Hdl vs Ldl
Saving Your Life: The Natural Way
You go to the doctor’s office to get your cholesterol checked and you are told that you have low cholesterol. You probably think that this is a good thing. What if I was to tell you that this is not a good thing? The low cholesterol that you have is your High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL). This is the good cholesterol. The one that protects against heart attack and low levels increase the risk of heart disease. It is also believed that HDL carries excess cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it is passed out the body (LDL and HDL Cholesterol: What 's Bad and What 's Good?). If you haven’t had this or you have never been told your cholesterol was too high than you are lucky. I unfortunately have a hereditary problem in which my HDL is low constantly. For me exercising and eating a good diet is a must. There is always the option of taking medication but I for one am not big on medication. The important thing is that you must change your lifestyle. If you don’t then it won’t matter how much medication you take (Cholesterol-lowering Medicines). But what is a normal number for your cholesterol to be? Your total cholesterol should be under 200 mg/dl (mg/dl stands for milligrams of cholesterol per deciliter of blood). For a normal male HDL should be 40 mg/dl. A woman should have a level of 50 mg/dl with anything lower than that increasing the risk of heart disease (What Are Normal Cholesterol Levels). Most people who heart attacks have an HDL level below 40 (Torelli 162). My HDL is approximately 28-30 mg/dl. So as you can see this is a bad thing for me because I have an increased risk for heart disease. If you were to look at yourself you are probably thinking I don’t eat out a lot, I exercise, and I feel good so that means that my cholesterol levels are good. Before I found out about this I would have agreed with you because I was the same way. I exercise about 3 times a week for 30
You go to the doctor’s office to get your cholesterol checked and you are told that you have low cholesterol. You probably think that this is a good thing. What if I was to tell you that this is not a good thing? The low cholesterol that you have is your High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL). This is the good cholesterol. The one that protects against heart attack and low levels increase the risk of heart disease. It is also believed that HDL carries excess cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it is passed out the body (LDL and HDL Cholesterol: What 's Bad and What 's Good?). If you haven’t had this or you have never been told your cholesterol was too high than you are lucky. I unfortunately have a hereditary problem in which my HDL is low constantly. For me exercising and eating a good diet is a must. There is always the option of taking medication but I for one am not big on medication. The important thing is that you must change your lifestyle. If you don’t then it won’t matter how much medication you take (Cholesterol-lowering Medicines). But what is a normal number for your cholesterol to be? Your total cholesterol should be under 200 mg/dl (mg/dl stands for milligrams of cholesterol per deciliter of blood). For a normal male HDL should be 40 mg/dl. A woman should have a level of 50 mg/dl with anything lower than that increasing the risk of heart disease (What Are Normal Cholesterol Levels). Most people who heart attacks have an HDL level below 40 (Torelli 162). My HDL is approximately 28-30 mg/dl. So as you can see this is a bad thing for me because I have an increased risk for heart disease. If you were to look at yourself you are probably thinking I don’t eat out a lot, I exercise, and I feel good so that means that my cholesterol levels are good. Before I found out about this I would have agreed with you because I was the same way. I exercise about 3 times a week for 30
Cited: "Cholesterol-lowering Medicines." FamilyDoctor.org. Nov. 2006. 28 July 2009 . Durstine, J. Larry PhD. Action Plan for High Cholesterol. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2006. Moll, Jennifer. "Is There a Link Between Exercise and Cholesterol?" About.com:Cholesterol. 14 Oct. 2008. 28 July 2009 . “Physical Activity & Public Health Guidelines.” American College of Sports Medicine. 2007. Pierson, Vicki R. “How Many Calories Does Your Body Need?” Fitness Partners. 2005.7 Aug 2009 < http://primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/weight/calsburned.htm>. Scholosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2001.