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Whats Up With Hdl Cholesterol
Author: Julia Carmichael
Article:
Not all cholesterol is created equal. Does this seem like a
strange statement? While it may seem strange, it is true. Not
all types of cholesterol are the same. Your body creates some
cholesterol; you add some to your body by the foods you eat.
Also, medical experts consider some cholesterol bad while they
think that you also have good cholesterol. What, good
cholesterol? With all the negative publicity we hear each day
about cholesterol, how can you believe that any form of this
substance is good?
To understand how expert can call one cholesterol good, you must
first understand the role of cholesterol in the body. Since the
body naturally produces this substance, it makes sense the body
needs this substance to survive. Cholesterol's main role in the
body is to preserve and build cell wall membranes. Cholesterol
also aids in digesting fat soluble vitamins and is important in
producing hormones.
So, as you see, cholesterol is a substance the body needs for it
to be healthy. Cholesterol becomes bad when there is a surplus
of it in our systems either because our body produces too much
of the substance or when we take in too much cholesterol though
the foods we eat. This excess cholesterol can build up in the
blood vessels, clogging arteries and causing heart disease and
heart attack.
This is the point where doctors begin to distinguish between
good and bad cholesterol. Medical researchers refer to good
cholesterol as high density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol,
while they term bad cholesterol as low-density lipoprotein or
LDL cholesterol. You can also call HDL cholesterol good
cholesterol, because the medical practitioners believe that your
bodily processes work to transport this cholesterol out of the
body. This is good because it does not stick around to plug up
your arteries. Meanwhile, it is LDL cholesterol that builds up
in the arteries and causes heart disease.
Therefore, if you want to avoid heart disease, your goal should
be to raise your good cholesterol levels and lower the bad
cholesterol levels. What, then, is the ideal good cholesterol
level? Doctors want your good cholesterol to be above 50 mg/DL.
Any reading between 35 and 50 mg/DL they consider acceptable
while they look at those below 35 mg/DL to be too low.
Now, what can you do if you find your good cholesterol level is
too low? What are the best ways to raise it? Here are a few
things to try. First, lose some weight. If you are overweight,
this change can drastically help improve cholesterol levels.
Join a weight loss program to help you reduce your weight.
Exercise can also help to raise your HDL level. If you smoke,
quitting can also help to raise levels of good cholesterol.
As you can see, all cholesterol is indeed not created equal. By
increasing your good cholesterol, you can cut your risk of heart
disease and stroke. Several lifestyle changes, such as losing
weight and giving up smoking, can help improve your levels of
this good cholesterol.
About the author:
Get the latest in HDL cholesterol know how from the only true
source at http://www.lowercholesterollog.com. Check out our
cholesterol pages.
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