Cholesterol and You

Josh Billings

"Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing until it gets there."– Josh Billings

As you might know, cholesterol is a type of fat in your blood and further, your cells require cholesterol. Fortunately your body makes all the cholesterol it needs but unfortunately you can get too much cholesterol from the food that you eat. So the problem is that too much cholesterol can build up or clog your arteries. This is an issue because these are the blood vessels that carry blood away from your heart.  The clogging of arteries   is called atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries.

Clogged Artery

There is LDL referred to as the bad cholesterol( can clog your arteries )while HDL is considered the good cholesterol because it helps (clear  or remove  fat from  blood) , Further ,triglycerides are  another type of  fat  in your blood. It is important to have HDL because it lowers your chances of having a heart attack while LDL and triglycerides raise your chances.

Typically many things can cause high cholesterol including 1. Eating too much saturated fat, trans fat   2. Being overweight. 3.   Being inactive. 4. Age-cholesterol starts to rise after age 20. 5. Family history-family members that have or had high cholesterol.  6. Overall health-diseases such as   hypothyroidism can raise cholesterol.

Treating high cholesterol (to reduce risk of heart attack and stroke) includes 1: Eating a healthy diet that includes plenty of fish, fruits, vegetables, beans, high-fiber grains, breads, and healthy fats like olive oil. 2 Losing weight can lower cholesterol as well as high blood pressure .3. Get regular exercise of at least 30 or more minutes a day .4.Don’t smoke as quitting can help raise HDL and improve   heart health. Check out this recipe.

Recipe from Weight Watchers

Cranberry –Maple Slow Cooker Oatmeal. Stir the ingredients below together before bedtime and wake up to a comforting bowl of creamy filling oats. The ingredients are as follows:

1.8 cups of water. 2. 2 cups of uncooked steel-cut oats. 3. 2/3 cup of dried cranberries, chopped. 4. 1/2 a cup of maple syrup. 5. 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon. 6. 1/2 a tablespoon of table salt. 7. 3 tablespoons of slivered almonds, toasted.

instructions-combine all ingredients, except almonds, in a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker. Cook on low power for 4 to 6 hours, depending on desired creaminess. Stir well to combine and then sprinkle with almonds.  Yields about three quarters of a cup of oatmeal and 1 teaspoon of almonds per serving. Be sure to use steel cut oats for this recipe as regular oatmeal will not hold up to this length of cooking.  If you like your oatmeal very creamy, you can cook it up to 8 hours.

The above information was found in the Fall/Winter 2012 Blue Shield of California Newsletter. In any event,” keep moving.”