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English in a pill – Angielski w pigułce, Lesson 21

- 2009-11-01

English in a pill – Angielski w pigułce, Lesson 4

Doctor specializations Doctors make people healthier. When people get sick, doctors figure out why. They give people medicine and other kinds of...

Jesienne przeziębienia

Ze statystyk wynika, że corocznie w okresie jesiennym co czwarty Polak łapie przeziębienie

English in a pill – Angielski w pigułce, Lesson 7

All About Stress Feeling like there are too many pressures and demands on you? Losing sleep worrying about school or job? Eating on the run...

Cholesterol - are you at risk?

Cholesterol forms part of the outer membrane that surrounds every cell. It's used to insulate nerve fibres (and so make nerve signals travel properly) and make hormones, which carry chemical signals around the body. Without cholesterol, your body wouldn't work. Too much cholesterol in the blood, however, increases the risk of coronary heart disease and disease of the arteries.

One of the biggest misconceptions people have is that food is packed with cholesterol. In fact, very little cholesterol is found in foods. The main culprits are eggs, offal and shellfish. What's important is the type of fat in the food you choose, especially saturated fat. Once inside the body, the liver turns this fat into cholesterol.

Knowing your cholesterol level isn't, on its own, enough to tell you your personal risk of heart disease. You also need to know about lipoproteins. These are special molecules that carry or transport cholesterol around the body.

There are three main types:

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), often known as bad cholesterol - this carries cholesterol from the liver to the cells and, if supply exceeds demand, can cause harmful build-up of cholesterol.
High-density lipoprotein (HDL), or good cholesterol - this takes cholesterol away from the cells and back to the liver, where it's either broken down or excreted Triglicerydes.

The greatest danger is when someone has high levels of LDL cholesterol and trigylcerides, and low levels of HDL cholesterol.

In recent years, we've come to realise that to decide whether an individual's cholesterol levels are dangerous, these levels need to be considered in the light of the person's overall risk of heart disease. This overall risk is determined by a combination of factors, including age, gender, family history of heart disease, and whether someone smokes, is overweight, has high blood pressure or diabetes. The higher the risk of heart disease (for example, a male smoker with high blood pressure and diabetes), the greater the need to get cholesterol levels down.

How hard people who have little risk of heart disease should strive to keep their cholesterol levels down below 5 mmol/l? Some believe the lower the cholesterol level, the better in terms of preventing heart disease. These people argue that because cholesterol-lowering drugs mostly appear to have minimal side--effects, almost everyone should take them. But other experts argue that the research evidence doesn't show any particular benefit for certain low-risk groups, such as women who don't have a history of heart disease, and some point to recent concerns about side--effects, such as damage to muscles or the kidneys. With anticholesterol drugs now being sold without prescription at the pharmacy, the decision about how far to control cholesterol is being pushed into the consumer's hands.

The first steps in treating high cholesterol levels are: regular physical activity and healthy eating. The latter means cutting down on fats, especially a type called trans fats, and replacing saturated fats with unsaturated alternatives. There are also some foods that may help to lower cholesterol levels, particularly garlic, soya, oats, corn and selenium-enriched cereals.