Useful tips, advice and suggestions to lower cholesterol.
March 15th, 2008 Scott
What You Need To Know About Cholesterol
By Kathryn Soloff
Lipid disorder is the term used by doctors for high blood cholesterol and triglycerides.
Lipid disorder happens when you have high levels of fatty substances in your blood.
Cholesterol and triglycerides are these fatty substances.
Lipid disorders actually increase your risk for both atherosclerosis and heart disease.
It is not unusual for high cholesterol to be hereditary. High cholesterol is also associated
with:
1/ High fat diets
2/ Diseases including diabetes, hypothyroidism and kidney problems
3/ Various medications that include birth control pills, estrogen, corticosteroids, some diuretics
and beta blockers
4/ Certain lifestyle factors that include lack of activity and al abuse
When you combine smoking with high cholesterol you put yourself at greater risk for
heart disease.
Also, as a rule, lipid disorders are usually more common with men rather than women.
The tests used to diagnose lipid disorders include:
a- Lipoprotein Test
b- Lipoproteina Analysis
c- HDL Test
d- LDL Test
The type of treatment you receive will depend on your age, back round & whether or not you smoke.
Other risk factors taken into consideration include:
* Diabetes
* Problems with high blood pressure
* If you have a family history of heart disease
There are, of course, steps that you can take to reduce high cholesterol levels. This in turn will help to prevent problems with your heart and the risk of a heart attack. The following are some of the
thing that you can do:
1- Eat a diet that is low in saturated fat. Include whole grains, beans, vegetables and fruit in your diet.
2- Establish a regular exercise routine and stick to it.
3- Obviously, if you are overweight, lose it.
4- Quit smoking.
5- Reduce your alcohol intake.
6- See your doctor for regular cholesterol screenings.
If lifestyle changes alone do not significantly reduce your cholesterol, your doctor will
very likely recommend medication.
The most commonly prescribed medicine for high cholesterol are statins. The drugs are
very successful in reducing high cholesterol levels in a relatively short period of time (about
two months). The down side if that they can present with some very harmful side effects.
Another alternative is to use natural herbs. The right herbs can be very mild and effective.
The down side is that they may take up to six months to work because they are so mild.
The benefit however is that there is no harmful side effects.
If you discover that you have high cholesterol you will have to continue with your diet changes
and whatever treatment you choose for the rest of your life. By reducing your high cholesterol
you will slow the progression of atherosclerosis. With the right dietary changes, this process
can ever be reversed.
Learn More About What You Need To Know About Cholesterol.Kathryn Soloff is the co-publisher of
http://cholest-pure.com/ where she provides additional advice, tips and hard to find information on
How To Lower Your Cholesterol.
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March 13th, 2008 Scott
How To Lower Your Cholesterol
By Kathryn Soloff
Everybody talks about cholesterol. Do you really know what it is (besides
being bad for you)?
Well, cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance. It is found in all of the parts of
your body. Your body makes cholesterol. Cholesterol also comes from the
food that we eat.
The truth is that you need cholesterol in order for your system to work.
However, too much cholesterol, or the wrong type of cholesterol clogs
your arteries. This, naturally, leads to heart disease.
One of the functions of cholesterol is that it aids the body to produce
the following: hormones, vitamin D and also, bile acid. It circulates
through the blood to be used by your entire system.
In your food, cholesterol can be found in eggs, dairy, and both meat and
poultry. Eggs and organ meats are especially high in cholesterol. As a
rule there is less to be found in fish. However, some shellfish is also high
in cholesterol.
Vegetable quality foods such as grains, beans, nuts, seeds, vegetables and
fruit do not contain cholesterol.
Believe it or not, the fat content of a particular food is not an adequate measure
of its cholesterol content. Liver is low in fat but is high in cholesterol.
A simple rule of thumb is that as your level of cholesterol goes up, the risk of
developing atherosclerosis and/or heart problems increases significantly.
A scary statistic is that more than half of the adults have cholesterol levels that
are higher than they should be. It is not uncommon for high cholesterol to begin
in childhood. It is believed that some children are at higher risk because of
family history. This is only partly true. What is more true is that we pass our
eating habits onto our children, thus increasing the chance of having high
cholesterol levels.
In order to lower our cholesterol levels to a healthy level, there are some lifestyle
changes that we can adopt.
1/ Change your diet. Eat more grains and vegetable quality foods. Especially
include more fiber in your diet.
Many people find that changing their diet is not enough. This is when the doctor
prescribes medication to help.
I do not believe that this is true. What is happening is that these people are
not changing their diets enough. Having high cholesterol does not happen all
by itself. It is the result of what we eat and our lifestyle.
Exercise is equally important. When you exercise, you increase your energy
requirements. This will dramatically help to lower your cholesterol.
Finally, if that is not enough, you can try using Chinese herbs. The Chinese
have been using herbs successfully for thousands of years.
Chinese herbs are, compared to conventional medicine, very mild, safe and
effective. They can assist you in the transition from an unhealthy lifestyle
to a healthy one.
Whatever course of action that you decide on, do it now. High cholesterol
is a serious health risk without any apparent outward symptoms. It is crucial
to take the necessary steps to eliminate this health risk.
Learn How To Lower Your Cholesterol .
Kathryn Soloff is the co-publisher of http://cholest-pure.com where she provides additional advice, tips and hard to find information on How To Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally.
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March 11th, 2008 Scott
By Kathryn Soloff
Many people suffer from high cholesterol.
Heart disease has become the leading cause of death in the United States.
It has surpassed cancer as the leading cause of death.
High cholesterol is considered one of the risk factors for heart disease.
Interestingly enough, there are no symptoms associated with high cholesterol.
The best way to find out if you have high cholesterol is by having a blood test.
Finding out that your cholesterol is high may come as a shock because you may
otherwise feel perfectly fine.
Even though there are no outward signs associated with high cholesterol, it is
the one risk factor for heart disease that can most easily be modified.
Once you discover that you have high cholesterol there are some steps that you
can take to improve you situation considerably.
The first thing that you can do is to modify your diet. Some people have very
good results with this alone. For others it seems as if changing their diet is
simply not enough.
At this point, your doctor will very likely prescribe some medicine. Conventional
medicine is very successful in lowering your cholesterol in a relatively short period
of time.
The problem here is that there are harmful side effects associated with taking this
medication. There are healthful alternatives.
It is important to consider that having high cholesterol does not happen all by itself.
The food that we eat and our lack of exercise are not contributing factors, they are
the only factors. (Heredity does not count. We can change our
blood quality merely by changing our lifestyle.)
The next thing that we can do is to increase our activity by exercising. By adopting
a daily exercise routing we increase our energy requirements. This additional activity
will help to lower your cholesterol naturally.
For those who find that diet and exercise are not enough, there are Chinese herbs.
The traditional practice of Chinese medicine heavily relies upon herbs. Using Chinese
herbs produces remarkable results when it comes to lowering cholesterol.
Chinese herbs are all natural, extremely mild, very safe and effective.
Because these herbs are so mild, they do not produce any harmful side effects.
It is precisely for this reason that Chinese herbs will take months to work effectively.
Conventional medicine works relatively quick (about 2 months), but is harsh and jars
the system. Blood tests are often required every 6 months to make sure that there
is no liver damage.
You may not outwardly see the benefits from the herbs immediately, but they do not
jar or shock your system. As a matter of fact, they will actually improve your liver
function in about 2 months. This can be verified with a simple blood test.
If you are presently taking medication and/or are under a physician’s care, please
consult with your doctor first.
Keep in mind that there is a simple and safe alternative for treating your high
cholesterol.
Learn How To Lower Cholesterol Naturally
Kathryn Soloff is co-publisher of
http://www.cholest-pure.com/ where she provides additional advice, tips and hard to find information on Lower Cholesterol Naturally.
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March 10th, 2008 Scott
How To Lower Cholesterol Naturally
By Kathryn Soloff
High cholesterol is a health problem for a great many people.
Here are some ways to lower your cholesterol naturally.
1-Regulate Your Diet: Avoid or limit foods that contain high levels of cholesterol. Eat more whole grains, vegetables & fruit.
You want a diet that contains soluble fiber. This is found in whole grains and beans. Fruits and vegetables consist of
insoluble fiber. The soluble fiber in grains and beans binds with the cholesterol. It then removes it from your system.
On the other hand, the insoluble fiber found in vegetables and fruits adds bulk to your stools. This in turn will make
you more regular. Of course, this is equally important.
It is important to limit or avoid animal quality foods. Cholesterol is the most common in animal tissue, not plants.
2-Improve Your Lifestyle: Exercise can promote the metabolism of fats.
It is unbelievable how many ways that exercise benefits us. You often read about implementing exercise as an integral
part of any weight loss program. The truth is it is extremely helpful with a wide variety of health issues.
By exercising, you increase your energy requirements. This in turn will lower your cholesterol naturally.
3-Chinese Herbs: The practices of traditional Chinese medicine that incorporates the use of herbs produces outstanding results in the treatment
of lowing cholesterol.
The proper use of Chinese herbs produces a treatment that is all natural, mild, safe and effective.
Unlike conventional medicine, Chinese herbs that are used to lower cholesterol are extremely mild.
The good side to this is that they do not cause harmful side effects.
The down side is that they apparently takes months to work.
Notice that I said “apparently takes months to work”. The truth is that the herbs begin to work
immediately. But they do not jar or shock the system. The change is both gradual and steady.
Also, Chinese herbs will, unlike conventional medicine, improve liver function.
Improved liver function will be noticeable within a couple of months. This can be verified with
a blood test.
If you are presently taking medication and/or are under a physician’s care, please consult with
your doctor first.
Kathryn Soloff is the co-publisher of http://www.cholest-pure.com/
where she provides additional advice, tips and hard to find information on
How To Lower Cholesterol Naturally.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathryn_Soloff
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Lower-Cholesterol-Naturally&id=1030537
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March 9th, 2008 Scott
Cholesterol
Also called: HDL, Hypercholesterolemia, Hyperlipidemia, Hyperlipoproteinemia, LDL
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that occurs naturally in all parts of the body. Your body needs some cholesterol to work properly. But if you have too much in your blood, it can stick to the walls of your arteries. This is called plaque. Plaque can narrow your arteries or even block them.
High levels of cholesterol in the blood can increase your risk of heart disease. Your cholesterol levels tend to rise as you get older. There are usually no signs or symptoms that you have high blood cholesterol, but it can be detected with a blood test. You are likely to have high cholesterol if members of your family have it, if you are overweight or if you eat a lot of fatty foods.
You can lower your cholesterol by exercising more and eating more fruits and vegetables. You also may need to take medicine to lower your cholesterol.
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