It is a known
medical fact that too much cholesterol causes many medical
problems...especially for seniors.
First of
all,
what is cholesterol?
It is a waxy compound, similar to fat, which belongs to a class of
molecules called steroids.
It is found naturally in many foods, in your
bloodstream, and in all the cells of your body. If you held cholesterol
in your hand,
it would probably feel like a soft, melted candle to you.
The bad part is, that cholesterol is something that can clog your
arteries, including the arteries in your heart. In addition,
cholesterol when out of control could cause massive heart attacks, a
stroke, or even a series of strokes.
If your body has too much cholesterol, or high cholesterol, it
isn’t good for you.
You have the power within
you, however, to take control.
Failing to take control only leads to problems. The problems will
accumulate and wear you down until finally abnormal aging takes your
life. You can gain control by regular exercise,
and by eating the right
foods. Visiting your doctor regularly is another way to work toward
healthy
aging. Your family doctor can
prescribe
medication to take to
help lower your cholesterol.
What can I
do
about my cholesterol?
When you have high cholesterol, it is important that you eat right and
exercise daily to help lower your cholesterol.
It will take some time
to get your cholesterol under control, but it will happen if you take
action now. However, remember that for some people, exercise
and diet will not be enough, and
cholesterol-lowering medication may be necessary as well.
If you are not yet in the "high cholesterol" category, are at the lower
end of the bad levels, or just want to do a little more to protect
yourself, you might try natural over-the-counter products such as
Hypercet
Cholesterol Product from HealthBuy.com
or the Cholesterol Reduction Product
from Shaklee.
You also want to take time out for yourself, finding fun activities,
socializing, or some sort of exercise to keep you active so you can
maintain your
cholesterol levels at a healthy, or at least healthier, level. Once
cholesterol is out of control in the body, you are in danger of
arteriosclerosis,
which used to be commonly called "hardening of the
arteries". This is a condition in which cholesterol begins to
build up on the walls of blood vessels, restricting blood flow and
robbing the veins and arteries of their natural flexibility which would
normally help keep blood pressure levels low.
If you lower your cholesterol
by taking action now you can avoid
strokes, heart attacks, and even death.
Chat with your doctor or do a little online research to learn more
about statins used to control cholesterol.
You should also avoid smoking to help lower your cholesterol. If you
are having trouble trying to quit smoking,
there are many products such
as Smoke Deter
which can help.
The long and short of it is that you can lower your risks of diabetes,
heart attack, and obesity and so on by controlling your cholesterol.
Keep in mind that when we discuss high cholesterol, things can get
confusing because there are LDL (low density lipoprotein), and HDL
(high density lipoprotein). The worst type is the LDL. HDL cholesterol
at higher levels is actually a good thing. HDL helps rid the body of
LDL which is the stuff that clogs arteries, can cause high blood
pressure, and makes you more susceptible to heart attack and stroke. If
LDL levels, combined with triglycerides, another type of fat in the
blood, increase, thus your chances of stroke or heart attacks are even
higher.
What kind
of
foods have cholesterol?
There is cholesterol in all foods in less it has cholesterol free on
the package. Some food has more in it then others. Like your
cooking oils and grease has a lot of cholesterol in it, some of your
bread has cholesterol. Eggs are very high cholesterol foods and so are
fatty meats and butters. You have to read the back of the packages to
determine
the level of cholesterol.
What can
happen
to me if my cholesterol is too high?
The only way that you can tell if your cholesterol is too high is to go
to your doctor and get a blood test. If you are going to your family
doctor like you are supposed to, you will have it checked regularly
anyway.
However, some of the things that can happen to you if it is high is
that your arteries will harden. This means your body is building fats
and too much cholesterol. The normal or average reading should be 140
or 130 over 200 mg/dl. If you can maintain this level, you will be ok.
If the LDL cholesterol level in your body gets too high, it "hardens"
the arteries. This means the blood will not flow through to the heart,
making it to have to pump at unnatural rates, working harder to keep
you alive.
High cholesterol levels can also lead to diabetes and other illnesses.
Blood
Pressure
and High Cholesterol
When the doctor takes your blood pressure,
you see two numbers as a
result. Now, there is actually a "range" of readings which can be
considered "normal" blood pressure. Also, normal, health
blood pressure can vary from individual to individual. Also,
because blood pressure reflects several different factors, such as
physical and mental stress, energy level, and health of the individual,
one person may have several different readings throughout a single
day. This is why doctors really like to see blood pressure
readings over time to help assess the health of the
individual.
The two numbers in a blood pressure reading are the "systolic" and
"diastolic" pressure. The systolic reading measures the pressure in the
arteries when the heart is pumping blook. The diastolic
pressure is what is measured when the heart is filling buck up for the
next pump, or beat. A high diastolic reading may indicate
high cholesterol build up blocking the ability of the heart to refill
its chambers. Additionally, arteries loaded with cholesterol
increase the pressure during the systolic cycle just as pressure builds
up in a garden hose being pinched.
Since the heart is not getting enough blood, and has to pump harder to
distribute the blood available to it, it has to work harder to do its
job. Additionally, when blood is not moving through the body,
it tends to pool, and this pooling can lead to clotting which can, in
turn, lead to heart attack or stroke.
By Donovan Baldwin
Health Products
Health and Beauty Store
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on Health and Beauty
