What's the big deal about blood cholesterol anyway? Is your cholesterol high, low, middling, whatever? Well, the fact of the matter is that if you have high cholesterol you could be well on your way to a heart attack or stroke so that's reason enough to start worrying about it. Is your cholesterol high? Let's look at what could contribute to high blood cholesterol. It could be all that weight you're carrying around, it could be all that junk food you're downing everyday, it could be the lazy, laid-back life you love which thinks of exercise and shudders. It could be your cholesterol is high due to stress - at home, at work, maybe even at play. And for women over 50 with high cholesterol, it could just be the fact that they are over 50. You might just say, 'So what if my cholesterol's high? Well, if your cholesterol's high, you need to know this.
We all have good cholesterol HDLs or high density lipoproteins and bad cholesterol LDLs or low density lipoproteins. HDLs are the transporters - they carry the excess cholesterol to the liver to be broken down. LDLs, however, can cause a build-up of plaque in the arteries. If high cholesterol symptoms are left untended, it can give you a rather rude wake-up call, i.e. a heart attack. The trouble is the problem sneaks up on you so quietly, and very often high cholesterol shows no warning signs and you don't really know about it till it explodes. That's why it's important to have your self checked for symptoms of high cholesterol and to check that your LDL levels are below100 mg/dL and your HDL levels are over 40 mg/dL. The National Cholesterol Education Program was launched by The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in 1985 to reduce the percentage of Americans who have cholesterol higher than what it should be through educational campaigns run by professionals.
What ways are there to treat high cholesterol, or better still, prevent it? Well, exercising, giving up smoking and controlling your weight are great ways to begin. You could also look at a low cholesterol diet (for high cholesterol) and at what Nature has to offer. One natural remedy that packs quite a punch is garlic. All you need to do is to pop a clove in your mouth and chew first thing every morning - it's a great LDL-fighter. If you just can't do it, then chop it up and swallow it down with water. If even that's too much, try taking garlic supplements in capsule form. Mitamins' Natural Remedy for High Cholesterol contains garlic extract amongst other vitamins, herbs and minerals thought to reduce bad cholesterol.
Fish oil or Omega-3 is a great natural remedy for the treatment and prevention of high cholesterol too. Participants in a study who took a daily fish oil supplement actually had a 40% lower chance of sudden heart-related deaths than non-fish-oil takers. That's probably why Eskimos hardly suffer from high cholesterol. Also good are oat bran, red rice and avocado. A 1000mg Vitamin C tablet a day is also supposed to help when cholesterol is high. The trick is to measure cholesterol levels at least once every five years and to get what is called a 'lipoprotein profile'. Is your cholesterol high? Managing cholesterol levels and making sure they are not high is in your hands so do the best you can for your health.
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Almost everyone knows high cholesterol is a significant health problem, leading heart disease and stroke. But many of us forget that it's not just a problem for the elderly. The detrimental effects build up over time, and may not be diagnosed until middle-age or later. But the cumulative damage is much easer to prevent than correct. So reducing cholesterol is important for young adults, and even children. The first step, presented here, is learning where cholesterol comes from and how it works.
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