Bad Cholesterol?

Do you get your cholesterol levels checked? Did you know after the age of twenty you should get it checked every five years? I sure didn't! But there are ways to prevent high cholesterol. Having high cholesterol can play a huge role in the chance that you will get heart disease. Cholesterol build up can happen at such a slow pace that you can't tell the difference til it clogs up arteries and causes a heart attack or other related issues.

HDL levels, high density lipoprotein, which is "good" cholesterol should be 40 mg/dL or higher. LDL levels, low density lipoprotein, which is "bad" cholesterol should be 100 mg/dL or lower. You can get high cholesterol many different ways like it could be hereditary, or from what you eat, weight, stress, physical activity, age and sex. Men are more likely to have high cholesterol and then for it to lead to heart disease. Women after menopause have a greater risk than they did at a younger age bringing their ability to get high cholesterol to the same level as men.

To either lower your cholesterol level or keep it at a good level as you get older you should make sure to follow a few routines in your own lifestyle. Follow a diet with low saturated fat and trans-fat with exercise and don't smoke. Your doctor will tell you to get a prescription that you should use with the lifestyle changes. However, herbs have been used a lot longer than prescription drugs. You should look into these supplements:

• B vitamins
• Carnitine- increase HDL levels
• Chromium- reduce LDL levels and increase HDL levels
• CoEnzyme Q10- reduce total cholesterol
• Fiber-in food or by supplements, fiber binds to cholesterol in the small intestine preventing cholesterol to absorb into the bloodstream
• Garlic
• Grape Seed Extract- reduce total cholesterol levels
• Pantothine- increase HDL levels
• Red Yeast Rice
• Royal Jelly
• Soy- reduce total cholesterol levels
• Vitamin C- slightly reduces total cholesterol levels

There are also foods you should try to avoid like, butter, whole milk dairy products, cream cheese, cream, ice cream, duck and goose. If you are taking any other vitamins or supplements check to see what you are getting in those and what you need to add to your intake. Definitely make fiber a huge part of your diet as that is more of a proactive approach no matter who you are or your age.

Even through all of the supplements you can take and your foods to avoid the most important part to remember is the lifestyle changes to combine with those!