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THE BASICS

EAT HEALTHY! EXERCISE!
STOP SMOKING!

CHOLESTEROL AND YOUR BODY:

IT’S COMPLICATED

Your body has a love/hate relationship with cholesterol.

THE GOOD AND THE BAD THE POWER OF CHANGE COOKING FOR
CHOLESTEROL
“Cholesterol plays an important role You can control many of the
in the body, including creating healthy most serious risk factors for high To keep your cholesterol under control, start
cells,” says Dana Eilen, MD, cardiologist cholesterol. swapping! Switch out foods that are high in
at The Medical Center, Navicent Health. trans fats and saturated fats for something
“However, too much of the wrong kind “The three most important things that will add good cholesterol:
can harm the heart.” you can do to control cholesterol »» Get rid of potato chips and snack on
are quitting smoking, exercising
High levels of low-density lipoprotein regularly and eating a healthy diet unsalted whole almonds.
(LDL)—sometimes called “bad” to manage weight,” Dr. Eilen says. »» Use skim milk in your coffee instead of non-
cholesterol—can fill your arteries with “In terms of diet, replace saturated
plaque. This can narrow the arteries fats with unsaturated fats and dairy creamers.
and make it hard for blood to reach the eliminate trans fats. Eat plenty of »» Avoid refrigerator dough. Instead, pop over
heart. Your body fights bad cholesterol whole grains, fruits, vegetables and
with high-density lipoprotein (HDL)—or heart-healthy fish. Avoid deep-fried to the bakery for a loaf of barley bread.
“good” cholesterol—which clears your foods and cook with a little olive oil »» Top your dessert with fruit. It tastes as sweet
blood vessels of LDL. instead.”
as the frosting found in stores and doesn’t
Having high levels of bad cholesterol High cholesterol isn’t something come with trans fats.
is a major risk factor for heart disease. you’ll notice on your own. Regular »» Swap while you shop. The U.S. government
When blood can’t flow freely, people screenings are important to catch recently banned artificial trans fats in
risk heart attack or stroke. Nearly the condition early. Ask your prepared foods, but they’re not off the
32 percent of adults in the United States physician how often to have a shelves yet. When you’re at the grocery
are at risk for these problems because cholesterol screening based on your store, check food labels.
of high LDL, according to the Centers risk factors.
for Disease Control and Prevention. HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

Celebrate American Heart Month this February by attending Navicent Health’s Heart Fest Total cholesterol should come to less than
2016. Navicent Health will host activities, educational events and screenings to promote 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). An ideal LDL
heart health throughout the month. Visit www.navicenthealth.org/heartfest for details. level is less than 100 mg/dL. For HDL, the goal is
60 mg/dL or higher.

6 navicenthealth.org | SPRING 2016