A person with high cholesterol, how is it dangerous? what level? what about  person with normal cholesterol?
817737
When you look at all the people in the U.S. who have died from clogged arteries I think you will say it is pretty important. The best way I have found to keep my cholesterol under control naturally is to Eat right, not diet but good for you foods that are fantastic. Check out the YOU on a diet menu at realage.com. I also take psyllium husk veg caps everyday, they are a natural fiber. When I first went to the Dr. for a heart work-up and blood work they said my cholesterol was way too high and wanted me to start some prescription drug for life. Well I am into natural so I went and found a product called red yeast rice and in 2 months my numbers went down 100 points..And there was no side effects at all!!\n\nOn high blood pressure and outbreak of blood vessel in the brain which is called a brain aneurysm. This is possible if you have a weak artery in the brain. I know many people who have had this happen to them. Also high blood pressure under stress (anger) can cause you to have a heart attack if your heart is clogged already. This happened to my Dad.\n\nI am into this stuff because in the last 2 years my father had 2 bad heart attacks in a weeks time and he has high blood pressure. And my mother has a brain aneurysm that thank God did not rupture. I don't know if we can talk back and forth here but if we can I will be happy to help you if I can. \n\nCheck into the natural stuff when it comes to your health. It is much better for you.
179780
My boyfriend had high cholesterol and I got his bad cholesterol down and his good cholesterol up.\n\nIt's not just what you eat but also what you don't eat.\n\nThere is no 'one' food that will lower it, you have to maintain a healthy and varied diet along with regular exercise. It is a slow process.\n\nMake sure you eat steamed fish and spinach.\n\nDo running, martial arts, aerobics, etc at least once a week to start with, building up to twice and then three times a week.\n\nDrink plenty of water. Pomegranate juice is VERY good in reducing cholesterol.\n\nGood Luck
217915
THe main problems here are a bit high LDL of 136 and a low HDL of 32.  For LDL, follow some of the above advice.  Stay away from fat and red meats as much as you can.  Fish oil is recommended as a great food supplement, and so is Benecol spread.  Both actually lower cholesterol and fish oil is particularly good.  Your LDL goal should be anywhere between 100-130, depending on your other risk factors.  As far as HDL is concerned, your goal should by 40.  The best thing to increase HDL is excercise, so careful excercise regimen would do you best.  Work with your health care professional on that and good luck!
748589
Nuts aren't harmful to those with high cholesterol... in fact they are beneficial.  However, they are potentially dangerous to those with high uric acid.\n\nA one-ounce serving of nuts contains between 160 and 200 calories, of which 80-90 percent comprises fat. Despite this high-fat content, the fat in nuts is primarily in the monounsaturated form. Monounsaturated fats, when substituted for saturated fat in the diet, can help reduce total and LDL, or "bad" cholesterol levels while maintaining the "good" cholesterol, HDL.\n\nOther added benefits of nuts are they are naturally cholesterol free, a good source of dietary fiber and protein, and contain a variety of heart disease-fighting vitamins and minerals like vitamin E (a potent antioxidant), folic acid, niacin, magnesium, vitamin B<sub>6, zinc, copper and potassium. Nuts also contain the nonessential amino acid arginine. Arginine is touted for it’s role in protecting the inner lining of the arterial walls, making them more pliable and less susceptible to atherogenesis. Lastly, nuts are a good source of healthful phytochemicals, biologically active plant chemicals with high antioxidant properties linked to prevention of coronary heart disease.\n\nBecause nuts are so calorically dense it is important to incorporate them into the diet sensibly. To avoid weight gain, substitute added nuts for food sources high in fat, specifically saturated fat. For example, top a salad with nuts instead of bacon bits and croutons. Proper serving size is also a must. Having a scale on-hand is your best bet, although not always practical. If a scale is not available, check the Nutrition Facts panel on the food label to locate the serving size. A one-ounce serving of nuts greatly differs.
730123
Your HDL and triglyceride numbers are very desireable.  It is recommended that your HDL, which is your good cholesterol, be more than 40, with normal ranges being between 40 and 60.  I would not be concerned with the HDL being over 60, since this is the good cholesterol which plays a vital role in keeping your LDL bad cholesterol in check.  It is recommended that tryglycerides be under 150, so this number is also very good.  However, your LDL bad cholesterol is pretty high.  It is recommended that this number be under 100 to be in a healthy range.  I would try diet to reduce it before I got on any medications.  There are those that will tell you that diet has little affect on cholesterol and that your numbers are what they are because of your genetic make up.  Although heredity does play a role, a healthy diet is equally significant and can usually keep cholesterol numbers within disired ranges if you are diligent regarding your dietary intake.  Lots of fruits and vegeatables, lean protien, a moderate amount of fish and nuts to provide omega 3 nutrients which have been shown to help with cholesterol numbers.  If after about 120 days of altering your diet I would consider taking a statin medication if your cholesterol numbers do not show significant improvement..  However, I highly recommend you try altering your diet first, as many statin medications have undesireable side effects.  \n\nI think the reason so many of us take statins is that people do not have the will power and dicipline to eat right.  Simple life style changes can put the stop to most diseases, but most people simply don't have the ability to make them and rely on our pharmaceutical industry to provide a pill for what ever ales them, when in fact they are empowered to heal themselves with life style changes if they simply had the dicipline to make them.
530884
I think it's great that you are so informed.  Why don't you make a search that shows up on your "my yahoo" page whenever anyone asks about cholesterol so you can educate people?  When you do a search, at the bottom there's a button that says "add to my yahoo".\nThere are a lot of stupid people in the world and they just want points for answering.  That's why people who know what they are talking about, like you, get frustrated and leave Answers.\nBTW, I'm morbidly obese and my cholesterol level is something like 130 which no one believes. I know it has nothing to do with diet!
250398
Not usually, but it can be possible with certain diseases. I'll explain how cholesterol builds in the arteries. When you have too much cholesterol in your body it floats around in your blood stream in little packages called LDL's. These are the packets full of cholesterol that other cells can pull inside when it needs to make something out of cholesterol. Every now and again some of the cholesterol can leave these packages (LDL) and float free in the blood stream. When they leave the LDL's they don't mix well with blood, so they percipitate on the blood vessel surfaces. This is the very reason we need LDL's to hold the cholesterol in place so it doesn't clog the vessels. Well we also have these other packages called HDL's. HDL's will roam around the blood and pick up free floating cholesterol from the walls of the vessels. That is why a high HDL count is good, it means you have a lot of scavenger's picking up loose cholesterol. Depending on your health you want to have a high HDL and low LDL count and this is what constitutes a good cholesterol.
766076
nope - they can be of total normal weight. High Cholesterol has two major reasons : What you eat and what you inherited, what is in your genes. \n\nOnce major source of Cholesterol is actually not what you eat but it is the body itself, it produces Cholesterol. There are some foods out there which trigger that production (saturated fats), others which absorb and remove it (fibers) and foods which add or not cholesterol. \n\nThere is lots of advice out there in books, on the web but it seems from a dietary standpoint the best is to\n1. Add a lot of fiber to your diet (Oatmeal bran, Psyllium, eat veggies, fruit....)\nFibers can absorb Cholesterol in the intestines and transport it out before it is going into the bloodstream. \n\n2. Change the diet to eat fish instead of meat. The different types of fat in fish improve the ratio of good cholesterol to bad in a posiitive way. Many say tha this ratio is more important than the total value. \n\n3. Reduce animal products  in your diet, reduce saturated fats (cream, whole milk, red meat, fat meat).  \n\n4. Then there are foods which have high cholesterol, avoid those: Eggs, shrimp, mussels, crab, lobster...\n\n5. And finally - work out regularly. \n\nAnd furthermore - there have been publications in the meantime about the fact that it is not necessarily High cholesterol levels what clogs arteries. It is rather an inflammation on the arterial inner walls and because of that cholesterol settles down there. Not sure how correct those studies are. \n\nHowever - the body needs some cholesterol and therefore it is able to produce it. \nMy boyfriend went on a choelsterol free diet (he even substituted all fish and meats with soy products). At  first the C- levels dropped and then they started rising again. \n\nAnd also interesting - once he added fish in his diet at least the ratio of good to bad cholesterol improved a lot. \n\nAnd as a last workd - if it is possible for you to drop your weight and your cholesterol with natural means then try by all means. The pills to treat it are not just expensive but also can have side effects and need to be taken a whole life long.
1186393
HDL the good stuff should be 59 or better\nLDL the bad stuff should be a 100 or less\nThese figures come  from my doctor.
534812
HDL, LDL, Triglycerides and Cholesterol are all different things that they are testing.  \n\nThe American Heart Association provides a set of guidelines for total (fasting) blood cholesterol levels and risk for heart disease[5]:\n\nLevel mg/dL Level mmol/L Interpretation \n<200 <5.2 Desirable level corresponding to lower risk for heart disease \n200-239 5.2-6.2 Borderline high risk \n>240 >6.2 High risk \n\nHowever, as today's testing methods determine LDL ("bad") and HDL ("good") cholesterol separately, this simplistic view has become somewhat outdated. The desirable LDL level is considered to be less than 100 mg/dL (2.6 mmol/L), although a newer target of <70 mg/dL can be considered in higher risk individuals based on some of the above-mentioned trials. A ratio of total cholesterol to HDL —another useful measure— of far less than 5:1 is thought to be healthier. Of note, typical LDL values for children before fatty streaks begin to develop is 35 mg/dL.\n\nPatients should be aware that most testing methods for LDL do not actually measure LDL in their blood, much less particle size. For cost reasons, LDL values have long been estimated using the Friedewald formula: [total cholesterol] − [total HDL] − 20% of the triglyceride value = estimated LDL.\n\nIncreasing clinical evidence has strongly supported the greater predictive value of more-sophisticated testing that directly measures both LDL and HDL particle concentrations and size, as opposed to the more usual estimates/measures of the total cholesterol carried within LDL particles or the total HDL concentration.
204783
Eat right, stay away from foods with high cholesterol and frozen/canned food. Maintain the balance of your daily meals
364895
I have the same...\n:-)\n\n\nWe create the cholesterol in our own bodies... diet is only effective if you are at the higher end of the 'normal range'... it is not much use if you are genetically predisposed to creating too much.\n\nIn my case it is a genetic thing - family is predisposed to creating too much cholesterol, and so I cannot control it with diet and have to take medication to attach to and remove the fats in the blood stream.\n\nHere are a couple of sites you may find helpful.\n\nGood Luck\n:-)
646280
It depends on what your cholesterol levels are and the ratio of HDL to LDL. It also depends on your genetics, do your parents have cholesterol problems, if so this will dictate your treatment plan. In general if you do have an elevated level of bad cholesterol and no family history then there are some steps you can take that may keep you off meds. First the fastest way to increase blood lipids is to eat saturated fats. So limit these to less than 10% of your total fat intake. Second you may want to increase your intake of soluble fiber as this will help eliminate cholesterol thru loss in the feces. Third you may want to investigate the use of natural cholesterol reducers like red yeast or beta sitosterols. By doing the natural things I mentioned it is not uncommon to reduce levels by as much as 15 to 20% and you will not risk liver damage.
508999
well supposedly at the beginning your cholesterol levels do get higher, but after a while they are improved over all..meaning ldl is low..and hdl is high..which what its supposed to be.....\nbut you should get checked on your cholesterol levels just to make sure!
191007
For some people, yes.  Cholesterol can be tricky.  Some people just are going to have high cholesterol no matter how carefully they watch what they eat.  But many can respond quite well to dietary and lifestyle changes.\n\nDiabetes--I've had my husband on cinnamon for about 3 months and it hasn't done a thing for him but a friend of his started taking at about the same time and says exactly the opposite.
996987
Normal LDL is 0-99 mg/dL\nNormal HDL is 40-59 mg/dL\nDon't foget to factor in the ratio units for risk factors.
421401
There is a book written by a doctor that says high cholesterol is not bad for you, in fact quite the opposite.\n\nPeople with low cholesterol commit suicide...so don't worry.\n\n                   The Cholesterol Myths        \n     by Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD\n\n\n    Espagnol                    Français                  Dansk               Svenska \n \n\nThe idea that too much animal fat and high cholesterol are dangerous to your heart and vessels is nothing but a myth. Here are some astonishing and frightening facts (see below) \n\n\n\n \nIf you think this is written by another internet crackpot, take a look at Dr. Ravnskov's credentials and the reviews of his book.   \nEvidence from the new cholesterol-lowering trial PROSPER, that statin treatment causes cancer \n\nNew Cholesterol Guidelines for converting healthy people into patients \n\nRead Dr. Ravnskov´s thought-provoking paper "High cholesterol may protect against infections and atherosclerosis" recently published in Quarterly Journal of Medicine, or choose the popular-scientific version The Benefits Of High Cholesterol, also available in Danish, Swedish and Italian\n\nDr. Ravnskov's most recent publication in English \n \nMany well-known scientists \nagree with Dr Ravnskov.  \n\nGo to\n\nTHINCS\n\nThe International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics\n\n \n \n \n  \n\nHere are the facts! Click on the blue arrows if you want the scientific evidence!\n\n 1  Cholesterol is not a deadly poison, but a substance vital to the cells of all mammals. There are no such things as good or bad cholesterol, but mental stress, physical activity and change of body weight may influence the level of blood cholesterol. A high cholesterol is not dangerous by itself, but may reflect an unhealthy condition, or it may be totally innocent. \n\n 2  A high blood cholesterol is said to promote atherosclerosis and thus also coronary heart disease. But many studies have shown that people whose blood cholesterol is low become just as atherosclerotic as people whose cholesterol is high. \n\n 3  Your body produces three to four times more cholesterol than you eat. The production of cholesterol increases when you eat little cholesterol and decreases when you eat much. This explains why the ”prudent” diet cannot lower cholesterol more than on average a few per cent. \n\n 4  There is no evidence that too much animal fat and cholesterol in the diet promotes atherosclerosis or heart attacks. For instance, more than twenty studies have shown that people who have had a heart attack haven't eaten more fat of any kind than other people, and degree of atherosclerosis at autopsy is unrelated with the diet. \n\n 5  The only effective way to lower cholesterol is with drugs, but neither heart mortality or total mortality have been improved with drugs the effect of which is cholesterol-lowering only. On the contrary, these drugs are dangerous to your health and may shorten your life. \n\n 6  The new cholesterol-lowering drugs, the statins, do prevent cardio-vascular disease, but this is due to other mechanisms than cholesterol-lowering. Unfortunately, they also stimulate cancer in rodents, disturb the functions of the muscles, the heart and the brain and pregnant women taking statins may give birth to children with malformations more severe than those seen after thalidomide. \n\n 7  Many of these facts have been presented in scientific journals and books for decades but are rarely told to the public by the proponents of the diet-heart idea.  \n\n 8  The reason why laymen, doctors and most scientists have been misled is because opposing and disagreeing results are systematically ignored or misquoted in the scientific press.   \n\n 9   The Benefits Of High Cholesterol \n\n \n \nDo you want to know more? Read Dr. Ravnskov's book "The Cholesterol Myths". This is an updated and greatly extended version of this site. In addition to the subjects mentioned above, you can read about