A healthy cholesterol level is essential for the health of the heart and also to reduce the risks of developing a heart attack or stroke. Therefore, it is vital to know your cholesterol numbers. In fact, the American Heart Association strongly recommends everyone to above 20 years to check their cholesterol levels and other traditional risk factors once in four to six years.
Most of us believe that consuming fatty foods results in high cholesterol levels, but the truth is that majority of cholesterol produced by our own bodies. While the liver makes 75 percent of the cholesterol in the blood, the remaining 25 percent is obtained from food. When the levels are normal, cholesterol plays a vital role in facilitating the cells to function optimally. However, the cholesterol levels in over 100 million Americans are precariously high, Web MD reports.
So how does one know if his/ her cholesterol levels are high? Usually, no symptoms are associated with high cholesterol, but it harms the body. In due course, excessive cholesterol may result in plaque buildup in the arteries, a condition called atherosclerosis, which constricts the blood vessels thereby restricting blood circulation and perhaps triggering heart diseases. However, high cholesterol can be detected easily and it can be brought down to normal levels by various means.
In order to determine the cholesterol levels and whether they are posing a risk of heart disease, your physician will take various risk factors like age, family history, smoking and high blood pressure into account other. Subsequently, an individual will need to undergo a complete fasting lipoprotein profile test for total blood cholesterol (serum), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides, Heart.org reported.
Cholesterol ratio is calculated by dividing the total cholesterol by HDL cholesterol. For instance, when the total score of 200 is divided by an HDL score of 50, it yields a cholesterol ratio of 4 to 1. A cholesterol ratio of 4 to 1 or lower is considered to be healthy. The lower the ratio, the better it is for the heart. Although this figure helps to evaluate the risk of heart diseases, it does not suggest the treatment regimen. Hence, physicians evaluate total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol to decide on treatment.
Contrary to the common belief, cholesterol-rich foods such as eggs, shrimp, and lobster are not forbidden completely; as new studies show that the cholesterol consumed has a very small effect on blood cholesterol levels. However, there are some people whose blood levels soar after consuming eggs. However, for the majority, saturated fat and trans fats are far more worrying. In fact, a healthy individual should not consume more than 300 mg cholesterol in a day, while 200 mg is the daily limit for people at higher risk. Remember, one egg contains 186 mg of cholesterol.
Aside from these, there are several factors can lead to high blood cholesterol levels. They include a family history of high cholesterol, a diet rich in saturated fats and cholesterol, overweight and obesity, and becoming older.
