| Get a Healthy Start to the New Year
Tri-City Voice, January 23rd, 2007
Washington
Hospital
Doctor Urges Adults to Check
Cholesterol
Start the New Year right this
year by taking good care of your health.
Keeping cholesterol under control is a
big part of staying healthy, especially
as we get older.
"This is a good time to think
about your health,” said Dr. Steven
Curran, a family practice doctor and
medical director at Washington
Clinic/Newark and Washington Clinic/Warm
Springs. "A cholesterol check is an
important part of an annual physical,
especially for adults over age 45.
Elevated cholesterol is a major risk
factor for heart disease. Even if you
have a good diet, you can have high
cholesterol.”
The body actually needs
cholesterol for a number of important
functions, including digesting dietary
fats, making vitamin D and some
hormones, and building cell walls. But
too much cholesterol in the body can
lead to serious problems like heart
disease, the number one cause of death
in this country.
The bloodstream carries
cholesterol in particles called
lipoproteins, which act like cargo
trucks delivering cholesterol to various
parts of the body to be used, stored or
excreted. But too much of this
circulating cholesterol can injure
arteries, especially the coronary ones
that supply the heart. This leads to
accumulation of cholesterol-laden
"plaque” in vessel linings, a condition
called atherosclerosis.
The Difference Between Good
and Bad Cholesterol
The two most important types of
lipoproteins are high-density
lipoproteins (HDL) and low-density
lipoproteins (LDL). LDL is often called
"bad cholesterol” while HDL is often
called "good cholesterol” because of
their very different effects on the
body.
LDL or bad cholesterol is the
form in which cholesterol is carried
through the blood and is the main cause
of harmful fatty buildup in the
arteries. The risk of heart disease is
greatest when there are high levels of
LDL cholesterol in the blood.
HDL or good cholesterol carries
blood cholesterol back to the liver,
where it can be eliminated. HDL helps
prevent cholesterol buildup in blood
vessels. Low HDL levels increase heart
disease risk.
Cholesterol levels are measured
in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). The
National Cholesterol Education Program
Guidelines for adults without heart
disease are as follows:
Desirable blood cholesterol - total
blood cholesterol is less than 200 mg/dL
and LDL is lower than 130 mg/dL.
Borderline high cholesterol - total
blood cholesterol is between 200 and 239
mg/dL or LDL is 130 to 159 mg/dL.
High cholesterol - total blood
cholesterol is greater than 240 mg/dL or
LDL is 160 mg/dL or higher.
For people with heart disease, LDL above 100 mg/dL is too high. In
addition, an HDL level less than 35
mg/dL is considered low and increases
the risk of heart disease.
Eat Right and Exercise
One of the biggest causes of high LDL levels is eating too much saturated
fats, found mostly in animal products
such as meat, cheese and eggs, and
cholesterol, found only in animal
products. You should also stay away from
trans fatty acids or trans fat, an
artificial fat that can be found in
processed foods such as crackers and
baked goods.
"Studies show that trans fat is
very dangerous for the heart,” Curran
added. "The American Heart Association
recommends keeping saturated fats under
10 percent of daily calorie intake.
However, there is no safe recommendation
for trans fat. You should avoid it all
together.”
While high cholesterol can be
hereditary, there are many lifestyle
choices you can make to help keep
cholesterol levels under
control.
Eat a healthy diet. It’s
important to eat a diet low in fat and
high in nutrient-rich and
low-cholesterol foods such as fruits and
vegetables, whole grains, legumes and
fish.
Keep your weight in check. Excess
weight tends to increase blood
cholesterol levels.
Exercise regularly. While regular
physical activity may not lower LDL
levels, it may increase desirable HDL.
Moving your body also helps to keep your
weight down.
To learn more about cholesterol
and heart disease, visit
www.americanheart.org.
For more information about
Washington
Hospital and
its programs and services, visit
www.whhs.com.
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