Cholesterol is a type of fat. It has both good and bad effects on the body. Your body uses cholesterol to make hormones and to build and maintain nerve cells. However, when your body has too much cholesterol, deposits of fat called plaque form inside blood vessel walls. The blood vessel walls thicken and the vessels become narrower (a condition called atherosclerosis). This change in the blood vessels reduces blood flow through the blood vessels, possibly leading to heart attacks or strokes.
Most of the cholesterol in your blood is made by your liver from the fats, carbohydrates, and proteins you eat. You also get cholesterol by eating animal products such as meat, eggs, and dairy products.
It is important to find out what your cholesterol numbers are because lowering cholesterol levels that are too high lessens your risk for developing heart disease. It reduces the chance of a heart attack or death from heart disease, even if you already have heart disease.
When you get your cholesterol checked, your health care provider will give you a number for your total cholesterol level. You can use the chart below to see if your total cholesterol is high.
Total Cholesterol Level (mg/dL) ---------------------------------------- less than 200 good 200 to 239 borderline high 240 or above high ----------------------------------------
When your cholesterol is measured and found to be high, your health care provider may also check the amount of LDL (low-density lipoproteins) and HDL (high-density lipoproteins) in your blood. LDL and HDL carry cholesterol through your blood. LDLs carry a lot of cholesterol, leave behind fatty deposits on your artery walls, and contribute to heart disease. HDLs do the opposite. HDLs clean the artery walls and remove extra cholesterol from the body, thus lowering the risk of heart disease. LDL is called bad cholesterol. (You can think of "L" for "lousy" cholesterol.) HDL is called good cholesterol (think of "H" for "healthy" cholesterol). It is good to have low levels of LDL and high levels of HDL.
Because HDL cholesterol protects against heart disease, higher numbers are better. A level less than 40 mg/dL is low and is considered a major risk factor because it increases your risk for developing heart disease. HDL levels of 60 mg/dL or more help to lower your risk for heart disease.
The level of LDL that is healthy for you depends on your risk of heart disease and heart attack. In general, the higher your LDL level and the more risk factors you have for heart disease, the greater your chances of developing heart disease or having a heart attack. These are the recommended goals for LDL, according to risk level:
Major risks for heart disease include:
If you have 2 or more of these risk factors for heart disease, your risk is moderate to high. Based on your personal and family history, your health care provider can help you calculate your risk level.
Eating right, exercising, and not smoking can usually control cholesterol levels. If you have a high risk for heart disease, your health care provider may prescribe cholesterol-lowering medicine as well as changes in lifestyle.
Follow these diet guidelines to help control your cholesterol:
Some kinds of fats are better than others. Most of your dietary fat should be from polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. These 2 types of fats are healthier than saturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats are found in fish and some vegetable oils. Monounsaturated fats are found in olive oil, canola oil, and avocados. Both types of these healthier fats are also found in many nuts and legumes.
Saturated fat raises your blood cholesterol because it makes it hard for the body to clear the cholesterol away. Saturated fat is found in different amounts in almost all foods. Butter, some oils, meat, and poultry fat contain a lot of saturated fat.
Trans fatty acids, often called trans fats, are another type of fat in some foods. Trans fats tend to raise your bad LDL cholesterol and lower your good HDL cholesterol. Trans fats naturally occur in some foods, mostly in meat and dairy products. But foodmakers can create trans fats when they are preparing food for grocery stores. This is usually done by adding hydrogen to fats. If the ingredients of a food product include the words "partially hydrogenated" (usually referring to oils, such as soybean oil and others), the product is likely to contain trans fats. Trans fats lower HDL in addition to raising your LDL, so you should eat as little of this type of fat as possible.
To control the cholesterol and types and amounts of fat you eat:
Exercise goes hand-in-hand with a healthy diet for controlling cholesterol. Exercise helps because it:
A good exercise program includes aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is any activity that keeps your heart rate up (such as swimming, jogging, walking, and bicycling). You should get at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise most days of the week. Moderate aerobic exercise is generally defined as requiring about the energy it takes to walk 2 miles in 30 minutes. You may need to exercise 60 minutes a day to prevent weight gain and 90 minutes a day to lose weight. If you haven't been exercising, ask your health care provider for an exercise prescription and start your new exercise program slowly.
Do not smoke. Smoking increases your risk of heart disease because it lowers HDL levels.
High cholesterol may run in families. Know your family history and discuss it with your health care provider.
In summary, to control your cholesterol level:
Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.
HIA File CRD3615F.HTM Release 9.0/2006
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