Your family history, your lifestyle, other health conditions can all be risk factors for high cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease and stroke
Not making sure your cholesterol levels are in check can spell all kinds of health troubles down the road.
“It puts people at risk for premature cardiovascular diseases like heart attack or stroke and can be lethal,” Kristi Fitzgerald, Genetic Counselor at Nemours duPont Hospital, said.
Carol Hrvatin’s high cholesterol caught up with her.
Hrvatin told Ivanhoe, “Probably in my 40’s, I started noticing I had some high cholesterol.”
And she had a heart attack in her mid-50s. She’s now taking medicine to lower her cholesterol. But there are some foods people can eat to get their total cholesterol below 200.
Take for example oatmeal. Starting the day off with a bowl of oatmeal can lower your cholesterol by 4 percent.
Also, loading up on nuts can reduce your cholesterol significantly. A study out of Australia of people with diabetes found that those who ate more walnuts saw a 10 percent reduction in their bad cholesterol levels, which causes plaque buildup in your arteries.
Finally, when cooking dinner, swap out the butter and cook with liquid vegetable oils such as canola, sunflower, or safflower. These little changes can mean big changes for your health.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention claim that 28 percent of all American adults are being treated for abnormal cholesterol levels.
If your cholesterol is high, by losing 10 pounds you can put yourself on a path to healthier cholesterol levels and a healthier life.
