Sept: National Cholesterol Education Month
September 1, 2009 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, high blood cholesterol affects over 65 million Americans. High cholesterol can lead to heart disease and one that is often preventable, or at least manageable.
Cholesterol is a soft, fat-like, waxy substance found in the blood and the body’s cells. The body needs cholesterol as it’s a building block, but not all cholesterol is good and not all cholesterol is bad.
Which is which?
The low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is considered the “bad” cholesterol and what doctors are looking for when they’re sending you for cholesterol tests. The best way to remember is L is for lower and you want the LDL to be low.
The “good” cholesterol is high-density lipoprotein (HDL). You want this one to be higher. H is for higher and you want the HDL to be high.
Here is a quiz to see how much you know about cholesterol. Why not take it and see how much you know.
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Image: Newscom.com
Very informative quiz. There were a couple that I was not aware of. Thanks for posting.
Plant Sterols are being utilised in many countries for their cholesterol lowering properties – these natural plant fats, which are structurally very similar to cholesterol, an animal steroid, reduce absorption by competing with cholesterol for space in the mixed micelles of fats that are absorbed in the gut mucosal cells.
Vegetarians naturally consume twice the average intake of plant sterols as these molecules are prevalent in pulses, peas, vegetables, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils – too little to affect cholesterol levels. Advances in food technology, however, have produced a variety of sterols that can be cheaply produced from wood and soya and added to refined foods – notably fats – to bring daily consumption up to an effective 1g a day level. These
sterols have safety approvals from the European Union’s novel foods committee and the American FDA now allows products containing plant sterols to make label claims that they help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
Blood cholesterol levels, particularly LDL cholesterol, have been controlled by the use of sterols for over 50 years. Reductions of up to 13% in plasma LDL levels have been noted when sterols have been added to the diet.
There is concern that plant sterols may interfere with absorption of fat soluble vitamins but vitamin A, D and K uptake appears to be unaffected. Beta-carotene and vitamin E uptake may be marginally reduced but still within a normal range and a diet rich in carotenoids, found in spinach, carrots, peppers and in vitamin E, high in nuts, seeds and wholegrains, would counter any slight reductions in these fat-soluble nutrients.