High Cholesterol – When Is It A Concern?
Written by: Cassandra Wiley, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Five years ago, I was diagnosed with high cholesterol in addition to pre-diabetes. Fortunately, I reversed both diagnoses with lifestyle changes without a prescription. What is the reason for this? "Statin" drugs (simvastatin, lovastatin, atorvastatin) are for high cholesterol. One side effect of the medication is elevated blood sugar levels, which leads to type 2 diabetes. Diabetes increases your risk of high blood pressure.
Clients come to me because they don’t want to deal with the side effects of medication. As it relates to high cholesterol, when should it be a concern?
1. Check your numbers. Two numbers comprise your total cholesterol; the HDL, or "good "cholesterol, and the LDL, or "bad" cholesterol. If the total cholesterol is over 200 mg/dL, you’re in the high cholesterol range. A healthy LDL cholesterol range is below 100mg/dL. Your health practitioner can inform you of your numbers from a blood test.
2. Triglycerides. Triglycerides are part of your lipid panel obtained from a blood test. A healthy range is from 0-149 mg/dL. High triglycerides combined with high cholesterol can lead to a heart attack due to clogging of the arteries.
3. Overweight. If you are overweight, it is always a precursor to many illnesses.
4. Saturated fat. It is in animal and dairy products and oils, like palm and coconut. Consuming foods high in saturated fat will raise cholesterol levels.
5. Fiber. Eating foods high in fiber lowers cholesterol levels. A high-fiber diet also reduces flatulence, ensuring that all waste leaves the body. Scientifically speaking, soluble fiber binds to cholesterol particles in the small intestine. Beans, apples, bananas, greens, and chia seeds are high in fiber. You can also take a fiber supplement, like psyllium husk.
6. Stool appearance. It's a bodily function that we all do. Its color, shape, and appearance matter. It should be long and cylindrical. If it’s a yellow color, it floats or sticks to the toilet and is dark-colored, it means that your diet contains too much fat. Consuming high-fiber foods is wise. Also, when you wipe, you should see little or nothing on the toilet paper. That means that your body is evacuating properly.
7. Gallstones. Too much cholesterol in the bile can form crystals that become gallstones; they are very painful.
Being healthy not only includes the physical but also the emotional and mental. Are you looking for better whole health? Consider if health coaching is right for you. Visit my website here.
Cassandra Wiley, Executive Contributor, Brainz Magazine
Cassandra Wiley is a health coach and founder of Have Faith and Live Well with Chasadah LLC. She focuses primarily on chronic illnesses such as pre-diabetes, high cholesterol, and obesity. Her mission is to empower individuals to lose weight and teach a new healthier approach to food to live better lives. She was successful in reversing her pre-diabetes and high cholesterol diagnoses naturally. The weight loss was an added benefit. She has helped clients change their diets and “have faith” in themselves to meet their health and wellness goals.
