: Understanding Cholesterol Levels and Decrease the Risk of Heart Attacks and Stokes by: Claire Bowes Fact: heart disease claims about Â½ million lives in America per year high cholesterol levels play a significant

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Understanding Cholesterol Levels and Decrease the Risk of Heart Attacks and Stokes

by: Claire Bowes

Fact:

heart disease claims about Â½ million lives in America per year
high cholesterol levels play a significant role in heart disease
studies show if you lower cholesterol levels, the risk of heart disease is reduced by up-to 40%

What is Cholesterol?
Before we go into how to reduce your cholesterol, let's take a look at what exactly cholesterol is.
Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is produced by the liver and its job is to:-

produce bile acids to help with the digestion of fat
build and repair cells and
produce estrogen and testosterone hormones

Therefore cholesterol is an important function of the body, but too much cholesterol in the body becomes a risk as it can clog up arteries and this can be the cause of heart attacks and strokes.
Cholesterol Symptoms
It is surprising to learn that there are virtually no symptoms to diagnose if you have high cholesterol. High cholesterol is normally identified by a blood test.
However, if you are having health issues such as coronary disease, vascular disease or stroke, then this could be the end result of high cholesterol levels in your body.
Symptoms of:

Coronary Disease

Angina
Chest pains
Nausea
Shortness of breath

Vascular Disease

A tightening sensation in the lower extremities
Ulcers or open sores on the lower extremities

Stroke

loss of balance and dizziness
slurring of speech and difficulty in understanding
numbing sensation of the face, arm or leg
this can be a sudden event with little or no warning

People who are overweight and do no exercise at all tend to be the ones with higher cholesterol levels.
Therefore, it is recommended that you have a cholesterol blood test every three years if you are overweight and every 5 years if you are a normal healthy weight.
How to Lower Cholesterol
If your blood test shows that your cholesterol levels are too high, then you should take immediate measures to help lower your cholesterol. Your doctor will advise you on the best course of action, but initially it is the norm for you to follow a low cholesterol diet.
A low cholesterol diet is normally a diet which is low in saturated fat and will include eating:-

skinless poultry
lean meats
fish and shellfish
low fat dairy products
fruit
vegetables
whole grain foods

Cook your food by either

grilling
baking
steaming
boiling
poaching
microwave

Do not fry your food in lard or oil.
Your doctor also might prescribe you with a cholesterol lowering medication if he/she feels that the low cholesterol diet will not be enough.