Health Pages

Cholesterol

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a soft, waxy, fat-like substance that circulates through the bloodstream and is found in all animal tissues. Cholesterol is an important component of cell membranes, needed to produce hormones, vitamin D, sex hormones, and bile acids (which help digest fat). If you understand some facts about cholesterol, it will help you to keep your cholesterol levels within the healthy range. There is a difference between the cholesterol you eat and the cholesterol in your blood.

Ideal blood cholesterol level is less than 5.2 mmol/L.

Dietary cholesterol is the cholesterol we get from eating animal foods. Meat, fish, poultry and dairy products all contain cholesterol.

Blood cholesterol is a natural part of our blood fats. About 80% of the cholesterol in our blood comes from our liver and the remaining 20% comes from our food.

Adequate cholesterol is essential for the proper funcrioning of the body. However, when your blood cholesterol level is too high, cholesterol, along with other substances, tends to deposit inside arteries. This is called atherosclerosis. These deposits can obstruct blood flow and cause a heart attack or stroke. Excess cholesterol can also increase the risk of some other type of cardiovascular disease.

Many people think that just watching or avoid cholesterol in foods will prevent high blood cholesterol and hearth disease. The best way to reduce the amount of cholesterol our body makes is to reduce the total amount of fat we eat-especialy industrially produced trans fats (made from partially hydrogenated oils) and saturated fats. Most trans fats can be found in products such as vegetable oil shortening, hard margarine, commercially prepared baked goods, potato and corn chips. crackers, microwave popcorn and deep-fried foods.

We now know that limiting cholesterol is not as important as watching our daily dietary fat intake.

It is very important for you to reduce the total fat content of your diet as well as limit the high cholesterol foods in your diet. High cholesterol foods include liver, kidney, shrimp, egg yolks, and fish roe.

Good Versus Bad Cholesterol

Since all fats, including cholesterol do not dissolve in the blood, they must circulate in the form of special packages. Cholesterol is carried in the blood in protein-lipid packages called lipoproteins. Lipoproteins are combination in the blood consisting of lipid (fat) and protein molecules bound together. They are like shuttles that transport cholesterol to and from the liver through the circulatory system. There are two types of lipoproteins which we are concerned about, the High Density Lipoproteins (HDLs) and the Low Density Lipoproteins (LDLs).

HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEINS: HDL's "GOOD" - These are durable fat-carrying protein compounds that actually cary excess cholesterol to the liver for processing and elimination from the body in bile. It is the presumed function which may explain the role of high density lipoproteins as protective against the development of atherosclerosis. A value of 1.80 has 1/2 the average risk of heart attack.
A value of 0.90 has twice the average risk of heart attack.

LOW - DENSITY LIPOPROTEINS: LDL's "BAD" - These lipoproteins carry most of the cholesterol in your body. These are less stable and more likely to break apart and deposit cholesterol in the blood vessels, which can lead to atherosclerosis. LDL that accumulates and becomes trapped in artery walls may be oxidized by free radicals, causing inflammation and damage to artery walls and increasing the likelihood of a blokage. An elevated LDL cholesterol level is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease. If coronary arteries are blocked, the result may be a heart attack. If an artery carrying blood to the brain is blocked, a stroke may occur. A value of less than 3.4 is desirable.

TRIGLYCERIDES - This is another type of fat found in the blood and body tissues. Triglyceride is made in the liver when excess calories are consumed from sugar, fat, and alcohol. Calories not used immediately by the tissues are converted to triglycerides and transported to fat cells for storage. Ideal blood triglyceride levels are less than 2.3 mmol/L . Find out more about triglycerides...

Much of the incidence of cardiovascular disease is due to our modern way of life. Too many people live sedentary life, eat an unhealthy diet, smoke, manage stress ineffectively, have uncontrolled high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels, and don't know the signs of cardiovascular disease. Find out more about CVD disease risk factors...

According to World Health Organization's Fact Sheet , an estimated 17.7 million people died from CVDs in 2015, representing 31% of all global deaths. Of these deaths, an estimated 7.4 million were due to coronary heart disease and 6.7 million were due to stroke.

Below are links and information you need to know to make smart choices in your life and help your to make changes and take charge of our health.

Good to Know Information:
CVD Disease Risk Factors
Heart Disease
Cholesterol and You
Triglycerides
Coenzyme Q10
Antioxidants
How Dead is Your Diet?
The Power Of Relaxation
Meditation For Health Purposes
Teasting Treatments
First Aid


Dietary Tips

Eating right and being physically active may reduce your risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, certain cancers, and being overweight or obese. The bottom line is that to lose weight, it's important to reduce calories and increase physical activity.
When making dinner selections, watch portion sizes. If you eat 100 more food calories a day than you burn, you'll gain about 1 pound in a month. That's about 10 pounds in a year.
Cook meals by using lower fat cooking methods: bake, roast, broil, BBQ or microwave.
It’s important to make smart food choices and watch portion sizes wherever you are—at the grocery store, at work, in your favorite restaurant, or running errands.
On a long commute or shopping trip, pack some fresh fruit, cut-up vegetables, string cheese sticks, or a handful of unsalted nuts—to help you avoid impulsive, less healthful snack choices.
In a restaurant, opt for steamed, grilled, or broiled dishes instead of those that are fried or sautéed.
Choose battered and fried products less often.
Remove the skin from poultry.
Choose leaner cuts of meat from the hip or loin more often and trim off the visible fat. Choose light meat more often as it has less fat than dark meat.
At the store, plan ahead by buying a variety of nutrient-rich foods for meals and snacks throughout the week.
Serve meat without gravy or cream sauces or use smaller amounts of gravy/ sauces.
Try removing the fat from gravy by chilling and skimming fat off the top.
Check labels of pre-packaged meats for fat content.
Check the labels for % M.F. or % B.F. and choose the lower fat items more often.
Try serving vegetables plain or with herb seasonings instead of with butter/ margarine or cream/ cheese sauces.

Back to Health Pages




RomWell Health Pages - Disclaimer

Our pages are created to provide medically accurate information that is intended to complement, not replace or substitute in any way the services of your physician. Any application of the recommendations set forth in the following pages is at the reader's discretion and sole risk. Before undergoing medical treatment, you should consult with your doctor, who can best assess your individual needs, symptoms and treatment.
30 minutes
physical activity
25-38 grams of
dietary fiber per day
6-8 hours
of adequate sleep

Antioxidants

Organic antioxidants help to promote cell regeneration, they are a great all natural way to help boost your immune system, and flush out harmful toxins which weaken the immune system. They are essential aid to a properly balanced diet, overall health and wellness and also great help in the prevention of disease.