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This article could possibly be the most important one that you will ever read, in fact - it could save your life! Did you know that many people have no idea what their cholesterol level is and yet it is the number one cause of heart disease? Letting this condition go untreated can lead to other medical conditions such as heart attacks and even strokes, both of which can be lethal.
If you don’t know what your cholesterol level is and especially if you have a habit of not eating properly, if you smoke and don’t regularly exercise, your first step should be to get a medical check-up and request that your physician give you a test to check your cholesterol levels.
The recommended method of lowering your cholesterol level is to eat a low fat, balanced diet, limiting your saturated fatty acids to a maximum of 10 percent of your total daily caloric intake. These types of fatty acids are found in such foods as milk, cheese, beef and pork - among others. In many cases, by following such a diet and making sure to cut down on eating “red meats”, combined with a regular exercise program - high cholesterol can be controlled.
Daily exercise is something that is vital with which to combine the low fat diet in combating high cholesterol. If diet and exercise alone do not lower cholesterol levels, it is likely that your doctor will want to put you on medication to help lower and control your cholesterol. Should it be necessary to be on medication, taking it as prescribed (on a regular basis) - along with diet and exercise most always puts your cholesterol levels to where they should be.
You have followed the low fat diet, exercised regularly and your cholesterol is now under control. What should you now do? If your total cholesterol is less than 200, according to the American Heart Association - you should have it tested again within five years (of course, you should continue to eat right and exercise and also advised is to manage the stress levels in your life).
If your cholesterol is between 200 and 239, you should be tested every year or two. For those with cholesterol levels which are greater than 240, your doctor will most likely order additional tests and keep you under his care so that, working together, you can lower your cholesterol to a healthy and safe level.
Other things recommended to help control this condition are: to stop smoking (this is proven to lower your good HDL) and to start a walking program - as walking is one of the best forms of exercise for you. If you are over-weight it can benefit you in two ways. The number one way being, is that it is exercise which for that fact alone can help to lower it and number two is that if you are over-weight, losing the excess weight can also help to lower cholesterol levels. Eat healthy, exercise regularly and stop smoking - see your physician regularly for a longer and healthier life!
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