow the arteries and decrease the blood flow that can reach the heart. Chest pain (angina pectoris) usually occurs during exertion when the heart muscle requires more blood oxygen than can be delivered by the narrowed coronary arteries. A heart attack occurs when a cholesterol plaque ruptures and mixes with blood to form a clot that completely blocks blood flow to the heart muscles. Your Cholesterol Numbers A blood test called a "lipoprotein profile" or "lipid panel" is used to determine your cholesterol numbers. This test is done after a 9- to 12-hour fast. The Total Cholesterol (TC) value is obtained using a formula called the Friedewald equation (named for William Friedewald, who developed it) by adding the LDL, the HDL, plus one fifth of the value of the triglycerides (TG), i.e., (TC = LDL + HDL + TG/5) when the values are in milligrams (mg) per deciliter (dl) of blood. The numbers in parentheses are in millimoles per liter. The following table summarizes the interpretation of the numbers. Total Cholesterol Less than 200 mg/dl (5.2 mmol/l) 200-239 mg/dl (5.2-6.2 mmol/l) 240 mg/dl (6.3 mmol/l) and above Less than 100 mg/dl (2.6 mmol/l) 100-129 mg/dl (2.6-3.3 mmol/l) 130-159 mg/dl (3.4-4.0 mmol/l) 160 mg/dl (4.1 mmol/l) and above Desirable Borderline high High Optimal Near optimal Borderline high High
http://www.scientificpsychic.com/health/cholesterol.html
6/12/2011
Page 2 of 3
Less than 40 mg/dl (1.0 mmol/l) 40-59 mg/dl (1.0-1.5 mmol/l) 60 mg/dl (1.6 mmol/l) and above Less than 150 mg/dl (1.7 mmol/l) 150-199 mg/dl (1.7-2.2 mmol/l) 200 mg/dl (2.3 mmol/l) and above
Heart disease risk factor Normal range Lower risk of heart disease Normal Borderline high High
Triglycerides
What causes high cholesterol? High blood cholesterol is generally caused by bad diet, but 1 in every 500 cases may be due to genetic causes (familial hypercholesterolemia). Eating foods that are high in saturated fats and hydrogenated oils cause the liver to produce more LDL cholesterol that increases your cholesterol numbers. If the foods that you eat are also high in cholesterol, and if you don't have sources of soluble fiber, phytosterols, and polyunsaturated fats in your diet, you end up with high blood cholesterol. The cholesterol problem can get worse and your risk of cardiovascular disease increases if you are overweight, don't exercise, or you smoke. There is a pill for that. The general public, as well as doctors, are inundated with advertisements from pharmaceutical companies promoting cholesterol-lowering drugs. Once a blood test shows a high level of cholesterol, a doctor will usually not hesitate to prescribe one of the following drugs (trade names in parentheses): lovastatin (Mevacor), simvastatin (Zocor, Lipex, Simvar, Vytorin), pravastatin (Pravachol), atorvastatin (Lipitor), fluvastatin (Lescol, Vastin), and rosuvastatin (Crestor). The prevailing philosopy seems to be that people do not have enough self-restraint to change their life style. It is much easier for them to take one pill every day in spite of the possible adverse effects of the drugs. Unfortunately, people are seldom offered information about how they can help themselves without resorting to using drugs for the rest of their life. How can you lower your cholesterol with lifestyle changes? The National Cholesterol Education Program established by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the NIH says that reducing the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in your diet helps lower your blood cholesterol level. The program advocates Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) which consist of: Diet. A cholesterol-reducing diet should contain less than 7% of calories from saturated fat and less than 200 mg of dietary cholesterol per day. The diet recommends only enough calories to maintain a desirable weight and avoid weight gain. In addition, the amount of soluble fiber should be increased, and food products containing plant stanols or plant sterols should be included in the diet. Weight Management. Losing weight can help to lower LDL and is specially important for people with a large waist circumference, i.e., men with a waist of more than 40 inches (101 cm), and women with a waist of more than 35 inches (89 cm). Physical Activity. Thirty minutes of daily exercise is recommended for everyone because it can help raise HDL and lower LDL. A competent dietician or a metabolism expert can probably deduce why these recommendations can lower cholesterol. However, the information contained in these guidelines is not enough to enable the average person to get a scientific foundation for guiding their nutritional and lifestyle choices.Weight management and physical activity are discussed in different sections. The following paragraphs describe the scientific basis for the dietary recommendations in simple terms.
CONTINUED: Balancing Dietary Fat 1 |2 |3 | Next >
Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill Udo Erasmus Best Price $1.03 or Buy New $15.61
Privacy Information
Custom Search
The results from searching "lower cholesterol diet" may provide alternative suggestions: Low Cholesterol Diet - a diet to lower cholesterol naturally Low Cholesterol Diet and Nutrition for Heart Disease: diet tips to lower cholesterol naturally. Topics include low cholesterol diet solutions, natural foods ... www.healthcastle.com/low-cholesterol-diet High Cholesterol Diet and Nutrition for Heart Disease
http://www.scientificpsychic.com/health/cholesterol.html
6/12/2011
Page 3 of 3
Topics include high cholesterol diet solutions, natural foods and supplements lower blood pressure and high cholesterol and other heart disease conditions. www.healthcastle.com/high-cholesterol-diet NHLBI-CHD How to Lower Your Cholesterol Level Here are steps you can take to lower your blood cholesterol or keep it low:. Follow a low saturated fat, low-cholesterol diet. Be more physically active. ... www.nhlbisupport.com/chd1/how.htm Cholesterol: The best foods to lower your cholesterol and protect ... A cholesterol-lowering diet in which 20 percent of the calories come from ... Though it may not lower your cholesterol, soy does contain vitamins and ... www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/ Cholesterol and Diet Information You can lower your cholesterol level by switching to a lower-fat diet thus reducing intake of animal fat and other fats and eating foods rich in starch and ... www.annecollins.com/cholesterol-diet.htm Cholesterol Diet Plan Exercise goes hand-in-hand with healthy diet. Physical exercise can raise HDL cholesterol and may lower LDL cholesterol. Being more active can also help you ... www.annecollins.com/cholesterol-diet-plan.htm High Cholesterol - Cholesterol Diet - Lower Cholesterol Here's the latest scientific thinking about high cholesterol, learn how to lower cholesterol with medication and a good low cholesterol diet. www.health.harvard.edu/special_health_reports/What_to_do_About_High_Cholesterol.htm How Can I Lower My Cholesterol By Changing My Diet? - Lowering ... Making changes in your diet and adding certain vitamins and nutritional supplements can help to lower your cholesterol. nutrition.about.com/od/dietsformedicaldisorders/f/lowercholestero.htm Low Cholesterol Diet Q & A Q My GP has told me I have a high cholesterol level. Before putting me on drugs, he wants to see if losing weight and changing my diet will help lower it. ... www.weightlossresources.co.uk/diet/low_fat/low_cholesterol.htm Low Cholesterol Diet a high blood cholesterol, even after following a Step-1 diet for 6 to 12 ... Research indicates that soluble fiber helps to lower blood cholesterol levels. ... www.gicare.com/pated/edtot24.htm When searching, avoid common misspellings of cholesterol: colesterol cholesteral cholesterole cholestorol chloesterol cholestrol kolesterol cholesteroll kholesterol cholestero cholesterl xolesterol cholesteol cholestrol choleserol choleterol cholsterol choesterol chlesterol holesterol
http://www.scientificpsychic.com/health/cholesterol.html
6/12/2011