Things to Know about High Cholesterol

You've heard about it a million times, on television, in magazine ads and even billboards. High cholesterol can cause a multitude of health issues, including high blood pressure, blocked arteries and even cause heart damage that leads to a heart attack. But what exactly is cholesterol and what's with the initials, like HDL and LDL? What should you know about high cholesterol?

First of all, cholesterol is a fat, or lipid, that your body needs as an energy source, and also to help body cells grow. Your liver creates most of the cholesterol that your body needs to function. There are two different kinds of cholesterol: the good stuff, known as HDL (think 'happy') protects your blood vessels by removing excess cholesterol from artery linings. HDL is short for the term 'high-density lipoprotein'. LDL cholesterol, more commonly known as the bad stuff, is short for 'low-density lipoprotein'. One more type of fat common to all of us are triglycerides, which can also causes blood vessel and heart damage if levels are too high in our bodies. The level of cholesterol in your body is also subject to the amount of saturated fats and trans-fats that are found in your daily diet. Diets high in saturated and trans-fats also lead to blocked arteries and increase the risks of heart attacks. A high cholesterol reading puts your long-term health at risk.

Unfortunately, there's no way to tell if you have high cholesterol without getting a blood test done. Normal levels of cholesterol range between 200 and 239 mg/dL, though less than 200 is an optimum level. If your cholesterol is over 240 or over, it's considered high and your doctor will most certainly suggest you change both eating habits and diet. To break down your cholesterol reading even further, your cholesterol test will define your levels of HDL, remember the happy, good-for-you cholesterol. Optimum levels of HDL should be between 40 and 60. Anything below 40 isn't healthy, but a reading of 60 or over indicates that your levels of HDL are doing a great job protecting your heart. The other reading, for triglycerides, includes all the 'bad' cholesterol. A reading of less than 150 mg/dL is considered within normal range. Readings from 150-199 are considered borderline and anything within 200-499 are considered high. Triglyceride readings of 500 or above are considered high cholesterol risk.

So if you can't feel it or see it, how do you get your high cholesterol readings down to optimum levels? Change your eating habits. Wean away from the high-fat foods like fast food take out, especially French fries. Add more red meat, vegetables and poultry to your diet. This doesn't mean you can't enjoy an occasional burger and fries, just not every day. A high cholesterol level leads to irreversible damage in blood vessels and arteries. While that burger lunch sure may taste good, your arteries are groaning. Take charge of your health by getting your high cholesterol level down and under control.

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