Managing Your Cholesterol In Today's Lifestyle

By Haman Oakley

Modern medicine has come a long in diagnosing certain diseases and giving us some good obtainable solutions, especially when it comes to cholesterol and managing it.

Cholesterol plays an important part in our body. It works hard to produce vitamin D, certain hormones, cell walls and bile acids. It is a naturally occurring fat-soluble molecule. Our liver produces cholesterol and also in a smaller amount, through our diet.

There are two different types of cholesterol in our bloodstream in any given time, which are transported in little bundles which are called: Low-density lipoprotein (LDL cholesterol) which takes cholesterol from the liver to the body tissues. If there is a high level of unwanted (LDL) cholesterol in the blood, it will build up in the walls of the blood vessels and cause them to narrow.

The other type being carried in the pocket is called HDL (high-density lipprotein, whose function it is to take the cholesterol away from the arteries to the liver, which is then discarded. Having a high level of this type is thought to be healthy. A recommended level for adults would be 5. 5mmol/L or lower. So what this essentially means is that one should strive to keep your bad LDL low and your good HDL high. By doing this it would take the unnecessary strain off ones heart.

Eating things like; milk, cheese, butter, fast foods, sugars, fatty meats, snack food would all contribute to high cholesterol and is known as saturated fat. In moderation of course these foods would be processed under normal conditions. Try to exchange these types of foods for unsaturated fats like nuts, margarine, seeds and oily fish, just to name a few.

By introducing physical activities into ones lifestyle, like an exercise routine, could drastically help with lowering ones cholesterol. Adhere to your doctor's advise by eating well and having a good exercise regime daily. What is also deemed as undesirable for someone who has high cholesterol, is excessive alcohol and smoking. These two factors also play a huge role in managing ones cholesterol.

Unfortunately some things would count against you which you will not be able to do anything about, like; gender (men have higher cholesterol levels than women - menopause would level the risk, one's age is a big factor because cholesterol tends to become a problem with increased age, some ethnic groups have a higher risk than others and lastly your family history. It is most likely that you would have inherited your cholesterol problems from a mother or father. - 32002

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