Which Cholesterol Numbers Really Matter?

By Marilyn Katz

Should You Worry About Your High LDL Numbers?

When my doctor first told me to watch my cholesterol numbers, I thought she only meant the infamous LDL (bad) numbers. However, I did a lot of reading and began to understand that figure does not tell the whole story. In fact, all types of LDL are not even the same. Doctors, scientists, and others who are interested in predicting the risk of heart diseases and strokes actually look at the readings differently.

In fact, you may be surprised to learn that life insurance underwriters do not really even look at LDL numbers by themselves. They actually consider the ratio of total cholesterol to the amount of HDL (good) cholesterol in your blood stream.

Now I know that insurers are very concerned with risks. They gather a lot of statistics, and they employ actuaries who are very good at using these numbers to predict risks.

Most of us already know that a good diet, exercise, and taking any drugs your doctor recommends are good ways to reduce your cholesterol and lower your risk. I also know that some people try to diet, exercise, and even take medication, and they cannot reduce their LDL readings to an optimal level. Is there a way that these people can increase their HDL readings to reduce their risk of disease?

What Food Increases HDL Levels?

Some research has indicated that certain food actually helps you increase your HDL levels. These include berries, Kale, cocoa, and even moderate egg consumption can help.

We were advised to avoid eggs for years because they contained high cholesterol levels. The common wisdom, these days, is that they are an otherwise pretty healthy food, and egg consumption also helps to increase HDL readings in the blood. No doctors are advising their at-risk patients to consume 3 egg omelets each day, but a few eggs a week is not likely to hurt.

What diet and lifestyle changes can you make to reduce your risk of disease?

The so-called Mediterranean diet is gaining popularity as a way to manage weight and lower the risk of heart disease. You do not have to start stocking up on olives or hummus either, though I consider these delicious. You simply should start centering your meals around plant foods. Lean animal protein should not be the focus of a meal but should be a side dish or ingredient.

It is simple enough to include more meals with salads, stir-fry dishes, and soup to help you learn to balance food groups differently. Many hearty pasta dishes, especially with whole grain pastas, can also help you. Of course, be sure and take the time to include fresh fruit and vegetables in your daily diet. If you do that, go ahead and enjoy an egg once in awhile!

Light exercise could include walking your dog or even mopping the floor yourself. If you can include some physical activity in your schedule each day, you will do yourself a favor.

What you don't know about cholesterol really can hurt you. Listen to your doctor's advice and try to manage your meals and include some light exercise in your routine.

Cholesterol - Important And Dangerous!

By Mike Holt

How to lower cholesterol is always in the news, constantly debated and doctors tell us to check it. But why has this cholesterol debate risen to such a high place on the western agenda?

Interestingly, our grandparents had never heard of it, although it was originally identified in the 1700s. It has only been seen as an important issue in the last 30 years or so. Important, because high cholesterol of the lipid fat type of cholesterol has been attributed to more than a quarter of male deaths in men under the age of 75 in the UK. The figure is only slightly less alarming in women.

The problem is the effect that lipid fats have on certain parts of the body. It doesn't take a medic to understand that if arteries are narrowed, then blood flow is restricted. Clearly if this is in the area of the heart, then heart failure in one form or another will become inevitable if the narrowing continues unabated. And lipid fats, if overdosed, certainly causes arteries to fur up.

Too much of the wrong kind of cholesterol also causes blood clots. Get one on the brain and there's the classic stroke, leaving the body in semi or total paralysis or, worse, death. But lipids are also vital to the good working of the human frame. Without the correct quantities racing round the body, our energy levels would be depleted. They also contribute to the make up of every single cell together with providing essential building blocks for hormones. Then there's the nervous system. Cholesterol provides an important ingredient inputting to how the nervous system works and performs. So, how is a good balance attained?

In simple terms, it comes down to how we live. Too much dairy products and fatty foods will put an unkind burden on the body and almost everyone agrees that cutting back - or, better still, cutting out - these foods is a desirable thing to do. The body simply cannot dispose of excessive quantities of lipids very easily. Absence of any energy-burning exercise will also leave fatty tissues in place rather than burning them up.

Making a start, then. Firstly check with your GP if there's a problem. The family doctor will almost certainly rattle off a string of items for an action plan; cutting out fats that the body doesn't handle well will be top of the list, together with an exercise regime to suit you. But there should never be anything to fear. Cholesterol can always be managed. Medication can also be employed if absolutely necessary and the correct levels of this body chemistry can soon be sorted out.

Holiday Foods - How To Keep Cholesterol And Blood Pressure Low During The Holidays

By Kandice L Day

It is difficult enough to stay disciplined trying to live a healthy lifestyle on a normal daily routine. One can only imagine how difficult it will be with the holidays approaching. Multiple parties to attend and at each function, you're surrounded by buffets of delicious, fattening food that is bad for everyone, especially those with high cholesterol and high blood pressure. However, when faced with all the good spread in front of you, this would make anyone weak and likely to over indulge regardless of anyone's condition.

One very important thing to remember is, in a short a time as within a month, meaning from Thanksgiving through Christmas, this is enough time to indulge in all the wrong foods, putting incredible amount of stress on your body. Therefore, allowing ourselves to over indulge during the holidays is a terrible thing, especially if your have high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Small and simple approaches can work wonders when you come face to face with the buffet filled with delicious food. A few things to keep in mind, (especially if you have high cholesterol and high blood pressure) to make certain that your holidays are happy yet healthy and safe is to be prepared, be selective with the types of food you're consuming and minimize stress as much as possible. The following suggestions will help with lowering blood pressure, limiting fats in order lower cholesterol intake and even trying to maintain a healthy weight.

Being prepared / Planning ahead:

Try to eat a small healthy snack before attending the holiday parties. Nuts, vegetables dips, and tomato juice are always considered to be healthy filling snacks. Avocado is also a good choice. It is known for reducing the LDL (bad cholesterol) while increasing the HDL (good cholesterol) levels. If the party is a potluck or you're planning on bringing a dish, be sure to bring a healthy dish that you will be able to enjoy.

Be selective in your choice of food & Eating smart:

Stay away from the saturated fats. Foods that contain cheese are the number one source of saturated fat. Avoid fried foods, chicken skin, duck, goose, gravy, and turkey. White meat of turkey and chicken can be eaten in moderation. Other healthy alternatives are nuts, vegetables, salmon, avocado, tomato (fresh, dried, or in sauces), oatmeal, and fruits.

Eat many smaller meals and don't skip a meal. Eating often will keep you full and avoid over indulging or binge eating. Drinking a lot of water and other calorie free drinks will also make you full. The main thing to remember about eating smart is not to arrive hungry at a party or event.

Consider adding heart healthy vitamins and arginine supplements to your diet as well. Speak with your physician about this option.

Watch what you drink:

Not only do you need to watch what you eat, but it's very important to maintaining a low cholesterol level by selecting the right beverages. Therefore, creamy delicious eggnog is not the best choice for those with high cholesterol. This is also true for any beverage that is high in sugar such as Frappuccino drinks with whipped cream and caramel or sodas, fruit punch, and alcohol which is high in calories. Instead, a glass of red wine is a better choice since red wine is known for reducing cholesterol. Drinking red wine and calorie-free drinks are the better options.

Exercise & Keep stress to a minimum:

One of the most important things to not avoid is exercise. Continue your exercise routine. This will help burn the extra calories consumed as well as help the HDL (good) cholesterol. More importantly, exercising helps with stress relief. Avoiding stress at all cause is a benefit, since stress can lead to increased levels of cholesterol. Exercising also helps clear the mind.

The holidays can be an absolutely stressful time of year. From all the parties to attend, the temptation of indulging in delicious food, to maybe even hosting your own party, it can be very easy to let ourselves go and over eat. For those with high cholesterol and high blood pressure, there are just a few simple things to keep in mind and practice. Making good choices in food and beverages along with eating smart and exercising to help reduce stress levels will ensure that everyone enjoys a happy and healthy holiday.

Winning The Battle Against Heart Disease

By Rob D. Hawkins

Heart disease is always ranked as one of the leading health challenges facing people all of the world. The promises that this killer would be vanquished have gone largely unfulfilled as heart attack continues rank either number one or two as for cause of death.

If you have a family history of the condition, or have any one of a number of risk factors including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hardening of the arteries, or are overweight statistics tell us that without proper management your chances of having a heart attack increase greatly.

Additionally, while stress is not typically listed as one of the primary risk factors anecdotal evidence tends to paint a different picture.

Winning the battle against heart disease

Our heart pumps around 180,000 times each day. Since it is a muscle over time it starts to wear out with capacity falling 33 percent by the age of 65 and 50 percent by the age of 80.

I am not a doctor but common sense tells me if a person cannot offset these numbers in some way they likely will have a heart attack, stroke, or fall victim to heart failure at some point.

Factoid: Almost 50 percent of heart attack victims either fail to participate in regular exercise are unable to because of some type of physical problem.

The American Heart Association recommends 30 minutes of doctor approved exercise daily. Other reputable sources recommend doctor approved exercise every other day.

The common thread here is in order to give yourself the best chance of avoiding a heart attack you must stay active.

Additionally, exercise has been shown to reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase good cholesterol levels (HDL).

Lose weight. The whole aging process is conducive to weight gain as metabolism slows down, energy levels decline, bone and joint pain increases, and activity levels decrease. Being as little as 10 percent overweight can increase the chances of heart attack or stroke. Added weight also puts pressure on the heart to pump more blood making an already weakening heart work even harder.

Stop smoking. I had seven uncles all of which were smokers. All but one died before the age of 60 with one making it to 70 having survived 5 heart attacks along the way. I am not saying that smoking was the only culprit but statistics tell us that either smoking or being around smokers greatly increases the chances of cardiovascular disease. It also decreases good blood cholesterol (HDL) and may cause inflammation on the walls of our arteries. Some believe it is this type of inflammation that starts the formation of dangerous arterial plaque deposits.

A heart healthy diet. Cholesterol is the major building block for arterial plaque. The theory goes that by reducing blood cholesterol levels you will have less arterial cholesterol accumulation thus decreasing the chances for heart attack, stroke, and/or atherosclerosis.

The American Heart Association suggest a diet that consists of no more than 7 percent saturated fat and 200 mg of cholesterol. Additionally, research suggests that adding heart healthy soluble fiber choices to your diet such as grains, oats, oat bran, brown rice, apples, and beans may reduce cardiovascular risk.

Two additional tips for heart health regularly suggested by both natural health practitioners and cardiologists alike is to add heart healthy omega 3 fatty acids and foods high in allicin such as garlic and onions to your diet at least twice a week.

What about cholesterol lowering statin medication? No doubt these widely prescribed drugs are effective and can lower blood cholesterol by up to 40 percent in a week or two. That said, new research for the NIH tells us that they also dramatically increase ones chances for type 2 diabetes. So while statins are a good option they aren't as safe as once thought. The good news here is there are a number of natural alternative that might be worth asking your doctor about.

In conclusion, there are no assurances when it comes to winning the battle against heart disease but by using the information above as a starting point to build a comprehensive doctor approved plan you will be greatly improving your chances of not becoming another heart attack or stroke statistic.

Rob D. Hawkins is an enthusiastic researcher and consumer advocate for natural health and natural living with over 12 years experience in the field.

Define Cholesterol - What It Does To Your Health

By Terry K M Tang

Although cholesterol levels are not the only important information to determine whether you are in good shape, but surely it's a very good indication of your susceptibility to heart diseases - the number one killer in the states causing death of more than 2200 Americans every day.

What is Cholesterol?

To define cholesterol, it is a waxy, sticky fat like substance, which we rely on keeping our body function normally. Our livers produce most of the cholesterol that we need for our every day live. The rest of them come from food, such as shellfish, meats, dairy products. Sufficient level of cholesterol is needed for digestion process and to produce vitamin D and hormones.

Cholesterol is a form of lipoprotein that serves to emulsify lipid or commonly known as fat. There are two types of lipoproteins that make up cholesterol in our body:

• High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) - the "good" cholesterol, it naturally transports fats through the body to the liver for removal.
• Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) - the "bad" cholesterol because having too much of it will be at great risk of having heart disease.

And there is Total Cholesterol which is the sum of LDL and HDL.

Cholesterol itself is not harmful until it reaches a certain level. Excessive LDL can build up in the artery walls as plaque causing the artery walls to become narrow slowing down blood flow or causing it to stop completely. Excessive of LDL can also lead to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).

High level of LDL cholesterol is the major cause of heart disease. Since persons with high levels of cholesterol have no warning signs or symptoms, it can easily be neglected until the damage is done. Individuals who are obese, having unhealthy diet, or family members having medical history of high cholesterol are at high risk for coronary artery disease.

Numbers to Watch Out For

"Good" HDL Cholesterol Level:

• Less than 40 mg/dL for men and less than 50 mg/dL for women usually indicates high risk of heart disease.
• Borderline is 40 mg/dL to 49 mg/dL for men and 50 mg/dL to 59 mg/dL for women.
• Optimal is over 49 ml/dL and 59 ml/dL for men and women respectively.

"Bad" LDL Cholesterol Level:

• Optimal is less than 100 mg/dL.
• Near optimal is 100 to 129 mg/dL.
• Borderline is 130 to 159 mg/dL.
• High cholesterol is 160 to 189 mg/dL.
• Very high cholesterol is 190 mg/dL and up.

Total Cholesterol Level;

• Optimal is below 200mg/dL.
• Near optimal is 200 to 239 mg/dL.
• High cholesterol is over 240mg/dL.

For those who are over thirty, it is recommended to have your cholesterol tested once a year. Be sure to fast at least 9 hours before your blood test for the most accurate result.

If you would like to learn more about cholesterol or tips on how to avoid having high cholesterol, please visit my blog www.definecholesterol.org to find out.

Major Risk Factors of Heart Disease

By Alina A Jagger

Considering the busyness and the lifestyle that the urban population follows, it is more vulnerable to this disease. Several risk factors can influence heart ailment. They include gender, age, hypertension (high BP), physical inactivity, high cholesterol, obesity, family history, diabetes, air pollution, stress, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Though the factors like age, family history, and gender are completely uncontrollable, you can control the remaining ones to a great degree by incorporating healthy means of living. Let us go through the major risk factors of heart disease to understand the ways to control them in the following part.

Age
Although age is an uncontrollable thing, it remains one of the major factors. Mostly, the cholesterol level increases with age. Other than this, aging certainly causes loss of arterial flexibility which eventually leads to coronary arterial disease. Generally, older people possess more chances of developing heart disease than the younger population. This may be because of obesity, inactivity, hypertension, and so on. Incorporating proper diet and exercise in life can cope up with them.

Smoking
Being the most effective risk factor, it makes an individual 4-5 times more prone to heart attack. It addition, it also rises the susceptibility to mouth cancer, cervical cancer, etc. Thus there is no alternative but to stay away from smoking. Even excessive alcohol intake is equally hazardous and you must avoid it.

Obesity
This is the most visible and known cause of heart disease. People are speedily progressing towards obesity. This is mainly because of hectic life, unhealthy eating habits, and physical inactivity. However, you can fight and control obesity effectively by observing your health.

Hypertension and High Cholesterol
They are the means that bring you rapidly closer to heart ailments. In fact, high cholesterol deposits result in the arterial blockage that ultimately leads to heart attack whereas hypertension or high blood pressure pressurizes the heart to work faster for blood circulation. Thus it is necessary that you bring about dietary changes, include fibrous foods and avoid foods having high content of fats, cholesterol, and sodium.

Inactivity, Stress and Unhealthy Lifestyle
Your life immeasurably depends on the way you live it. It runs with a fastened pace that leaves no time for relaxing and exercising. However, some people understand the significance of living a healthy life and we must follow it. Health must be the foremost concern. Inactivity deepens the risk of obesity and heart disease. Even stress that comes with life and especially because of our attitude tremendously affects heart health. Thus it is important that we live life with an optimistic attitude, take care of diet, and exercise.

If you are sure that you are a victim of any above-mentioned risk factor or factors, then you must visit a doctor at the earliest. He will surely recommend you to live a healthy lifestyle. You must be active, cautious about your diet, manage weight, and avoid smoking and drinking. In order to manage stress, you must relax, take adequate sleep, and drink ample water. Thus value your health first; rest will follow effectively.

Alina Jagger is the writer and she like to share her views i like her 2 3 topis in which one is doctorshealthpress.com where we get all health related tips

Tips for a Healthy Heart

By Larry K.R. Johnson

More often than not, we neglect the human heart. Most of the time, we think of the heart and what it symbolizes and forget to regard it for its true function.

There are all sorts of feelings that we associate with the heart. When we are in love, elated, or excited, we automatically relate it with the heart. When we are experiencing loss, sadness, or pain,we refer to it as "heartbreak".

We are so caught up in all our day to day emotions. We often fail to remember the true importance of the human heart. As a result, we neglect its health as well.

The human heart, which is about the size of your fist, is one of the most vital organs in our system. It has its own electrical energy, which then enables it to provide a continuous supply of blood throughout the whole human body. This blood supply fuels the body and all its organs so that it may function as a whole.

We must consider that since the heart is of utmost importance, we must take measures to keep it functioning as normally as possible.

Here are a few tips on how to maintain a healthy heart:

• Don't smoke - We've all heard this line before, but just how significant is taking away your usual nicotine and tobacco fix? Chemicals from tobacco and cigarettes cause narrowing in your blood vessels which then makes your heart work harder. This results in high blood pressure and a decreased supply of oxygen in your system.
• ·Exercise - In today's fast-paced lifestyle, squeezing in a regular work-out session may not be as easy as it sounds, especially when you have 9 to 5 job. Getting in some daily exercise reduces your risk of fatal heart disease. So taking the stairs, walking to work when possible, or fitting in a quick 20 minute exercise can make all the difference.
• Eat healthy- A healthy diet would mean low cholesterol, low fat and low sodium. Also make sure to have meals with lots of vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Incorporate beans and other high sources of protein as well.
• Maintain a healthy weight- Exercising and a healthy diet will help you in keeping your weight in check. It is also important to monitor your BMI and waist circumference.
• Regular check-ups- You may look fit, but appearance isn't the best judge of optimum health. Regular blood pressure monitoring, as well as screening for diabetes and cholesterol levels are a must.

Remember, as resilient as the human being is, the human heart may not be as strong when not properly cared for.

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