Do you know whether you are living a high cholesterol lifestyle?

Answer the following indicators truthfully:

The food you buy:

  • do you buy butter and other whole-fat dairy products such as whole milk and cheese?
  • do you eat a lot of steaks, chops and meats?
  • do you always eat the skin on chicken and the fat off meat.?

The way you live:

  • have you been putting off losing those extra pounds of weight?
  • do you make time to exercise regularly?
  • when have you had your cholesterol checked- has it been five years or more since your last test?

The food you eat:

  • do you eat a lot of fried food?
  • do you like food with gravy and sauces?
  • when eating out, do you choose food for taste, not your health?

So what if the above applies to you - you may asked.

Nothing great- just simply that you stand a higher chance of getting a heart disease. Just do not think that high blood cholesterol levels are limited to overweight people but can affect everyone. Even fit people can have a high cholesterol!

Here are some basic knowledge of cholesterol:

  • cholesterol is a fatty-like,waxy, yellowy substance that comes from two sources: blood/serum cholesterol manufactured mainly by the liver and dietary cholesterol.
  • blood/serum cholesterol is necessary to help carry fat to parts of the body that need it for energy and repairs or for storage
  • dietary cholesterol is absorbed from foods of animal origin like red meat, poultry, fish,cheese, eggs and milk. If a food comes from a source that walks or swims, it has cholesterol
  • the main influence on cholesterol is saturated fat ( found in animal foods such as dairy products and meat)
  • over a period of time cholesterol builds up in the walls of our arteries forming plaque. This plaque can eventually block arteries and rob the surrounding tissue of the oxygen and nutrients it needs to stay healthy. When this happens in the blood vessels leading to the heart, a heart attack can occur.