Posted by keyla on February 01, 2002 at 20:56:35:
In Reply to: Re: prevent high cholestorol? posted by Dr. Sherman Ho on June 14, 2001 at 23:50:41:
: 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.