• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Shop ModernMom
  • Become An Insider

ModernMom

The premiere destination for moms

  • Parenting
    • Pregnancy
    • Baby
    • Kids
    • Tweens and Teens
    • ModernMom Monday Videos
  • Cooking
  • Living Healthy
    • Breast Cancer
    • Health & Fitness
    • Body after Baby
    • Beauty
    • Relationships
    • Love
  • Lifestyle
    • Crafts
    • At Home
    • Education
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Decorate
    • Money
    • Brooke Burke
  • Celebrate
    • Holidays
      • Easter
      • Valentine’s Day
      • New Year’s
      • Christmas
      • Hanukah
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
    • Birthdays
    • Parties
  • Must Have
  • Contests
  • Entertainment

Advice Regarding Cholesterol

May 26, 2010 by ModernMom Staff Leave a Comment

Cholesterol can be tricky to understand. Too much cholesterol is bad for you, but some cholesterol is actually beneficial. Cholesterol can both cause and prevent heart attacks. Although cholesterol can be confusing, it is important to understand it so that you can help make it work for you rather than against you.

Cholesterol 101

Our bodies actually need cholesterol, and some forms are good for us to help prevent heart attacks. As with many things in life, however, too much of a good thing can be bad. Such is the case with cholesterol. Cholesterol is divided between the bad (LDL) and the good (HDL). Too much LDL can build up along the arteries that bring blood to your brain and heart, which is the cause of heart attacks and strokes. HDL, though, will carry cholesterol away from the arteries and back to your liver, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Eating Right

The body’s liver produces most of the cholesterol we have, but we get some cholesterol by the foods we eat. We can control our cholesterol levels somewhat by eating the right foods. The key to controlling cholesterol by diet is to choose the right type of fats, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. We want to eat good fats, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, and avoid bad fats, trans and saturated fats.

Some Fat is Good

You should not try to eliminate all fat from your diet. Fat provides energy and can help cool down inflammation, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Good monounsaturated fats are in canola, peanut and olive oils. They are also in almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds. Good polyunsaturated fats are in sunflower, corn, soybean and flaxseed oils. Omega-3 fats are particularly important to eat because the body can’t make them. You can find omega-3 fats in fish, which you should eat two or three times a week. Omega-3 fats are also in flax seeds and walnuts.

Bad Fats

You should keep saturated fats as low as possible, because the body produces enough of those on its own. Saturated fats are in red meat and whole milk dairy products. Coconut and palm oil contain saturated fat, too. But, saturated fats are not as bad as trans fats, which are made by heating and processing vegetable oil. Called partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, this processed oil withstands heat without breaking down, so restaurants and fast-food places use it. You will also find it in commercially prepared baked goods, margarines, snack and processed foods, french fries and other fried foods, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Trans fats cause heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other chronic conditions. Even small amounts can be harmful. Trans fats should be eliminated completely from a healthy diet. To put this in perspective, if you were to get only 2 percent of your calories from trans fat every day, which is like eating a medium order of french fries every day, you would increase your risk of heart disease by 23 percent, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. If you simply can’t get the trans fat number to zero, keep it under 2 g a day.

How Often to Check

You should have your cholesterol checked by your doctor or a cholesterol-screening center every five years after you turn 20, according to the American Heart Association. If you are in certain situations, you may need it checked more often, such as if your total cholesterol is 200 mg or more, you are a man older than 45 or a woman older than 50, or if you have other risk factors for heart attack or stroke.

Photo Credit

  • Smiling girl with fruits and cookies image by Monika 3 Steps Ahead from Fotolia.com

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Health/Fitness

About ModernMom Staff

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Search

Tell a friend

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
ModernMom Boutique

ModernMom TV

Featured

10 Life Lessons I Want To Pass On To My Daughter

I look at my little girl, who is now three years old, and I … [Read More...] about 10 Life Lessons I Want To Pass On To My Daughter

Must Have

STEM-related Toys to Include in Your Child’s Easter Basket This Year 

April has arrived which means it’s time to pull out the food … [Read More...] about STEM-related Toys to Include in Your Child’s Easter Basket This Year 

Did you know?

strep throat symptoms in babies

Strep Throat Symptoms in Babies

Male Fertility Tips

Signs of Gestational Diabetes

Pregnancy & Signs of Gestational Diabetes

Do You Have to Refrigerate Glazed Donuts?

Do You Have to Refrigerate Glazed Donuts?

abdominal discomfort during first trimester of pregnancy

Abdominal Discomfort During First Trimester of Pregnancy

average breast size of a woman

The Average Breast Size of a Woman

safe to color Your hair while breastfeeding

Is it Safe to Color Your Hair While Breastfeeding?

Footer

  • About Us
  • Contact ModernMom
  • Advertise With Us
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contributors

Copyright © 2023 Modern Mom. All Rights Reserved.

Reproduction of any portion of this website only at the express permission of Mom, Inc.

The information provided on ModernMom is for educational use only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.