How To Achieve Normal Cholesterol Readings
If your doctor suspects that you may have high cholesterol (due to your weight, or various other reasons), a simple blood test will be able to show you whether or not his concerns were well founded and what types of treatments you should pursue, depending on how high your cholesterol levels are. Getting stuck by a needle for a blood draw may not be your most favorite thing in the world to do, but being diagnosed with heart disease because you refused a test, may make you wish you had! Going back periodically to see your physician after a high cholesterol reading is important. They will do subsequent blood draws to see if you have reached normal cholesterol readings yet, or if they need to adjust your medication.
When you get your cholesterol screening done, the lab technicians will be looking for two main things, your LDL (low density lipoproteins) levels, which is the “bad cholesterol” and your HDL (high density lipoproteins) levels, which is the “good” cholesterol in your body. Once they receive those readings, they will be able to tell what the LDL HDL ratio is. Ideally, you want your HDL level to be much higher than the LDL level. HDL’s work to protect the arteries leading to your heart and brain. They are constantly gathering the bad LDL cholesterol and depositing them into your liver, which then processes them and expels them from your body. The trouble is, when you have a higher level of LDL than HDL, it makes it extremely difficult for the HDL to keep up, thus the fat, waxy deposits begin to build up on the inside lining of the arteries, increasing your risk for heart disease, heart attacks and strokes.
So, what can you do about it? Well, for starters, stop eating food that is literally poisoning your body. Loading your plate with foods loaded with saturated fats and trans fats will not give you normal cholesterol readings. Whole grains, seeds, fruits, vegetables and lean meats will. When you are dining out, make sure to order food that doesn’t contain a lot of fat. Ask your server to tell the chef not to prepare your food with any butter or cream (2 culprits of high cholesterol). Ask for egg whites instead of the whole egg when ordering something for breakfast. Omit the fried bacon and opt for fresh fruit instead. If you are at a fast food restaurant, and you just have to have a hamburger, leave off the fatty mayonnaise and bacon and ask for lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and mustard instead.
Privacy Policy And Terms Of Use
|