Archive for the 'Cholesterol Level' Category

Maintaining high HDL cholesterol levels is as important as reducing LDL cholesterol.

Here are a few natural methods to boost HDL levels:

Increase fiber intake: Eat two servings of fiber every day.

Foods rich in fiber include: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, oats and oat bran. These foods effectively raise your HDL levels while decreasing LDL levels.

Continue healthy weight: Obesity decreases HDL levels and increases LDL levels, which puts you at a greater risk of heart disease.

Include soy in your diet: Eat three servings of soy protein a day to increase HDL levels. Soy greatly reduces the risk of heart disease.

Include right fats in your diet: Monounsaturated fats help to raise HDL cholesterol levels. They can be found in foods like avocados, nuts and olive oil. Avoid trans fats and saturated fats, which not only reduce HDL levels, but also increase LDL.

Exercise regularly: Doing exercises, particularly aerobic workouts for 30 minutes a day, can greatly increase HDL cholesterol levels. Fast walking early in the morning can also show positive effects on HDL levels and maintain good heart health.

Childhood obesity is on the rise and so are children’s cholesterol levels.

Children between the ages of 2 and 19 should have a total cholesterol level of 170 or below, according to the American Heart Association.

But poor eating and lifestyle habits are sending some children’s cholesterol levels above that threshold.

“Kids are eating way too many fast foods and processed foods,” said Tanya Zuckerbrot, a nutritionist and author of “The F-Factor Diet.”

“It’s not even the drive-thrus, it’s the refined foods, the Pop Tarts, and the white breads and the crackers and the chips that kids are snacking on. And kids are not moving as much,” Zuckerbrot said.

But Zuckerbrot said all that’s needed is for kids to move a little more and to include more fiber into their diets. Fiber, according to the American Heart Association is an important dietary source for improving digestion and lowering cholesterol.

There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble has been shown to modestly reduce cholesterol levels, while insoluble fiber has been associated with decreased cardiovascular risk and slower progression of cardiovascular disease in high-risk individuals.

Normal cholesterol level should be maintained as it helps in maintaining healthy body.

If you want to know your normal cholesterol level, then first you have to know about cholesterol.

A fat that does not dissolve readily in the blood is cholesterol.

Cholesterol performs lot of essential functions that are mentioned here:

• Cholesterol helps you in building protective membrane for every cell, to protect cell from various substances.
• Cholesterol helps in keeping water from leaving your body too quickly.
• The basic important hormones produced in your adrenal glands, ovaries and testis are provided by normal cholesterol level.
• Your body can make vitamin D by maintaining normal cholesterol level.

So, you should not eliminate cholesterol from your body; maintain normal cholesterol level that helps you in getting right balance of cholesterol in your blood. By maintaining normal cholesterol level, you can achieve healthier arteries and as a result healthier organs.

Best way for keeping your arteries healthy:

Cholesterol travels through your body, but it does not dissolve in your blood. Cholesterol is therefore attached to the fatty proteins such as high density lipoproteins (HDL cholesterol) and low density lipoproteins (LDL cholesterol).

HDL cholesterol is the high density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Lipoproteins are the combination of lipids (fats) and proteins.

High lipoproteins carry about 30% of the cholesterol from tissues of the body to liver.

HDL will remove cholesterol from the atheroma in the arteries.

Then this cholesterol is transported to the liver for reutilization or for excretion.

This is the reason HDL is called as good cholesterol. If you have high level of HDL cholesterol, (HDL-c) then you will have less risk of cardiovascular diseases.

How much raise in HDL cholesterol level help in avoiding the risk of heart diseases?

If your body has even small increase of HDL cholesterol then also you can reduce the risk of heart attack.

You can reduce from 2 to 4% of the risk of coronary heart disease, if your HDL cholesterol (HDL-c) level is increased by 1mg/dl. The test for HDL cholesterol is done along with the other lipid tests. These tests are used for estimating the risks of heart problems.

From this test, if you have high level of cholesterol then it is better than low level cholesterol. If you have less than 40mg/dl of HDL level, then you will have risk of heart disease.

Home cholesterol test is the test which will help you in measuring cholesterol levels at home itself.

This test can be performed quickly and conveniently at your home. You can find home cholesterol tests at the local pharmacies.

These home cholesterol tests are approved by the food and drug administration.

Home access instant cholesterol test:

You have to control cholesterol levels because when cholesterol levels are high, it can cause heart diseases. The home access instant cholesterol test is as accurate as the test preferred by the doctors and medical labs.

With home cholesterol test kit, you can measure cholesterol levels only with fraction of the cost. You can measure your cholesterol level accurately within 15 minutes with this kit.

• This home cholesterol test is fast, accurate and easy to use.
• This test provides you professional health line.
• While performing this test, no need of doing fasting.
• This provides you 100% satisfaction and guarantee.

Need of performing home cholesterol test:

You have to perform this test because if your cholesterol level is high, then you have to face major risk factors such as developing heart disease and heart attack.

LDL cholesterol is the low density lipoprotein cholesterol which belongs to lipoprotein family.

LDL cholesterol is the bad cholesterol. The cholesterol present in your body cannot be dissolved in the blood.

This cholesterol, which is not dissolved in the blood should be transported to and from the cells with the help of lipoproteins carriers.

These LDL particles have mass and size particles, which have the nature of changing number of fatty acids.

If more bad cholesterol is circulated in your blood, then this will slowly feed on your heart and brain by building up in your inner walls of the arteries. This cholesterol forms a hard deposit called plaque together with other substances.

This hard and thick deposit will make your arteries narrow and less flexible. This condition with hard and thick deposit is called atherosclerosis. This condition results in the heart attack or heart stroke.

You can estimate the risks of heart diseases from the below mentioned LDL cholesterol levels:

If your LDL values are raised then you can determine that you are suffering from heart disease.

• If your LDL level is less than 100mg/dl, then you are at optimal level with low risk of heart disease.

The cholesterol reduction is necessary if there are elevated levels of cholesterol in your body.

You can determine your excess cholesterol by following the cholesterol test.

After the cholesterol test is completed, then you have to decide how much amount of cholesterol reduction is required.

Cholesterol is the main source of the cells. But liver itself produces cholesterol required by your cells. So, external source is not required to improve your cholesterol level.

If you have more amount of cholesterol in your body, then you have to suffer from heart problems like heart attack and heart diseases.

Reduction of cholesterol in different ways:

For normal maintenance of membrane integrity, your cells require cholesterol. If the cholesterol is not present in cells then cells will not live. Cholesterol levels are managed by the normal mechanisms of the cells.

When the cholesterol level obtained is too little from the diet you take, then cells stimulate for the production of the cholesterol. In the same way if cholesterol level is excess than required by the cells, then these cells are activated to pump out the cholesterol.

Cholesterol test screens the risk of developing the heart diseases.

Cholesterol test is the simple blood test that checks your cholesterol levels.

Cholesterol test is very easy and simple test.

How the cholesterol test is performed?

Similar to blood test, the cholesterol test is performed by taking few drops of blood from your finger or arm or from the back of the hand. For performing this test, first the area where you are taking blood should be cleaned with antiseptic (germ killing medicine).

Then wrap an elastic band around the arm for applying pressure on the site and squeeze blood from vein.

Then take a needle and insert into the site where you have cleaned. Collect this blood into the tube. Now elastic band which is wrapped around arm is removed.

After collecting the blood into tube, remove the needle from the site. The area where you have squeezed blood should be covered with hand and stop bleeding.

Choles trak is the home cholesterol test:

This is the reliable and economical cholesterol testing kit. This type of test is approved by FDA. This is very easy test for measuring cholesterol level. You can perform this test by following below steps. This test is done quickly within ten minutes and can be tested privately in your home.

Cholesterol is the soft waxy substance originated among the fats (lipids) in the blood and in every cell of your blood.

High cholesterol level in your blood will lead to several heart diseases, especially heart attacks.

Cholesterol medicines are used to maintain safe cholesterol levels in your body.

It is necessary to use proper medications to control the cholesterol percentage in your body, if you have high cholesterol levels.

Other than medications, you should also follow proper healthy diet which does not contain saturated fats and more carbohydrates in it.

Lipid-altering medications are used for controlling high cholesterol level in your body. There are various types of medications in lipid-altering medications.

Lipid-altering Cholesterol medicines:

• Statins
• Fibric acid
• Niacin or nicotinic acid
• Bile-acid sequestrants
• Combining nicotinic acid with statin
• Cholesterol absorption inhibitors
• Combining statin with an absorption inhibitor

Effects on blood lipids and Medication examples for these cholesterol medicines:

Statins:

• Statin is most effective in lowering LDL and mildly effective in increasing HDL.
• Statin will help in lowering triglycerides by affecting them mildly.
• The medication examples of this statins are Lipitor, crestor, lescol, zocor, pravachol and mevacor.

Cholesterol will affect not only adults; you can observe high cholesterol levels in kids also.

The kids with excess cholesterol will face much health problems when they get older.

The excess cholesterol present in kids will lead to the development of plaque on the walls of the arteries, which will help to supply blood to heart and other organs.

Plaque which is obtained in kids with excess cholesterol makes the arteries narrow and creates severe heart problems by blocking the flow of blood to the heart. There are several causes for obtaining high cholesterol in kids.

The three risk factors which leads to obtain high cholesterol in kids:

• Diet
• Obesity [Child Obesity Problems]
• Heredity- passed from mother to baby

How to diagnose excess cholesterol in kids:

• Health care professionals can be able to check the cholesterol level in small kids with a sample blood test.
• Testing cholesterol level in small kids is necessary, if there is a strong family history of high cholesterol levels or heart attacks.
• The sample blood test results will help you to reveal whether your child have excess cholesterol or not.