What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a wax like substance that the body produces. The liver makes most of the cholesterol in response to saturated and Trans fats in the diet. Cholesterol contributes a lot to one’s chances of getting heart disease, which remains the country’s number one killer. The higher your blood cholesterol level the greater your risk.

Too much cholesterol in the blood builds up on the walls of the arteries. Over time, this build up causes hardening of the arteries. Arteries become narrow and blood flow to the heart is slowed down or blocked. If enough blood and oxygen cannot reach your heart, you may experience chest pain. If blood supply is cut off by blockage, the result is a heart attack.

A variety of factors can affect cholesterol levels. Some you cannot do anything about, such as heredity, age and gender. The following are factors you can do something about:

• Diet: Reduce the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in the food you eat. Eat a variety of foods, and increase the amount of vegetables, fruits and whole grains in your diet. Eat less meat and meat products.
• Physical Activity: Regular physical activity can help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol. It also helps you loose weight. You should try to be physically active for 60 minutes every day.
• Weight: Losing weight can help lower LDL and triglycerides as well as increase HDL (good) levels. People with a large waist measurement (more than 40 inches for men and more than 35 inches for women) are at high risk of high triglycerides and /or low HDL levels.

Source: U.S Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health