Taking Care of Your Cholesterol: Brief Version

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a fatty substance in your body. Cholesterol can be both helpful and harmful to your body. On the good side, it helps build the hormones and cells your body needs. But when you have too much cholesterol, it collects inside the walls of your blood vessels. This can cause heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes.

When is my cholesterol too high?

You can have a simple blood test to check your cholesterol.

It’s good to have a total cholesterol under 200.

Your healthcare provider may also check the 2 main types of cholesterol in your blood.

• HDL or "good" cholesterol. (Think of "H" for "healthy" cholesterol.)
• LDL or "bad" cholesterol. (Think of "L" for "lousy" cholesterol).

HDL helps prevent heart disease. It helps your body get rid of cholesterol.

LDL leaves fat on the inside of the blood vessels. When you have too much LDL, you have a higher chance of heart disease.

It's good to have HDL that is 60 or higher. A low HDL under 40 increases your risk of heart disease.

The level of LDL that is healthy for you depends on your risk of heart disease:

• If your risk is low, an LDL less than 160 is recommended.
• If you have a medium risk, you should try to have an LDL less than 130.
• If you have a high risk or you have heart disease or diabetes, you need to try to get your LDL below 100.
• If you have diabetes and heart disease, your LDL should be 70 or below.

Ask your provider about your risk for heart disease. This will help you know what your LDL goal should be.

How can I get better cholesterol levels?

Most of the time, you can take care of your cholesterol by eating right and getting the exercise you need.

It's important to eat healthy foods to keep a healthy weight.

• Eat less saturated fat, like the fat in butter, whole milk, and meat that isn’t lean.
• Use oils like corn, canola, and olive oil. Stay away from palm and coconut oil.
• Eat fish and chicken and turkey without the skin instead of a lot of red or processed meat.
• If you eat red meat, cut off any fat. Choose the lowest-fat ground beef (at least “90% lean”).
• Eat more fruit, beans, oats, and barley. The soluble fiber in these foods helps lower cholesterol.
• Eat less fried food and junk food, like French fries, chips, cookies, crackers, and doughnuts.

It also helps to:

• Check food labels for fat and cholesterol. Choose the foods with less fat per serving.
• Drink nonfat or 1% milk instead of whole milk.
• Instead of regular sour cream, use yogurt, cottage cheese, or sour cream that is low-fat or nonfat.
• Eat 4 to 5 servings of nuts a week.
• Lose weight if you are overweight.
• Don’t smoke.

Follow your healthcare provider's advice about exercise.

• You may want to swim, jog, walk, or bicycle.
• You should exercise at least 30 minutes most days of the week.

Ask your healthcare provider how often you should get your cholesterol checked.