Intervention for Elevated Cholesterol

The American Heart Association has two levels of diets for individuals who need to lower their cholesterol level. Each one limits total fats, saturated fats and cholesterol in an effort to promote a better HDL/LDL ratio (or "good cholesterol" being higher than the "bad cholesterol"). In addition, exercise and being within a healthy weight range can also benefit your heart to a great degree.

As more and more research is done in this field, it must be constantly updated so that every aspect of the diet and exercise regime is balanced for optimal health.  First degree relatives of individuals, who have had a coronary event, especially when it has occurred at a young age, should be monitored for early signs of coronary artery disease. Individuals who also have diabetes are at an increased risk of heart disease and they should also be evaluated along with their first degree relatives.

The diet focuses on healthy low fat foods that allow you to enjoy your meals, but limit the highly saturated fats in your diet. Luckily, there are still plenty of delicious and nutritious foods to choose from while you learn new eating habits and perhaps even change the foods you prefer to ones that are healthiest for you. The importance of making lifestyle changes is very important. Because there seem to be genetic ties to heart disease and diabetes, it is the perfect opportunity to teach healthy eating to the entire family right from the start.

Moderation in all things and a clear determination to avoid unnecessary damage to the blood vessels and maximize heart health through lifelong changes in diet, exercise and other controllable risk factors is key to maximizing health.

Many clients are able to lower their cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and raise their HDL without the use of prescription medication with a combination of weight loss when appropriate and changing their diet to a low fat, low saturated fat diet while maintaining their enjoyment of meals. When individuals still need medication, despite lifestyle and weight changes when needed it seems to be more that the type of blood lipid profile that they have requires a medication to improve the entire profile. Don't skimp on the healthy diet and lifestyle, it's still a major preventative!