CHOLESTEROL

   If you are a health care professional or any knowledgeable other worker We all know You heard the word Cholesterol at some point of time in your life.

   Here simple explanation about Cholesterol and how much it costs to your health and daily life.

I collected this info from Textbooks and Certified Official sites.Trust me this is accurate.

    

1. What is CHOLESTEROL?

Cholesterol is a fatty substance which is made in the liver. It’s found in some foods too. We all need some cholesterol in our bodies just to keep us ticking over but having too much cholesterol can clog up your arteries and lead to health problems in the future.

1. Fats and Cholesterol are not same.Both are Lipids but not same.
2. Fat can be exercised off and burned for energy and cholesterol cant be exercised off.

• There are 2 main types in Cholesterol

                 1.HDL(Good cholesterol)

                 2.LDL(Bad cholesterol)

• Both can be found in blood only not in foods.Blood test measures the amount of each type of cholesterol

2. Normal levels of Serum cholesterol

Total cholesterol levels less than 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) are considered desirable for adults. A reading between 200 and 239 mg/dL is considered borderline high and a reading of 240 mg/dL and above is considered high.

                             

Serum cholesterol levels includes HDL LDL and Triglycerides.

3. Normal levels of HDL and LDL

• LDL cholesterol levels should be less than 100 mg/dL. Levels of 100 to 129 mg/dL are acceptable for people with no health issues but may be of more concern for those with heart disease or heart disease risk factors. A reading of 130 to 159 mg/dL is borderline high and 160 to 189 mg/dL is high. A reading of 190 mg/dL or higher is considered very high.
• HDL levels should be kept higher. A reading of less than 40 mg/dL is considered a major risk factor for heart disease. A reading from 41 mg/dL to 59 mg/dL is considered borderline low. The optimal reading for HDL levels is of 60 mg/dL or higher.

4. Uses and Risks of Cholesterol

     These are important functions, all dependent on the presence of cholesterol.

• In our bodies, cholesterol serves three main purposes:It aids in the production of sex hormones.(Steroid harmones)
• It’s a building block for human tissues.
• It assists in bile production in the liver.(Bile is used for digestion and absorbtion of fats and fat soluble vitamins)

You should know Too much of a good thing isn’t good at all.

Why LDL is bad?

LDL is known as the “bad” cholesterol because too much of it can lead to hardening of arteries.

According to the American Heart Association, LDL leads to plaque accumulation on the walls of your arteries. When this plaque builds up, it can cause two separate, and equally bad, issues.

First, it can narrow the blood vessels, straining the flow of oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. Second, it can lead to blood clots, which can break loose and block the flow of blood, causing a heart attack or stroke.

                        

Why HDL is good?

HDL helps keep your cardiovascular system healthy. It actually aids in the removal of LDL from the arteries.

It carries the bad cholesterol back to the liver, where it’s broken down and eliminated from the body.

High levels of HDL have also been shown to protect against stroke and heart attack, while low HDL has been shown to increase those risks.

Finally what about TRIGLYCERIDES?

Triglyceride is another type of fat in your blood. Like cholesterol, too much is a bad thing. But experts are still unclear on the specifics of these fats.

High triglycerides usually accompany high cholesterol and are associated with an increased risk of heart disease. But it isn’t clear if high triglycerides are a risk factor.

  5. RISK factors that induce High Cholesterol levels in your body

• Poor diet. Eating Saturated fat found in animal products and Trans fats found in some commercially baked cookies and crackers and microwave popcorn, can raise your cholesterol level. Foods that are high in cholesterol, such as red meat and full-fat dairy products, will also increase your cholesterol.
• Obesity. Having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater puts you at risk of high cholesterol.
• Lack of exercise. Exercise helps boost your body's HDL, or "good," cholesterol while increasing the size of the particles that make up your LDL, or "bad," cholesterol, which makes it less harmful.
• Smoking. Cigarette smoking damages the walls of your blood vessels, making them more prone to accumulate fatty deposits. Smoking might also lower your level of HDL, or "good," cholesterol.
• Age. Because your body's chemistry changes as you age, your risk of high cholesterol climbs. For instance, as you age, your liver becomes less able to remove LDL cholesterol.
• Diabetes. High blood sugar contributes to higher levels of a dangerous cholesterol called very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and lower HDL cholesterol. High blood sugar also damages the lining of your arteries.

6. How does cholesterol clog up your arteries?

If you have too much cholesterol in your blood, it can be laid down in the walls of your arteries. Fatty areas known as plaques can form, and these become harder with time, making the arteries stiffer and narrower. This process is called atherosclerosis.

• Narrowed arteries

When the arteries become narrower, it’s harder for blood to flow through them. This puts a strain on your heart because it has to work harder to pump blood around your body. Eventually, the heart can become weak and can’t work as well as it should.

• Blood clots

Blood clots can form over the fatty, hardened parts of the arteries. The blood clots can block the artery completely, cutting off the blood flow. Bits of the blood clots can break away and become lodged in an artery or vein in another part of the body, which can cause a heart attack or stroke.

7. Complications of Hypercholesterolaemia(High Cholesterol Levels)

High cholesterol can cause a dangerous accumulation of cholesterol and other deposits on the walls of your arteries (atherosclerosis). These deposits (plaques) can reduce blood flow through your arteries, which can cause complications, such as:

• Coronary heart disease (coronary artery disease)

This is where the arteries have become clogged up and stiff with atherosclerosis. The blood can’t flow around the body and back to the heart easily and blood clots can form. This can lead to chest pain, heart failure, heart attacks and strokes.

• Angina (chest pain)

This is a dull, heavy or tight pain in the chest which can spread to the left arm, neck, jaw or back. It happens when the arteries leading to the heart have become narrowed and the heart doesn’t get enough oxygen. The pain can be brought on by exercise, as the heart needs more oxygen.

• A heart attack

This is a medical emergency. It happens when an artery leading to the heart becomes completely blocked, often by a blood clot, cutting off the blood supply. Part of the heart muscle quickly dies, but if it’s treated very early the blockage can be removed.

The signs of a heart attack include:

• a crushing pain in the chest
• sweating
• shortness of breath
• feeling or being sick
• feeling weak or faint
• Heart failure

This is not the same as a heart attack. Heart failure usually happens when the heart has to work too hard to force blood around your body. To start with heart muscle gets bigger to cope with the extra effort, but eventually it becomes too weak and can’t push blood around your body.

It doesn’t mean your heart is about to stop working but it can cause serious problems including breathing problems – as the blood can’t flow around your lungs easily.

• Stroke

This is a medical emergency. It happens when an artery in or leading to the brain becomes blocked, cutting off the blood supply. Part of the brain dies which can cause disabilities. Getting treatment straight away can lower the risk of long-term problems afterwards.

The signs include:

• the face droops on one side
• slurred speech or being unable to talk
• weakness in the arms or not being able to lift them.
• Mini strokes (TIAs)

Blocked blood vessels can also cause mini strokes known as TIAs (transient ischaemic attack). These are temporary, and the signs of a stroke pass within 24 hours, usually after a few minutes. Mini strokes are a warning sign that you could have a full stroke.

See your doctor straight away if you think you have had a TIA so that you can get treatment and support to prevent a stroke.

• Peripheral arterial disease (PAD)

This is when one or more of the arteries leading to the legs and feet become blocked or narrowed, so not enough blood can reach them. This can make your feet feel cold and painful, especially when walking. It can be hard to walk, and the worst-case scenario is that the foot needs to be amputated.

• Vascular dementia

There are different types of dementia, and the second most common type is vascular dementia. It can cause problems with memory, thinking and talking. It’s caused by problems with the blood supply to the brain – either by a stroke or mini strokes, or because the blood vessels in the brain have become too narrow.

                                       

8. Treatment

You should know that prevention is better than cure.

Change your life style and food habitates before its hitting your health.

Before going to choose what to eat and what not to eat you should know about Fats

Types of fat

Aim to eat a diet that promotes low levels of bad cholesterol and high levels of good cholesterol. Fat intake affects this balance because fatty acids bind to liver cells and regulate the production of cholesterol.

Pay attention not only to quantities of fat in the diet, but also to which types are entering the body. Each form of fat influences cholesterol levels differently:

• Saturated fats: These mostly occur in meat and dairy products. They instruct the liver to produce more bad cholesterol.
• Unsaturated fats: These are more common in fish, plants, nuts, seeds, beans, and vegetable oils. Certain unsaturated fats can help increase the rate at which the liver reabsorbs and breaks down bad cholesterol.
• Trans fats: These are solidified vegetable oils. Manufacturers normally use an artificial process called hydrogenation to produce them. Fried food, baked goods, and packaged foods often contain trans fats.

The American Heart Association (AHA), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agree that the most effective dietary approach to cutting blood cholesterol is choosing foods that contain Unsaturated fats over those that contain Saturated or Trans fats.

• Unsaturated(PUFA and MUFA) fats are healthy.
• Avoid Saturated fats and Trans fats.
• Trans fats not only increase levels of bad cholesterol, but they also lower levels of good cholesterol. For this reason, they are the most harmful fats.
• The participants who cut their saturated fat intake by 5 percent and replaced it with polyunsaturated fats had significantly fewer incidences of coronary illness or coronary-related death.
• The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fats – which are found in butter, cheese, red meat and other animal-based foods. It can raise your “bad” cholesterol and put you at higher risk for heart disease.

How to identify Which content is  more in food?

You can identify what are ingredients  in your food as below

                                          

Many foods contain some amount of saturated fatty acids..So you should mainly Aim for Low Saturated fatty acids Zero Trans fats and high amount of Unsaturated fatty acids like Poly unsaturated fatty acids(PUFA) and Mono unsaturated fatty acids(MUFA).

Foods to Avoid

The AHA advise reducing saturated fat intake to no more than 6 percent of the total daily calories.

 They suggest limiting the following foods to achieve this:

• Fatty beef
• Lamb(mutton)
• Pork
• Poultry with skin
• Lard(Pig fat) and shortening
• Dairy products made from whole or reduced-fat milk
• Saturated vegetable oils, such as coconut oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil

Avoiding trans fats is also important. Foods to stay away from include:

• Packaged cookies, cakes, donuts, and pastries
• Potato chips and crackers
• Fried foods
• Bakery goods that contain shortening(solid fat at room temperature)
• Buttered popcorn
• Any products that contain partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated vegetable oils

Foods that contain cholesterol and may be best avoided include:

• Red meat
• Bacon(pork)
• Organ meats, such as kidney and liver

Foods to include

It is important to note that a completely fat-free diet can also be harmful because it would deplete the levels of good carbohydrates, impair normal nerve and brain function, and possibly increase inflammation.

Choosing healthful fats can help lower bad cholesterol levels while maintaining and in some cases increasing good cholesterol levels

Fiber is equally important for a healthy heart.

Fiber is present in two main forms: soluble and insoluble.

Insoluble fiber is important for digestive health.

Soluble fiber binds to cholesterol in the bloodstream and helps remove it through stool. This type of fiber has the added benefit of helping control blood sugar levels, as well.

Some cholesterol-friendly fiber options to consider include:

• Fatty fish, such as salmon, trout, albacore tuna, and sardines
• Nuts, seeds, and legumes
• Soya foods
• The skins of fruit
• Nontropical natural vegetable oils, such as olive oil, avocado oil, canola oil, and safflower oil
• Oats and oat bran, and ground flaxseeds, beans, barley, oranges, blueberries, and Brussels sprouts

Choose leaner cuts of meat(Cut all visible fat of meat before cooking),as well as low-fat or fat-free milk and yogurts.

Avoid nonfat cheese, as it is highly processed.

Lose extra weight and maintain healthy weight.

Quit smoking , Drink alcohol in moderation , Manage stress.

Exercise on most days of the week for at least 30 minutes.

NOTE: Take a moment of time to read below

1.Misconception: Many people assumes that Lean people does not have cholesterol. This is wrong A person with anybody type can have high cholesterol.

2.The National Cholesterol Education Program recommends adults age 20 years or older have a cholesterol test every five years. People who are at risk for heart attack may need to be checked more often.

3.Lipid profile test is a complete cholesterol test to measure good and bad cholesterol and triglycerides. You will have to fast before test for 12 hours.

4.VLDL(very low density lipoprotein) is a type of bad cholesterol. It contains highest amount of triglycerides. Normal VLDL levels are 2 to 30 mg/dl.

5.Oil with higher Smoke point considered as good oil cause they are better suited for cooking at high temperature.

6.Womens naturally have higher HDL cholesterol than man this is due to difference in the genes. During pregnancy both cholesterol triglyceride levels can significantly rise.

7.High cholesterol can be genetic(Familial hypercholesterolaemia) So you should be more cautious.

8.Men likely to have high cholesterol and heart attacks.

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