Knowing Your Risks For High Cholesterol Problems

If you are concerned about high cholesterol, it is helpful to know how you get it and the risk factors to watch out for. That way, if your cholesterol is good, you will know what to avoid, and if your cholesterol is already high, you will know what you can do to bring it back down.

Your Family

One of the first things you need to look at is your family's health. High cholesterol is often genetic, so if your parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, or other family members have a problem with high cholesterol, you could be at risk as well. This alone could be enough of a reason to have annual cholesterol levels drawn.

Your Food

Once you have looked at genetics, another major contributor to high cholesterol is the food that you eat. Unfortunately, many of our favorite foods are high in saturated fat and cholesterol, which will not help your personal cholesterol levels any. Saturated fat is the main culprit, though cholesterol plays a role as well. Animal products like meat and dairy are often the main sources, though some oils can also be high in saturated fats. Another problem with foods can be the amount of trans fats that are included. These are foods that are produced using vegetable oils. You will often find trans fats in snack foods and baked goods. Like saturated fats, trans fats can raise your cholesterol levels.

On the flip side, some foods can also help you with your cholesterol levels, and not all fats are bad. Monounsaturated fats are found in canola, olive, and peanut oils. These oils can actually help your body fight LDL cholesterol, which in turn reduces your risk for heart disease. Polyunsaturated fats are also in some oils, like sunflower and corn oil, and may be found in seafood. These also help to lower your LDL cholesterol, and some, like the oils found in fish, are thought to help raise your "good" cholesterol levels.

Other factors

Family and diet are not the only contributors to high cholesterol, though they are often the main factors. Other factors that affect your cholesterol levels include:

* Weight – the more overweight you are, the more likely you are to have high LDL cholesterol as well (though not every overweight person has high cholesterol, nor is every person with high cholesterol overweight). For some patients, losing weight helps them to lower bad cholesterol and triglycerides and raise good cholesterol levels.

* Exercise – Exercise has been shown to raise HDL cholesterol levels and lower LDL cholesterol levels. It also can help strengthen your heart to reduce your risk of heart attacks, and help you to lose weight.

* Age/Gender – Younger women are less likely than younger men to have cholesterol problems, though post-menopausal women are more likely to have cholesterol problems. Men and women over the age of 50 are both at an increased risk of complications due to high cholesterol.

* Alcohol – Alcohol is a mixed blessing when it comes to cholesterol. One drink a day can boost HDL cholesterol and keep arteries from getting stiff with age. However, alcohol does nothing to fight the bad LDL cholesterol, and drinking too much alcohol can raise triglyceride levels and damage the heart and liver.

* Stress – Long-term stress can cause numerous health problems, including high cholesterol. It is not proven how influential stress is to cholesterol levels, as many people who are stressed also have a tendency to have other unhealthy habits such as avoiding exercise and overindulging in fatty foods.

Recommended Reading

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