What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is one of the fats found in our bodies, important for the structure of our cells, hormones and producing energy. The amount of cholesterol in our body depends mainly on how it is metabolized in our liver but can also be affected by the foods we eat. The ideal total cholesterol level in our blood should be below 6.0 mmol/L.
There are two types of cholesterol:
- ‘Good’ cholesterol, or HDL cholesterol, protects against heart disease as it ‘mops’ up cholesterol found in our tissues and brings it back to the liver.
- ‘Bad’ LDL cholesterol carries cholesterol from the liver to the cells which may cause a harmful build up of cholesterol in the cells. This can clog up our arteries causing atherosclerosis (plaque formation) and can lead to heart disease.
High cholesterol and heart disease
Too much cholesterol in our blood can lead to narrowing and hardening of the arteries which greatly increases the risk of heart disease.
The scary statistics are that in this country someone has a heart attack every 2 minutes. The figures from British Heart Foundation also show that almost half of deaths from coronary heart disease in both men and women are due to a raised blood cholesterol level (in this case greater than 5.2mmol/L). It is thought that one in ten deaths from heart disease in the UK could be avoided if everyone in the population had a blood cholesterol level of less than 6.5mmol/L.
Causes of high cholesterol include…
- Family history and race—Afro-Caribbean and Asian people have higher cholesterol than caucasian.
- Smoking
- Being physically inactive
- Being overweight or obese
- Having diabetes mellitus
- Drinking too much alcohol
Symptoms of high cholesterol
One of the big problems with high cholesterol is that it never causes symptoms. This means it may go unnoticed until it causes one of its later complications such as a stroke or heart attack. Therefore, it is essential to get regular health checks to detect any rise in blood cholesterol. This way, treatment can be started before any complications arise.
Reducing your cholesterol
About 18% of men and 23% of women have dangerously high blood cholesterol levels, according to the British Heart Foundation. If you are one of these people it is not too late to fight back. The following tips will help you reduce your cholesterol to a safe level and help reduce your risk of heart disease:
- Get your cholesterol checked often. Know your family history when it comes to cholesterol to determine if you are at risk and monitor it as needed.
- Lower your dietary fat intake, particularly saturated fats which the body uses to make cholesterol. Substitute some fats with moderate amounts of mono-unsaturated fat which has be proven to help reduce cholesterol.
- Keep yourself at a healthy weight…lose weight if needed.
- Get extra dietary fibre. Fibre helps to lower blood cholesterol and also fills you up so you’ll eat less. Boost your fibre intake by enjoying your fruit and vegetables with the skins still on and eating plenty of wholegrain breads, oats and cereals.
- If you have high-cholesterol, consult your doctor. There are plenty of proven cholesterol-lowering medications available.
- Get exercising. Exercise raises the level of your HDL (good cholesterol), while lowering blood pressure.
- Quit smoking! Smoking causes the blood vessels to constrict and worsens conditions caused by excess cholesterol in the arteries.
For further information contact:
The British Heart Foundation
Tel: 08450 70 80 70
HEART UKTel: 08454505988
