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Friday, 10 July 2009 17:17 |
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Knowing your risk factors will help reduce or prevent high cholesterol if you make changes.
GeneticWhat you inherit from your parents could influence your cholesterol levels. If there is Familial hypercholesterolemia (high lipid levels in the blood) in your family (1 in every 300 Australians) you will have a higher chance of arteriosclerosis and heart disease before 55 years of age. The risk can be reduced by medication and following a very low cholesterol diet under your doctor's supervision.
Medical conditionsLow thyroid function (hyperthyroidism), type 2 diabetes, obstructive liver disease, kidney disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome, stress and familial hypercholesterolemia can raise cholesterol levels.
And having a high cholesterol level could increase your risk of developing other medical conditions such as heart disease, angina, high blood pressure or stroke.
Heart disease is more prevalent if your grandfather, father, or brother developed heart disease before the age of 55 or your grandmother, mother, or sister before the age of 65.
MedicationsSome medications may cause cholesterol to increase including beta- blockers, diuretics (e.g. thiazides) and steroids. Have a talk to your doctor about what medications you take for other conditions and the possible consequences for your cholesterol.
What you eatA diet high in saturated fat and trans fatty acids add the most cholesterol to our bodies. Replacing these foods with polyunsaturated and monosaturated fats will lower cholesterol and triglycerides and raise HDL (good) cholesterol if you are overweight. Aim for a diet high in unsaturated fats nuts, avocados, vegetable oils,-sunflower, olive, corn, walnut and canola). Reduce saturated fats (pies, biscuits, cakes, sausages, butter, full cream dairy including hard cheese, coconut or palm oil) and increase soluble fibre with foods such as oats, beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas, fresh fruit and vegetables.
WeightKeeping your weight to within acceptable levels for your height and making sure you don’t carry extra fat around your tummy will help lower the risk for high cholesterol and other medical conditions such as heart disease.
Your total cholesterol level especially LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglyceride levels can be lowered and HDL (good) cholesterol increased if you lose excess weight.
Physical activityRegular exercise is important to maintain a healthy weight and will help lower triglycerides and raise HDL (good) cholesterol.
Age and genderAs we age, cholesterol levels rise but at different rates for men and women.
Men younger than 55 years generally have higher cholesterol than women. After menopause (around 60) women can expect a natural increase in cholesterol.
AlcoholHDL (good) cholesterol increases with moderate alcohol intake (1-2 drinks per day) but drinking too much alcohol damages the liver and heart which can put you at risk of high blood pressure and an increase in triglycerides.
StressResearch has linked stress to raised cholesterol levels and how you manage regularly stressful situations could determine whether your body increases natural cholesterol. As well people under stress often adopt unhealthy eating and drinking habits which also contributes to higher cholesterol.
SmokingIf you smoke or are exposed to passive smoking HDL (good) cholesterol is lowered but research points to no long term effects on your levels if you stop
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Last Updated on Friday, 10 July 2009 17:24 |
Cholesterol Prevention
