Complete Guide on cholesterol

 

What is cholesterol?

You probably have heard about cholesterol, but you might not be sure exactly what it is. Cholesterol is a waxy type of fat, or lipid, which moves throughout your body in your blood.

If you have too much cholesterol in your blood, it can combine with other substances in the blood to form plaque. Plaque sticks to the walls of your arteries. This buildup of plaque is known as atherosclerosis. It can lead to coronary artery disease, where your coronary arteries become narrow or even blocked.

Why is cholesterol important to our bodies?

Cholesterol is a chemical compound that the body requires as a building block for cell membranes and for hormones like estrogen and testosterone.

Cholesterol is also needed to produce vitamin D. Your liver makes enough cholesterol to meet your body’s needs for these important functions.

The liver produces about 80% of the body's cholesterol and the rest comes from dietary sources like meat, poultry, eggs, fish, and dairy products. Foods derived from plants contain no cholesterol.

 

What are the types of cholesterol?

Cholesterol doesn’t dissolve in water, so it can’t travel through your blood on its own. To help transport cholesterol, your liver produces lipoproteins.

These lipoprotein include:

·       HDL

·       LDL

·       VLDL

HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein. It is sometimes called "good" cholesterol because it carries cholesterol from other parts of your body back to your liver. Your liver then removes the cholesterol from your body.

LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein. It is sometimes called "bad" cholesterol because a high LDL level leads to the buildup of plaque in your arteries.

VLDL stands for very low-density lipoprotein. Sometime VLDL is also called a "bad" cholesterol because it too contributes to the buildup of plaque in your arteries. But VLDL and LDL are different; VLDL mainly carries triglycerides and LDL mainly carries cholesterol

Triglycerides. Triglycerides are a type of fat in the blood. When you eat, your body converts calories it doesn't need into triglycerides, which are stored in fat cells. High triglyceride levels are associated with several factors, including being overweight, eating too many sweets or drinking too much alcohol, smoking, being sedentary, or having diabetes with elevated blood sugar levels.

What causes high cholesterol?

The most common cause of high cholesterol is an unhealthy lifestyle. This can include

• Unhealthy eating habits,- Saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol in the food you eat increase cholesterol levels. Try to reduce the amount of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol in your diet. This will help lower your blood cholesterol level. Saturated and trans fat have the most impact on blood cholesterol. Eating these fats can raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol.
• Lack of physical activity, with lots of sitting and little exercise. This lowers your HDL (good) cholesterol.
• Smoking, which lowers HDL cholesterol, especially in women. It also raises your LDL cholesterol.

Heredity, your age and weight may also cause people to have high cholesterol.

What kind of test measures cholesterol?

Everyone over the age of 20 should get their cholesterol levels measured at least once every five years. Your healthcare provider will order a blood test called lipid profile or lipid panel that will indicate how much cholesterol is carried in your bloodstream.

The lipid profile test gives you the following numbers:

 

    Total cholesterol.

    LDL levels.

    HDL levels.

    VLDL levels and triglycerides.

    Non-HDL cholesterol.

    Ratio between cholesterol and HDL.

Normal cholesterol level:

Men age 20 or older:

Type of Cholesterol	Healthy Level
Total Cholesterol	125 to 200mg/dL
Non-HDL	Less than 130mg/dL
LDL	Less than 100mg/dL
HDL	40mg/dL or higher

Triglyceride                                              below 150mg/dl (normal)

Women age 20 or older:

Type of Cholesterol	Healthy Level
Total Cholesterol	125 to 200mg/dL
Non-HDL	Less than 130mg/dL
LDL	Less than 100mg/dL
HDL	50mg/dL or higher

Triglyceride                                              below 150mg/dl (normal)

 

How to low cholesterol levels:

• Avoid tobacco. If you do smoke, quit. Smoking is bad for you in many ways, and reducing your level of good cholesterol is one of them.
• Change the way you eat. Limit the amount of trans fats and saturated fat. Eat heart-healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, poultry, fish and whole grains. Limit red meat, sugary products and dairy products made with whole milk.
• Get more exercise. Try to get about 150 minutes of physical activity every week, or about 30 minutes per day for most days of the week.
• Keep a healthy weight. If you need to lose weight, talk to your healthcare provider about safe ways to do this. You’ll see results even before you reach your ideal weight. Losing even 10% of your body weight makes a difference in your cholesterol levels.
• Reduce the effect of negative emotions. Learn healthy ways to deal with anger, stress or other negative emotions.
• Control blood sugar and blood pressure. Make sure you follow your healthcare provider’s instructions for blood sugar levels, especially if you have diabetes, and for keeping blood pressure in the healthy range.

Facts On cholesterol

1.       You can’t live without cholesterol

2.    2. One out of every three adults has high cholesterol.

3.    3. High cholesterol could be genetic

4.    4. Even children can have high cholesterol.

5.    5. Sweating can raise your good cholesterol levels.

6.    6. Supplements may work to lower cholesterol — but slowly

7.    9. Women’s cholesterol levels fluctuate over their lifespan.