What Is High Cholesterol
Cholesterol is responsible for many things in the body that we take for granted. For instance, it strengthens the cells membranes and gives them rigidity. It is converted to vitamin D when the skin comes into contact with sun light. It acts as a transport for vitamins A and E, which are powerful anti-oxidants. However it can be harmful to the health when there is too much in the system. We only need an extra 20% of our total cholesterol from external sources (The liver is responsible for creating the rest). The external sources are animal products like meat and dairy products. Excess cholesterol may be made in the body if our diet is high in carbohydrates and fat. The American Heart Association gives the following guidelines about what is high cholesterol .
Total cholesterol :
240 mg/dl and above is considered to be high cholesterol. You risk heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases if you do not take measures to lower this number..
Total cholesterol indicates both LDL and HDL cholesterol readings.
LDL cholesterol is considered to be bad cholesterol because it tends to stick to the wall of the arteries which leads to atherosclerosis and eventually heart disease.
The advice on LDL cholestrol is :
160mg/dl to 189mg/dl is high
190mg/dl is very high
HDL cholesterol is termed good cholesterol because it helps transport excess cholesterol back to the liver where it is excreted.
The advice on HDL cholesterol is the higher the better. The low limit is 40mg/dl for men and 50mg/dl for women.
Improving these numbers is simply a matter of altering your diet and trying to exercise more often. In terms of diet, eat fresh food and less fat (eat low cholesterol meals). Take on moderate exercise to begin with and gradually build up to around 30 minutes a day. See your doctor before starting an exercise program.
Measures are in milligrams of cholesterol per deciliter of blood (mg/dl).
