10 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT CHOLESTEROL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
10 Interesting Facts About Cholesterol You Need To Know About
Cholesterol has always been scary and you know it’s pretty bad. But what is it really about? In this article, Beauty and Tips takes a look at 10 interesting facts about cholesterol you need to know about.
Cholesterol is probably something you heard about when a family member was told they had too much of it. Too much cholesterol is bad news, and can lead to all kinds of health issues in the future. For one thing, it increases your chances of having heart disease. As such, it’s pretty darn important that you take the right steps to prevent your own cholesterol levels from getting too high. The thing is that a whopping 74,000,000 American adults currently have high cholesterol, which tells us a few things. Either people just aren’t aware of how dangerous too much cholesterol is, they aren’t educated on preventative measures – or they just don’t care. See, high cholesterol is often caused by our dietary choices. The junk we enjoy to eat usually isn’t good for us, and it can cause high cholesterol. Unfortunately, too many of us choose junk food over our health too often. Let’s take a look at 10 interesting facts about cholesterol you need to know about.
Love It Or Hate It – You Need Cholesterol
Okay, sure – cholesterol is bad. But that doesn’t mean you should try to live without it because we’ve got news for you – you can’t live without it.
There are in fact two types of cholesterol:
1) Good cholesterol
2) Bad cholesterol
While bad cholesterol is without a doubt the villain of the piece, good cholesterol is needed by our cells and hormones if they’re to function properly.
And we’re not talking about one or two cells and hormones – we’re talking about all of them.
The liver also needs cholesterol to help it produce the acids it uses to process fat.
You Need Cholesterol – But You Don’t Need To Consume It
So sure, we all need cholesterol. But we don’t have to consume it.
Our liver makes lots of cholesterol by itself – more than enough for us to survive on.
In fact, vegans don’t eat any cholesterol and they do perfectly okay as long as they stick to a good diet.
If you already have heart disease, or if your bad cholesterol levels are high, you should aim to get no more than 300mg of cholesterol a day – but much less if you can.
Smoking Raises Your Cholesterol
Smoking is bad for many reasons, but one reason it’s bad is that it raises your bad cholesterol levels.
It’s just another good reason to quit.
Too Many Of Us Have High Cholesterol
The exact stat is one out of 3 adults has high cholesterol. That’s way too many.
According to the CDC, anyone over the age of twenty years old should get their cholesterol checked every five years. All it takes is a simple blood test to do this.
Simple enough – but currently only 75% of us bother to get it checked.
Are we too apathetic? Are we scared?
There is nothing to be scared of. Cholesterol doesn’t tell you that you’re sick and are going to die soon – it tells you that you could become sick unless you make changes.
Usually this involves changes to your diet, as well as ways of managing stress.
Cholesterol Can Be Genetic
Many people assume that all high cholesterol is either caused by a poor diet, a lack of exercise, stress – or all three.
However, high cholesterol is sometimes in the genes.
In fact, it isn’t sometimes in the gens – most of the time it’s genetic.
According to research, as much as 75% of a persons high cholesterol levels is genetic, while 25% is down to lifestyle choices, such as a poor diet.
This means that, no matter how hard a person tries, they won’t always be able to lower all of their high cholesterol.
High Cholesterol Comes Without Any Symptoms
Unlike most ailments, cholesterol displays no symptoms whatsoever.
This puts a person at a huge risk of stroke or heart disease.
As such, it’s important that you visit your doctor every four years for a check-up.
Kids Can Have High Cholesterol
We know what you’re thinking.
“SAVE THE CHILDREN!”
But it’s true – kids can have high cholesterol.
In fact, more kids than ever have high cholesterol due to a poor diet, as well as genetics.
Plaque doesn’t take long to build up in our arteries if our diet is poor, and it continues into adulthood unless there are changes to what we eat.
The easiest way to make sure your kids don’t get saddled with high cholesterol is to put them on a healthy, well-balanced diet full of fruit, vegetables and grains.
Just A Bit Of Weight Loss Can Improve Your Cholesterol Levels
It doesn’t have to be a case of you going on a massive weight loss mission to improve your cholesterol levels. In fact, you can improve them by shedding just a smidgen of weight.
For those who are overweight, shedding 5% of their total body weight is enough to boost their cholesterol levels.
These Are The Normal Cholesterol Levels
Is your cholesterol too high? The only way to find out is by paying a visitor to the doctor, and it’s recommended that you get your cholesterol checked every four years.
According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, 200mg/dL or lower is a normal cholesterol level. 239mg/dL is borderline, while 240mg/dL and higher is too high.
You Still Need To Eat Fats
A lot of people get scared off fats when they get told their cholesterol levels are borderline or too high. But fats are an essential micronutrient that you still need to eat.
There are two types of fat, good and bad. The good thats – which are also known as unsaturated fats – come from the likes of avocado, seeds and nuts, and they help to lower bad cholesterol levels.
Stay happy and healthy!
from Beauty And Tips Magazine
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