Understanding Cholesterol

Cholesterol refers to the amount of fat in your blood. It is made up of several elements. Most often, people talk about two of these—high-density lipoprotein (HDL or good cholesterol) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL or bad cholesterol).

Understanding the two can help people keep their cholesterol below 200, the dividing line between high and low cholesterol, says Candy Steele, a cardiac rehabilitation nurse at Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, Iowa (pop. 68,747).

LDL causes plaque to build up inside the arteries, she explains. LDL of more than 130 is considered high; below 100 is best. HDL helps carry cholesterol away from the arteries. HDL of more than 40 is believed to help prevent heart attacks and reduce plaque.

“Decreasing your LDL is about diet,” Steele says. “I’m talking about reducing saturated fats from your diet. At the same time, increasing your intake of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that are found in olive, canola, and grape seed oil can help increase HDL.” Eliminating transfatty acids, found in the types of fats in fast food and some commercial baked goods, also is important to keeping LDLs and overall cholesterol low.

An important way to increase HDL is to build regular, physician-approved exercise into your day. “Some exercise is better than none, so look for opportunities to exercise in short, frequent bouts throughout your day,” Steele suggests, explaining that regular activity is believed to move fat out of the body. The goal is 30 minutes four to five times a week.”

Staying active and changing life-long eating habits is hard, Steele acknowledges. “The best way to make real change is to look at your eating habits and pick one thing, make a change and stick with it for a while, then make another,” she says.

Practical suggestions include shifting from grilled cheese on white bread to turkey on whole wheat, or moving from whole milk to skim. Hooked on fast food? Opt for salads with dressing on the side instead of a burger and fries.

Even with these changes, some people need cholesterol-lowering drugs, but for most, “There is no magic bullet. It’s about eating right and exercise,” Steele says, “not about eating at McDonald’s.”

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