September is Cholesterol Education Month

What is cholesterol?
Blood cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance made by your liver. Blood cholesterol is essential for good health. Your body needs it to perform important jobs, such as making hormones and digesting fatty foods. Your body makes all the blood cholesterol it needs, which is why experts recommend that people eat as little dietary cholesterol as possible while on a healthy eating plan.
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Dietary cholesterol is found in animal foods, including meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, and dairy products.
 
What do blood cholesterol numbers mean?
Cholesterol is measured in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). When you go to a health care professional to get your cholesterol checked, this test (also called a lipid panel or lipid profile) will usually check the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in your body.

• Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad” cholesterol. Having high levels of LDL cholesterol can lead to plaque buildup in your arteries and result in heart disease or stroke.
• High-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good” cholesterol. HDL is known as “good” cholesterol because high levels of it can lower your risk of heart disease and stroke.
• Triglycerides, a type of fat in your blood that your body uses for energy. The combination of high levels of triglycerides with low HDL cholesterol or high LDL cholesterol levels can increase your risk for heart attack and stroke.
• Total cholesterol, the total amount of cholesterol in your blood based on your HDL, LDL, and triglycerides numbers.

 
Did you know?

• 73.5 million American adults (31.7%) have high low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol.
• But fewer than 1 out of every 3 adults with high LDL cholesterol has the condition under control.
• High cholesterol has no symptoms, so you might not know that your cholesterol is too high – unless it’s measured by a doctor with a blood test.

 
While some risk factors – such as family history – may be out of your control, there are other ways to reduce or prevent high cholesterol, such as exercising, eating a healthy diet, not smoking and taking medication as prescribed. Adults age 20 and older should have their cholesterol levels checked every four to six years.
 
For more information please visit:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
American Heart Association