Simply, many men and women are not aware of the risk factors for heart disease, especially when it comes to cholesterol.

About the risks

To put it bluntly, high cholesterol will cause your heart to fail. As an example  high cholesterol can cause anything from Diabetes to Heart failure.

For women, if you’re a middle-aged, 40 to 60, high cholesterol is the single most important risk factor for heart disease and heart attacks.

Evidence strongly indicates that high cholesterol levels can cause narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis), heart attacks and strokes. The risk of coronary heart disease also rises as the blood’s cholesterol level increases. If other risk factors, such as high blood pressure and smoking, are present, the risk increases even more.

Some background
Millions of British people get a diagnosis of high cholesterol every year. Cholesterol comes from two sources: your body and your food. Your liver (and to a smaller degree, your cells) makes about 75 percent of blood cholesterol. The remaining 25 percent comes from the foods you eat.

Cholesterol is divided into two main types. HDL, or high-density lipoprotein, is the “good” cholesterol because it helps to clear excess fats from the arteries. LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, is the bad cholesterol because it clogs the arteries, increasing a person’s risk for heart attack and stroke.

Women are particularly at risk in the premenopausal period. At First etrogen tends to raise HDL (good) cholesterol, but as estrogen drops during menopause, HDL levels drop too, and LDL levels rise. That’s why women need to know their cholesterol level.

In some people, improving diet and adding exercise can lower the overall number, but when lifestyle remains the same or people have a genetic predisposition for high cholesterol, medication is usually prescribed.

Cardiologists say many people think that because they are taking medication, they’re protected and don’t need to worry about their cholesterol level. That’s just not the case.

Know your cholesterol levels
So what are good cholesterol levels? Your overall cholesterol number should be under 200. If you have other risk factors — like smoking, high blood pressure or a family history of heart disease — your doctor may want it lower.

A good HDL level of 60 mg or greater is considered protective. LDL should be under 100 mg for those with no risk factors for heart disease and 70 mg for those at higher risk. But again, depending on your health and family history, your doctor may want different readings.

Natural recommendations to help lowering cholesterol
1. Keep your weight down, and cut down on calories, especially from saturated and trans fats, carbohydrates and alcohol. Even small amounts of alcohol can lead to large changes in triglyceride levels (although red wine may slightly bump up good cholesterol).
2. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and nonfat or low-fat dairy products. And add fish to your diet. Fish oil helps reduce cholesterol.
3. Get off the couch and get active. Even 30 minutes of moderate exercise, five days a week or more, can make a difference.

What you can do
The first step in fighting high cholesterol is simple: Get a blood test.
It is recommended that that everyone age 20 and older gets a reading of the “lipoprotein profile” every five years. It gives your doctor information about total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides, which are the main type of fat in blood.
If your numbers are unhealthy, your doctor can advise you on treatment. If you want to avoid medication and try to achieve healthy cholesterol numbers naturally.

Tomorrow i will follow up with a post of Cholesterol related illnesses…

Best Health published a simple article about the benefits of eating apples. Thought that was a good read for a Saturday!

Things to note about apples
1. Over the list of the top 100 food containing anti-oxydants, two types of apples-Red Delicious and Granny Smith—ranked 12th and 13th respectively. One of the best aspect of detoxification is that it keeps your liver healthy.
2. Apple and other fruits do fight against aging in the brain hence fighting against Alzheimer’s disease
3. Some research also shows that people who eat fruits and other high-fibre foods gain a certain amount of protection against Parkinson’s disease
4. Several compounds inside apples help fight against cancer : the American Association for Cancer Research states that the consumption of flavonol-rich apples could help reduce your risk of developing pancreatic cancer by up to 23 per cent. But to benefit from this you have to eat the skin of the apples which contains the cancer reducing components
5. Apples fight against diabetes, a study shows that Women who eat at least one apple a day are 28 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes
6. Apples are rich in soluble fibre which acts against blood sugar swings
7. Also the fibers inside the apple binds with fats in the intestine and this translates into lower cholesterol levels. Lower cholesterol level means a reduced risk of forming gallstones.
8. Also, fibers do fight against constipation and irritable bowel syndrome
9. Fibers make you feel full and help you control your food intake
10. Only red apples contain quercetin, a particular type of anti-oxydant which fortifies your immune system.
11. Some studies have shown that eating antioxidants often can help reduce the risk of developing cataracts