Cholestrol - overview

Cholesterol is a soft, fat-like, waxy substance found in the bloodstream and in all your body’s cells. It’s normal to have cholesterol. It’s an important part of a healthy body because it’s used for producing cell membranes and some hormones, and serves other needed bodily functions. But too much cholesterol in the blood is a major risk for coronary heart disease, which leads to heart attack. It’s also a risk factor for stroke. Hypercholesterolemia is the term for high levels of blood cholesterol.
You get cholesterol in two ways. Your body makes some of it, and the rest comes from cholesterol in animal products that you eat, such as meats, poultry, fish, eggs, butter, cheese and whole milk. Food from plants — like fruits, vegetables and cereals — doesn’t have cholesterol. Some foods that don’t contain animal products may contain trans fats, which cause your body to make more cholesterol. Foods with saturated fats also cause the body to make more cholesterol.

Cholesterol and other fats can’t dissolve in the blood. They have to be transported to and from the cells by special carriers called lipoproteins. There are two kinds that you need to know about. Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is known as the “bad” cholesterol. Too much LDL cholesterol can clog your arteries, increasing your risk of heart attack and stroke. High-density lipoprotein, or HDL, is known as the “good” cholesterol. Your body makes HDL cholesterol for your protection. It carries cholesterol away from your arteries. Studies suggest that high levels of HDL cholesterol reduce your risk of heart attack.

High cholestrol can cause Heart Disease.
Too much cholesterol in the blood, or high blood cholesterol, can be serious. People with high blood cholesterol have a greater chance of getting heart disease. High blood cholesterol on its own does not cause symptoms, so many people are unaware that their cholesterol level is too high.
Cholesterol can build up on the walls of your arteries (blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to other parts of the body). This buildup of cholesterol is called plaque (plak). Over time, plaque can cause narrowing of the arteries. This is called atherosclerosis (ath-er-o-skler-O-sis), or hardening of the arteries.

Special arteries, called coronary arteries, bring blood to the heart. Narrowing of your coronary arteries due to plaque can stop or slow down the flow of blood to your heart. When the arteries narrow, the amount of oxygen-rich blood is decreased. This is called coronary artery disease (CAD). Large plaque areas can lead to chest pain called angina (an-JI-nuh or AN-juh-nuh). Angina happens when the heart does not receive enough oxygen-rich blood. Angina is a common symptom of CAD.

Some plaques have a thin covering and burst (rupture), releasing fat and cholesterol into the bloodstream. The release of fat and cholesterol may cause your blood to clot. A clot can block the flow of blood. This blockage can cause angina or a heart attack.

Lowering your cholesterol level decreases your chance for having a plaque burst and cause a heart attack. Lowering cholesterol may also slow down, reduce, or even stop plaque from building up. Plaque and resulting health problems can also occur in arteries elsewhere in the body.

Healthy Cholestrol levels
What cholesterol levels are healthy varies from persong to person. If you have several risk factors for heart disease, such as diabetes, smoking, or high blood pressure, you should find out from your doctor what your own target levels should be. If you have one or no such risk factors, a total cholesterol level below 200 is usually desirable, while a HDL level greater than 35 is also good. Most important, your LDL level should be less than 130. However, since no one’s numbers ever match up exactly with the textbook figures, it’s good to have your doc help you with the figuring and interpreting of your lab values.


What causes high LDL Cholestrol levels
Some of the factors that can lead to high cholesterol are:

Overweight - Excess weight has been linked with high cholesterol levels.

Heredity - If cholesterol problems or heart disease run in your family, you are at a higher risk for having problems.

Diet - Remember the saying “you are what you eat”? Avoid foods that are high in cholesterol, saturated fat, and trans fat, all of which increase cholesterol levels and your risk of developing heart disease.

Physical activity - Exercise tends to increase HDL levels, which lowers your chance of developing heart disease.

Age - The risk of high cholesterol increases as you get older.


Tips to lower the cholestrol levels
The only way to check your cholesterol is to visit your doctor and have a blood cholesterol test. This is a simple, painless procedure. If you are over 40, you should have your cholesterol level checked each year. High cholesterol levels are the result of three main factors. (a) Our genes. (b) Our diet. (c) Our lifestyle.

We can’t change our genes, but we can change our diet and lifestyle. To lower your cholesterol level, here are five simple tips:

1. Reduce your total fat-intake.
2. Eliminate your consumption of saturated fat.
3. Increase your consumption of soluble fiber. Unprocessed plant foods, like vegetables, dried beans, lentils, fruit (esp. berries, bananas, apples and citrus fruits) and oats or oat-bran are good sources of soluble fiber.
4. Stop smoking.
5. Take regular exercise.