All over the world approximately 17 million people die from heart disease and the bad guy is usually cholesterol. Cholesterol is now being equated as strips of fat or oily substances and it has earned a very nasty public image because of how television presents it to the masses. But cholesterol is very important in the body because without it, we may not even be alive.
In a nutshell, cholesterol are fraternal twins, different and unique, each with their own agenda inside the body.
The first half is LDL or low density lipoprotein, best known as bad cholesterol. It is not really that bad because this protein helps in the distribution of cholesterol in the body which needs to help produce hormones and new cells. It gets nasty when this guy creates one big happy family of LDLs as this could mean increased carrying capacity of cholesterol in the body. In order to counter that, the better half of the twin set-up cleans up after his brother. In contrast, high density lipoproteins sweep the body’s arterial system from extra cholesterol. You can determine blood levels of both cholesterol types by a simple blood exam where you can check a Cholesterol Levels Chart to find out if you have the right balance in your body.
Normal cholesterol levels should be less than 200mg/dl. The higher you go from normal, the greater the risk for heart disease and stroke. As for LDL cholesterol levels chart, having an LDL reading of less than 130mg/dl is considered normal. In contrast, if you registered an HDL level of more than 60mg/dl in your standard HDL cholesterol levels chart then you have a lot of those micro machines working to get rid of excess cholesterol in your body. All these charts are a helpful guide in determining overall health and appropriate treatment and preventive measures.
As mentioned before, LDL is bad cholesterol if you have high levels of the stuff. Although it is important in the body, too much can be dangerous because this can lead to clogged arteries. Basically, you don’t want too much LDL in your body and in order to achieve that you have to practice moderation in your diet. Eat meat sparingly especially pork and beef. Butter should also be taken in small amounts although margarine is not much of a good substitute because it’s riddled with chemicals. Simply put, limiting fat intake is very important in having normal LDL levels.
In contrast, HDL should be plentiful in your body and eating the right foods will greatly help. Diet also plays a role in increasing the levels of this so called “good cholesterol”. Consuming foods rich in niacin can help increase the amount of HDL in the blood like eggs and dairy products. Also, consume plenty of fat, more specifically healthy ones like omega-3 usually found in peanuts and fish and monounsaturated fats commonly found in olive oil, canola oil and also avocadoes.
Combined with exercise, lifestyle changes like avoidance of smoking and a healthy diet, you can achieve a sense of yin and yang of your cholesterol in your body and achieve bodily and arterial zen.
