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…

If you have a high cholesterol, you can simply help to lower its level by eating and drinking some specific food :

A good start for breakfast :
1. Eat whole grains and oats – people whose diets contain the most whole grains “had the thinnest carotid artery walls and showed the slowest progression in artery wall thickness.”
2. Eat Blueberries – a compound in blueberries (pterostilbene) may help lower cholesterol as effectively as commercial drugs.

What you should eat at lunch/dinner:
3. Whatever you eat. Add extra virgin oil. Do a lot of salads !
Studies have shown that this type of olive oil increases the body’s levels of HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), which helps to reduce plaque buildup in the arteries
4. You can choose to alternate with Flaxseed oil – flaxseed oil can lower blood pressure in men with high cholesterol. In a three-month study of 59 middle-aged men, those who took daily flaxseed oil supplements (with eight grams of the omega-3 fats, alpha-linoleic acid) experienced significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
5. Eat avocados :26 of the 30 grams of fat in an avocado are heart-healthy, unsaturated fats that can increase your levels of HDL cholesterol
6. Eat olives : olives, and olive oil protect against heart disease and diabetes.
7.  Black soybeans – a study from the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture shows that black soybeans may help prevent obesity, lower LDL cholesterol, and reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes.
8.  Fish and Fish oil – a study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology found that people with type 2 diabetes who consumed high doses of fish oil over nine weeks lowered the size and concentration of several lipoprotein subclasses (cholesterol) in their bodies.
9.  Salmon and omega-3 fats: Omega-3s, found in fatty fish, like salmon, sardines, and anchovies, and in fortified eggs and soybeans, reduce nearly every risk factor for heart disease. They reduce inflammation, reduce high blood pressure, decrease triglycerides, help to make blood thinner and less likely to clot, and raise HDL cholesterol. And recent research suggests that omega-3s may also keep your brain sharp and possibly ward off dementia.
10. Plant sterols and stenols:
These are natural substances found in small amounts in the cell membrane of plants, including fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds. You can get the recommended two grams per day by eating fortified foods such as margarine spread, orange juice, and salad dressings, but these should only be eaten by people with high levels of LDL cholesterol.

What you can munch on
11.Eat (almost any) nuts !
Almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts. They are all known to lower cholesterol.
However, do limit your daily intake to one and a half ounces (which is about one and a half handfuls), since nuts are high in calories.

Dessert
12. Yogurt with live active cultures (probiotics) – Vicki Koenig, MS, RD, CDN said “several studies have shown that the probiotics Lactobacillus Acidophilus and Lactobacillus Reuteri actually help lower cholesterol. They work by preventing the reabsorption of cholesterol back in to the blood stream.”

What you should drink
13. Pomegranate juice – a National Academy of Sciences study showed that pomegranate juice reduces cholesterol plaque buildup and increases nitric oxide production (nitric oxide helps reduce arterial plaque).
14. 100% cranberry-grape juice – antioxidants in grape juice slow down LDL cholesterol oxidation, and cranberry juice raises HDL or “good” cholesterol.

Other considerations
You might be a person who is predisposed to high cholesterol, or maybe your diet could use a shape-up. Here are a few key points on cholesterol that I try to focus on:
LDL or “bad” cholesterol deposits itself on the walls of your arteries, forming plaques that make them hard and narrow. HDL or “good” cholesterol removes excess LDL in your blood and brings it to your liver for disposal. The more HDL you consume, the less LDL you’ll have in your blood.

You may need medication to help reduce your cholesterol, but eating a heart-healthy diet and getting exercise are very important.
Everyone should have their cholesterol checked-it doesn’t matter if you are young/old, female/male, or thin/overweight.