September – Cholesterol Awareness
megabeln
Posts: 36 Member
We do all we can to keep gunk, goo, and sludge out of our drains, rain gutters, garbage cans, and cars engines. Hours are spent trying to prevent the build-up and removing what has already creeped in.
Many of us seldom give a thought to our arteries. We assume they can take care of themselves. While we are trying to remove the gunk from our possessions, we are pouring more damaging substances into our own bodies, as though the person with the most clogged arteries is going to win a prize.
September is Cholesterol Awareness Month. This is conveniently scheduled before a season known for overeating. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, and New Year’s all fall after September. Each of these events include numerous hours spent planning and preparing foods such as candy, pies, cookies, stuffing, and mashed potatoes with gravy. Not only do the fall months bring holiday foods, the changing of the seasons to the cooler fall months make it easier to pack on pounds that can be conveniently hidden under bulky winter clothing.
Cholesterol is the substance that builds up in our arteries when we eat excessive amounts of holiday foods, put on too much weight, and don’t exercise enough. Small amounts of cholesterol are fine, they help keep things moving, but the body doesn’t have a way to dispose of excess cholesterol that can build up on the interior walls of our arteries, clogging blood flow. That blood carries oxygen throughout the body to important organs like the brain and heart. High cholesterol increases your risk for cardiovascular disease.
Know Your Numbers
How many numbers do you have memorized? Perhaps you know your social security number, important passwords, or a credit card number. Important numbers are usually easy for us to remember; your cholesterol numbers are among the important numbers you should know.
Most doctors will run a blood test during your annual physical that will include a cholesterol test. This test produces four important numbers: your overall cholesterol level, your HDL (“good” cholesterol), your LDL (“bad” cholesterol), and your triglyceride levels. Pay attention to the numbers, as high cholesterol doesn’t advertise itself with symptoms. Often, the first symptom of high cholesterol is a heart attack.
• Total cholesterol of under 200 mg/dL is good, 200 to 239 is borderline, and above 240 is concerning.
• LDL (“bad” cholesterol) of less than 100 mg/dL is optimal, 100-129 is near optimal, 130-129 is borderline high and 160-189 is considered high.
• HDL (“good” cholesterol) of over 60 mg/dL is good, 40-59 is borderline, and less than 40 is not good.
• Triglycerides levels less than 150 mg/dL are good, 150-199 are borderline, and 200 or higher is scary.
What Causes High Cholesterol?
Your numbers are caused, in part, by things you can’t control—like heredity (high cholesterol runs in families) gender, and age. These make the things you can control that much more important:
• Diet – Saturated fat and cholesterol (fat from animal products) in your diet make cholesterol rise.
• Weight – Being overweight can increase cholesterol, while losing weight can lower LDL, raise HDL, and lower triglycerides.
• Exercise – Lack of exercise contributes to being overweight, while regular exercise can help lower the bad cholesterol and raise the good. Regular exercise, in this case, is 30 minutes of moderately vigorous exercise daily.
• Smoking – Smoking constricts your blood vessels, making any cholesterol build-up that much more serious. Smoking also increases bad cholesterol.
• Age and Gender – As women age, their cholesterol levels, especially the bad kind, tend to rise. As we age, it is more difficult to lose weight.
Lowering Your Cholesterol
Start by knowing your numbers, so you can be informed and prepared. People with numbers in an unfavorable range should try to do as much as possible to lower their total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides, while raising their HDL.
• For adults, at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity daily and for those aged 6-17, at least one hour of physical activity each day.
• Maintain a healthy weight - Moderately active females need about 2,000 calories a day and moderately active males need about 2,400 maintain a healthy weight. If you are trying to lose weight, decrease this number by roughly 500 calories per day.
• Don't smoke.
• Eat foods high in fiber and nutrients and low in saturated fat and cholesterol.
So what can you eat? Changing your diet to lower your cholesterol isn’t hard; incorporating a few new, relatively painless habits into your routine can make a big difference. As long as your numbers aren’t in the unfavorable range, you don’t necessarily have to swear off cheeseburgers and French fries forever, but they shouldn’t be part of your regular diet.
Here are some quick and easy cooking tips that will help you lower the cholesterol in your food:
• Use lean cuts of meat with little visible fat. For beef, use the round, chuck, sirloin, or loin; for pork, use the tenderloin or loin chop; for lamb, use cuts from the leg, arm, and loin.
• Purchase “choice” or “select” grades, which have less fat than “prime” does. Use lean or extra-lean ground beef.
• Broil rather than pan-fry your hamburger, lamb chops, pork chops, and steak.
• Place meat on a wire rack to allow fat to drain when cooking. Instead of basting with drippings, keep meat moist with wine, fruit juices, or an acceptable oil-based marinade.
• Prepare stews, boiled meat, and soup stock in advance, refrigerate overnight, then remove the hardened fat from the top.
• Remove skin from chicken and turkey before cooking or eating.
• Limit processed meats like sausage, bologna, salami, and hot dogs. They tend to be high in calories, saturated fat, and sodium.
• Limit organ meats like liver, sweetbreads, kidney, and brains, which are very high in cholesterol.
• Eat broiled, baked, grilled, or boiled seafood. These are lower in total fat and saturated fat than most meat and poultry.
• Cook vegetables in a little vegetable oil and add herbs instead of butter.
• Make cream sauces, soups, mashed potatoes, and scalloped potatoes with low-fat or non-fat milk.
• Use canola, safflower, sunflower, soybean, or olive oil instead of butter, lard, and shortening.
• Substitute egg whites for whole eggs. The cholesterol in eggs comes from the yolks.
• Replace the oil in muffins, cookies, and cakes with pureed fruits or veggies.
• Replace the breadcrumbs in your meatloaf with uncooked oatmeal.
• Use brown rice instead of white rice, and try whole-grain pasta.
With these diet and lifestyle changes your cholesterol will decrease, allowing your blood to flow freely through your arteries, bathing your heart and brain in oxygen.
Many of us seldom give a thought to our arteries. We assume they can take care of themselves. While we are trying to remove the gunk from our possessions, we are pouring more damaging substances into our own bodies, as though the person with the most clogged arteries is going to win a prize.
September is Cholesterol Awareness Month. This is conveniently scheduled before a season known for overeating. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, and New Year’s all fall after September. Each of these events include numerous hours spent planning and preparing foods such as candy, pies, cookies, stuffing, and mashed potatoes with gravy. Not only do the fall months bring holiday foods, the changing of the seasons to the cooler fall months make it easier to pack on pounds that can be conveniently hidden under bulky winter clothing.
Cholesterol is the substance that builds up in our arteries when we eat excessive amounts of holiday foods, put on too much weight, and don’t exercise enough. Small amounts of cholesterol are fine, they help keep things moving, but the body doesn’t have a way to dispose of excess cholesterol that can build up on the interior walls of our arteries, clogging blood flow. That blood carries oxygen throughout the body to important organs like the brain and heart. High cholesterol increases your risk for cardiovascular disease.
Know Your Numbers
How many numbers do you have memorized? Perhaps you know your social security number, important passwords, or a credit card number. Important numbers are usually easy for us to remember; your cholesterol numbers are among the important numbers you should know.
Most doctors will run a blood test during your annual physical that will include a cholesterol test. This test produces four important numbers: your overall cholesterol level, your HDL (“good” cholesterol), your LDL (“bad” cholesterol), and your triglyceride levels. Pay attention to the numbers, as high cholesterol doesn’t advertise itself with symptoms. Often, the first symptom of high cholesterol is a heart attack.
• Total cholesterol of under 200 mg/dL is good, 200 to 239 is borderline, and above 240 is concerning.
• LDL (“bad” cholesterol) of less than 100 mg/dL is optimal, 100-129 is near optimal, 130-129 is borderline high and 160-189 is considered high.
• HDL (“good” cholesterol) of over 60 mg/dL is good, 40-59 is borderline, and less than 40 is not good.
• Triglycerides levels less than 150 mg/dL are good, 150-199 are borderline, and 200 or higher is scary.
What Causes High Cholesterol?
Your numbers are caused, in part, by things you can’t control—like heredity (high cholesterol runs in families) gender, and age. These make the things you can control that much more important:
• Diet – Saturated fat and cholesterol (fat from animal products) in your diet make cholesterol rise.
• Weight – Being overweight can increase cholesterol, while losing weight can lower LDL, raise HDL, and lower triglycerides.
• Exercise – Lack of exercise contributes to being overweight, while regular exercise can help lower the bad cholesterol and raise the good. Regular exercise, in this case, is 30 minutes of moderately vigorous exercise daily.
• Smoking – Smoking constricts your blood vessels, making any cholesterol build-up that much more serious. Smoking also increases bad cholesterol.
• Age and Gender – As women age, their cholesterol levels, especially the bad kind, tend to rise. As we age, it is more difficult to lose weight.
Lowering Your Cholesterol
Start by knowing your numbers, so you can be informed and prepared. People with numbers in an unfavorable range should try to do as much as possible to lower their total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides, while raising their HDL.
• For adults, at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity daily and for those aged 6-17, at least one hour of physical activity each day.
• Maintain a healthy weight - Moderately active females need about 2,000 calories a day and moderately active males need about 2,400 maintain a healthy weight. If you are trying to lose weight, decrease this number by roughly 500 calories per day.
• Don't smoke.
• Eat foods high in fiber and nutrients and low in saturated fat and cholesterol.
So what can you eat? Changing your diet to lower your cholesterol isn’t hard; incorporating a few new, relatively painless habits into your routine can make a big difference. As long as your numbers aren’t in the unfavorable range, you don’t necessarily have to swear off cheeseburgers and French fries forever, but they shouldn’t be part of your regular diet.
Here are some quick and easy cooking tips that will help you lower the cholesterol in your food:
• Use lean cuts of meat with little visible fat. For beef, use the round, chuck, sirloin, or loin; for pork, use the tenderloin or loin chop; for lamb, use cuts from the leg, arm, and loin.
• Purchase “choice” or “select” grades, which have less fat than “prime” does. Use lean or extra-lean ground beef.
• Broil rather than pan-fry your hamburger, lamb chops, pork chops, and steak.
• Place meat on a wire rack to allow fat to drain when cooking. Instead of basting with drippings, keep meat moist with wine, fruit juices, or an acceptable oil-based marinade.
• Prepare stews, boiled meat, and soup stock in advance, refrigerate overnight, then remove the hardened fat from the top.
• Remove skin from chicken and turkey before cooking or eating.
• Limit processed meats like sausage, bologna, salami, and hot dogs. They tend to be high in calories, saturated fat, and sodium.
• Limit organ meats like liver, sweetbreads, kidney, and brains, which are very high in cholesterol.
• Eat broiled, baked, grilled, or boiled seafood. These are lower in total fat and saturated fat than most meat and poultry.
• Cook vegetables in a little vegetable oil and add herbs instead of butter.
• Make cream sauces, soups, mashed potatoes, and scalloped potatoes with low-fat or non-fat milk.
• Use canola, safflower, sunflower, soybean, or olive oil instead of butter, lard, and shortening.
• Substitute egg whites for whole eggs. The cholesterol in eggs comes from the yolks.
• Replace the oil in muffins, cookies, and cakes with pureed fruits or veggies.
• Replace the breadcrumbs in your meatloaf with uncooked oatmeal.
• Use brown rice instead of white rice, and try whole-grain pasta.
With these diet and lifestyle changes your cholesterol will decrease, allowing your blood to flow freely through your arteries, bathing your heart and brain in oxygen.
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