Posted by Dr. Sherman Ho on June 14, 2001 at 23:50:41:
In Reply to: prevent high cholestorol? posted by Emily McCabe on February 27, 2001 at 23:11:36:
Total cholesterol alone is a poor predictor of cardiovascular disease. It's better to know the LDL cholesterol or the Total-to-HDL ratio. Given that, most will say we want total cholesterol less than 200, assuming you don't have heart disease or diabetes (the target will be MUCH lower).
The NCEP guideline, the "bible" that physicians follow to manage cholesterol, recently made several recommendations in the "Therapeutic Lifestyle Change" section:
1) Cut down saturated fat intake (animal source), but plant sources are generally OK.
2) Reduce weight (target 10%) of overweight
3) Increase exercise, with a target of 30 minutes cardiovascular exercise 3-5 times a week.
4) Make sure there's 10-25 gram of SOLUBLE fiber a day (which is almost humanly impossible without supplement) -- see attached link for something that may help to reduce cholesterol by an average of 20% -- I've read the study & has patient experience
4) Plant sterol (soy, etc) also helps
In: I recently had a blood test that determined my cholestorol level to be 208. I was informed that this is slightly higher than it should be but my doctor provided no information as to what I can do to make sure this does not become as issue in the future. I also just began taking a medication that could possibly inflate my cholestoral levels further. I was told to just watch what I eat, but I donot know what to watch out for. I am growing increasingly weary and frustrated and would love to gain any understanding about what I can do for myself.