Do you know what your HDL & LDL cholesterol levels are, or where they should be? Maintaining healthy cholesterol levels is a cornerstone of health, but too often cholesterol goes unchecked and when left off balance can lead to serious health concerns. Whether you’re an on-the-go stay at home mom, or the family breadwinner ever-exhausted after a long day at the office, the hectic pace of modern life can make it nearly impossible to eat right. And as your doc will tell you, not eating the right foods in the right proportions can throw your cholesterol levels off track. The first step is to know your numbers, and how they compare to the healthy range recommended by health professionals.
Your doctor can perform a simple blood screening to test your HDL and LDL levels. You’ve probably heard of “good” cholesterol and “bad” cholesterol. Well, HDL, that’s the good one, and LDL, that’s the bad one. You want your HDL number to be high, and your LDL number to be low. Your doctor can recommend a target range your numbers should lie within.
If your LDL cholesterol is too high, the first step your doctor will recommend is to change your diet. Simply cutting back on take-out meals can make a big difference in lowering LDL cholesterol if your diet consists of a lot of fast food. Replacing fatty foods like burgers and fries is important as total fat intake affects cholesterol levels more than intake of cholesterol itself. So despite what grandma said, cholesterol-rich foods like eggs and shrimp aren’t the big enemy when it comes to managing cholesterol. While foods that are high in cholesterol should be eaten in moderation, they don’t need to be eliminated from your diet entirely. Saturated fats and trans fats are the big offenders when it comes to cholesterol, so anything you can do to eliminate them from your diet will be beneficial.
Replacing saturated and trans fats with healthier unsaturated fats, like those found in foods like fatty fishes, olive oil, and avocado, can not only help you reduce your LDL “bad” cholesterol, but can also help you raise your HDL “good” cholesterol. While it may sound counterintuitive, it’s important for HDL cholesterol to remain high. HDL (high-density lipoproteins) cholesterol actually helps your body remove bad LDL (low-density lipoprotein) from your blood stream.
For even the most disciplined of dieters, changing eating habits can be hard. And adhering to a strict diet alone may not be enough to reduce cholesterol levels into the healthy range. In such cases, doctors may prescribe Rx medication to help lower LDL cholesterol. While medicine may do what changes to diet cannot do alone, it’s important to eat right in conjunction with prescription treatment.
If bad cholesterol remains too high, it can result in greater risk of heart attack, stroke, and a myriad of other health concerns and diseases. If you have signs or symptoms of such a condition, consult a physician immediately. The best thing you can do to prevent cholesterol related health complications, is to be proactive, and manage your cholesterol levels before any sign of a problem.
