Cholesterol Levels

Have you seen the latest drug commercial? You know, the one where the guy is walking down a spiral stair case with numbers printed on each step gradually going lower. He’s talking about how your doctors have told you that now you need to get your cholesterol even lower than you did before. It’s a myth; and a dangerous one at that.

Let’s start with just a bit of very basic biology.

What IS Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance that’s stored in the fat (lipid) content of one’s blood stream. It’s actually important to have a certain amount of “good” cholesterol in one’s system.

Cholesterol, and our other body fats, cannot dissolve in our blood. They must be transported by special carriers called lipoproteins. While there are numerous kinds (too many to cover here), the two that are most important are the high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and the low-density lipoproteins (LDL). There is a third kind, which is referred to as Lp(a), which can increase one’s risk of heart attack and stroke. We’ll cover that one here, as well.

When I first started down this path I was looking for something to reduce my cholesterol levels without giving me a heart attack. My doctor recommended Lipitor, but I had read an article in the American Heart Associations web site that indicated Lipitor and other statin drugs may possibly be worse for me than my high cholesterol. (The article that I read is here: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3001036 )

A green and lush oasis in the middle of a scorching dessert. A cool breeze on a hot summer night. A bright light in the end of a cold and dark tunnel. Green tea and cholesterol.

For the millions and millions of people suffering from high cholesterol green tea may be that light. You can browse and search the Internet for topics on green tea and cholesterol and would come up with hundred of hits.

What can you do to improve your cholesterol levels? Here’s a quick list to get you started.

* Reduce fat in your diet

Buy the leanest cuts of meat you can find. Regularly substitute poultry (without the skin) and fish for red meat. Both are lower in saturated fat. Switch to low fat cottage cheese and yogurt, reduced fat hard cheeses and skim or 1 percent milk.

* Eat no more than four egg yolks a week

Are there ways you can lower cholesterol levels in my body without drugs? We live in such a drug heavy society that I want to be able to improve my health without taking drugs. Lowering cholesterol levels in our bodies can improve our overall health. It certainly isn’t that the drugs don’t work, they really will lower cholesterol in most cases, but there is that risk of long term or short term side effects from them. One of the best ways to lower cholesterol levels is through diet. It sounds like a simple and straightforward solution to the problem, but it really is one of the best things you can do. By eating a low fat and low cholesterol diet, you can actually lower your cholesterol in addition to improving your overall health. The two go hand in hand and will help you feel better and put a smile on your face when those cholesterol level tests come back.

The name cholesterol is a derivation from the Greek words: chole, which means bile; and stereos, which means solid. The suffix -ol is a chemical suffix for alcohol.

One of its major uses is in the synthesizing of bile acids. This takes place in the liver when cholesterol is transported. The formation of acids will be secreted through the bile. The importance of this cholesterol manifests as the lower intestine reabsorbs most of these bile acids, and are not all secreted out of the body. These are then cast-off into the liver.