Understanding Cholesterol

While age plays a major factor in rising cholesterol levels; our eating habits continually lower the average age of Americans that suffer from high cholesterol levels.

Today we will discuss the different types of cholesterol in our bodies and the necessary steps that need to be taken to get them under control.

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that circulates in your blood. Some of it is made naturally by your body, and the rest comes from foods you eat. There are two main types: HDL and LDL.

• LDL is "bad cholesterol." It can clog your arteries, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Healthy number: Less than 100mg/dL.

• HDL is "good cholesterol." What's good about it? HDL attaches to bad cholesterol and escorts it to the liver, which filters it out of the body. So HDL reduces the amount of bad cholesterol in your system. Healthy number: 60mg/dL or higher.

• Total cholesterol is the sum of all types of cholesterol in your blood. Although your doctor may still refer to this number, it's less significant than your HDL and LDL levels. Healthy number: Less than 200 mg/dL.

• Triglycerides, while not cholesterol, are another type of fat floating in your blood. Just as with bad cholesterol, having a high level of triglycerides increases your risk of cardiovascular problems. Healthy number: Less than 150 mg/dL. When we talk about cholesterol, we're usually talking about bad cholesterol: low-density lipoprotein or LDL. A little too much LDL starts the heart-disease ball rolling.

When a person's blood is loaded with LDL cholesterol, the stuff builds up inside the walls of the large blood vessels known as arteries. This plaque irritates the blood vessel walls. The immune system gets involved and this only makes things worse. The blood vessel lining becomes fragile and unstable -- what doctors call inflammation. The artery narrows, and blood flow is restricted. And if the inflamed area of plaque bursts through the artery wall, the resulting clot can cause a fatal heart attack or stroke.

Think you need to get a handle on your LDL, HDL, total cholesterol or triglycerides? Here's how to do it. How Is High Cholesterol Treated?

The main goal in lowering cholesterol is to lower your LDL and raise your HDL. To lower cholesterol, eat a heart-healthy diet, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy weight. Some may also need to take cholesterol lowering medications.

Doctors determine your "goals" for lowering LDL based on the number of risk factors you have for heart.

Major risk factors include: age (men 45 yrs and older, women 55 years and older), cigarette smoking, hypertension, an HDL less than 40 mg/dL, family history of premature heart disease in a male first degree relative less than 55 years and female first degree relative less than 65 years of age.

If you have 0-1 risk factor for heart disease, you are at low-to-moderate risk. Generally, lifestyle changes are effective in keeping the cholesterol in check.

If you have 2 or more risk factors for heart disease, you are at moderate risk, depending on what heart disease risk factors you have. Sometimes your doctor will try lifestyle changes, but most of these people require cholesterol-lowering drugs or drugs to raise HDL.

If you have known heart disease, diabetes or multiple risk factors, you are at high risk. These people require a combination of cholesterol-lowering drugs and lifestyle changes to control their cholesterol levels.

Goals for treatment are based on the revised guidelines from the Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) of the National Cholesterol Education Program, Update, Circulation. 2004;110:227-239.

In most cases Americans will simply get on a pill that helps get rid of their symptoms, but doesn’t it make sense to do it naturally? If you have high cholesterol or are at risk-it is time for a lifestyle change.

If a healthy food plan and moderate exercise can keep your cholesterol at bay, it will be more than worth the effort.