How to regulate cholesterol levels?

How to regulate cholesterol levels?

Over 40% of Canadians aged 20 to 79 years and 36.5% of French people aged 18 to 79 would have a total cholesterol detrimental to health. PasseportSanté tells you all about the different ways to control his cholesterol.

Cholesterol: reminders

Cholesterol is a lipid family sterol found in animal products. The liver produces most of the cholesterol that the body needs to function. The rest of the cholesterol "necessary" is provided by food. Cholesterol is a constituent of cell membranes and the precursor of sex hormones (progesterone, estrogen, testosterone), of billiaires salts and vitamin D3.

Cholesterol is insoluble in blood. It is thanks to lipoproteins that will be carried and transported throughout the body. There are 2 types of lipoproteins:

1.    The lipoprotein LDL (low density lipoprotein) associated with the "bad  "  cholesterol  that deposit this excess cholesterol in the body on the walls of arteries and causing, in the long term atherosclerosis that is to say, presence of a plaque on the inner walls of arteries that may impede or block the flow of blood.

2.    The HDL (high density lipoprotein) associated with the "good” cholesterol fetch cholesterol deposited on artery walls by LDL lipoproteins and eliminate them.

It is lipoproteins that define the levels of "good" and "bad" cholesterol in the blood. Cholesterol is neither "good" nor "bad" in itself but its carriers (lipoproteins) they are "good" or "bad".

How to detect high cholesterol?

By a blood test will determine cholesterol levels (the amount of LDL cholesterol, the amount of HDL cholesterol and total cholesterol) and an analysis of these results.

Physicians assess cholesterol in relative terms this is -to say analyzing these rates compared to the patient's general condition and the presence of other factors such as personal history of cardiovascular disease, age, smoking, diabetes, blood pressure, family history cardiovascular disease, obesity and gender.

Doctors also analyze the total cholesterol / HDL cholesterol, which shows the levels of "good" blood cholesterol compared to total cholesterol. A low ratio is linked to a lower risk of disease.

For example, at equal cholesterol, a 60-year-old smoker with a history of heart disease in his family will then be considered high risk that a woman of 30 years with no risk factors will be considered low risk.