High Cholesterol

With increased awareness of the factors that lead to the high risk of heart disease, consumers have taken the matter out of medical doctor’s hands and into their own.

Conscious home-cooking has taken the place of fast foods and convenience items. A diet that consists of whole-grains, grilled meats, fish, salads, vegetables and small servings of fruit is finding its way back into the mainstream as consumers are scared straight. Instead of bacon and eggs and toast for breakfast, awareness towards oatmeal and cereal  where the first ingredient listed is whole grain and not sugar based is being considered, all in an attempt to stop high cholesterol.

This article will help you navigate the path known to many as the Cholesterol Confusion.

What is high cholesterol?

It is important to note that there are several types of cholesterol and one type is not harmful. In fact, it is referred to as the “good” cholesterol HDL (high-density lipoproteins).

One would assume that when they are talking about High Cholesterol, they must mean HDL, but in fact High Cholesterol is caused by LDL (low-density lipoproteins) confused yet? Let us explain:

About 70% of the cholesterol in our blood (produced mainly from our liver) is LDL or “bad cholesterol.” Cholesterol is necessary for the health of our living cells, however when you get into high levels of cholesterol you are at an increased risk for heart disease.

Cholesterol moves (with help) from your liver, through your blood, into the cells and eventually returns back to your liver. Although cholesterol moves in your blood, it moves within a fatty protein that envelops it. Our cells need this cholesterol, but when we, by lifestyle or diet add to our system more cholesterol then the body can handle, or through a genetic trait, some people’s bodies can’t read the signals when there is too much cholesterol in the blood and the body keeps making more.

HDL’s clean out the LDL’s by removing the bad cholesterol that is forming on the artery walls and shuttling it back into the liver. LDL’s also helps the liver ferry out the waste in bile. But when these levels are not balanced, that is when we run into trouble.

How do I find out that I have high cholesterol?

Talk to your doctor about a cholesterol screening. The rule of thumb is that after your 20th birthday, you should have a cholesterol screening every five years.

This requires you to fast 9-12 hours prior to the test. They draw blood and test it for LDL, HDL, triglyceride levels and then total cholesterol.

• For the LDL level, or bad cholesterol- less than 100 mg/dL is good.
• Anything over 130 mg/dL is considered high cholesterol.
• HDL or good cholesterol 60mg/dL.
• Under 40 mg/dL high risk for heart disease.
• Triglyceride values less than 150 mg/dL
• Total Cholesterol below 200 mg/dL

Cholesterol is not a cause of heart disease or stroke, but it is a pointer to the disease. The culprit is Homocysteine, a protein produced in the blood during the metabolic process when an amino acid meets and is joined by another amino acid containing sulfur. When this level becomes higher than the body can tolerate the artery walls get attacked. The walls are destroyed and a plaque builds up the wall. This plaque is a cholesterol magnet, and cholesterol forms on top of this plaque, eventually building barriers that block arteries or close them off altogether. When LDL and HDL plaque is formed the LDL is the stronger of the two, and it knows out the HDL causing heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular disease.