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Your Cholesterol Levels

by: Ken MacKenzie

As part of your regular checkup, it is likely that the
doctor will order bloodwork that among other things will
measure your levels of total cholesterol and also High
Density Lipoproteins (HDL). Should the numbers show outside
of the normal range, your doctor may ask for a fasting
cholesterol test. For this, you won't eat or drink other
than water for twelve hours prior to the test. This test
will show your Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and
triglyceride levels, in addition to the total cholesterol
and HDL.

The National Cholesterol Education Program has presented
goal cholesterol levels, which are as follows:

Total Cholesterol Level (mg/dl)
Desirable: Below 200
Borderline: 200-239
Undesirable: 240 and above

LDL Cholesterol (mg/dl)
Desirable: Below 100
Above Average: 100-129
Borderline: 130-159
Undesirable: 160-189
Very Undesirable: 190 and above

HDL Cholesterol (mg/dl)
Desirable: Above 60
Borderline: 40-60
Undesirable: Below 40

Serum Triglycerides (mg/dl)
Normal: Below 150
Borderline: 150-199
Undesirable: 200-499
Very Undesirable: 500 or above

Some laboratories will calculate the cholesterol ratio
(total/HDL), but it is far more important to get the
individual numbers for the total cholesterol, HDL and LDL.
Notice that lower numbers are desirable for everything
except HDL. The high density lipoproteins are known as good
cholesterol. If your HDL levels are lower than 40 mg/dl, you
can increase them by

Quitting smoking
Losing weight
Getting physically active for at least 30-60 minutes per
day.

Your cholesterol levels, along with your other risk factors
will determine the course of action that your physician will
recommend. Some of these risk factors are
Obesity
Family history
Lack of physical activity
Age
Sex
Alcohol consumption
Stress
Body shape
Diabetes
Smoking

Some of these factors you have no control over, such as age,
family history and sex. But you need to take care of
business with the others. Quitting smoking is a given.
Adding exercise to your daily schedule can help you with
multiple factors, including reducing weight, reducing stress
and lowering cholesterol levels. Watch your diet by eating
less saturated fats and trans fats.

Another alternative treatment method is medication. There
are many to choose from, prescription and
non-prescription, but there may be side effects or they may
react unfavorably with other medicines that you are taking.
Be sure to check with your physician before trying any of
these.

Make sure to check with your physician before starting any
new diet or exercise regimen.

Copyright 2005, K. MacKenzie
http://www.lower-your-cholesterol.net

[ You have permission to publish this article in your web
sites, newsletters, ezines or electronic publications, as
long as the complete article is used including the resource
box, all links (clickable) and copyright information. ]

About the author:
Ken is a successful writer and online entrepreneur. He has developed as a portal for presenting articles, information, resources and links about lowering your cholesterol.

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How To Quit Smoking
by: Rob Mellor

One of the most vicious diseases in today�s times is smoking. It makes a person baffle for air 3 times more than a non-smoker. It has very many repercussions on the life of the smoker and those around him. It leads to lung cancer and various heart diseases like asthma and emphysema. We should thus abhor this deadly disease and quit smoking.

Quitting is not easy

But to actually quit smoking is not easy, because it is an addiction. However there are very many ways and methods that help us to quit smoking for instance we can opt for acupuncture therapy or aromatherapy. We can also opt for non-nicotine cigarettes or go for precise prescription by a doctor.

But first and foremost we need to decide in our heart to stop smoking and should also fix a day for the same. Inform your family about your decision and seek for their help and assistance. Throw away all the cigarette packets, ashtrays and lighters. Stop buying any more cigarettes. Rather think of the more useful and better things that you can buy with the money thus saved. Ask the other family members also, who smoke, to stop smoking. Keep yourself busy. Exercise regularly and meditate occasionally. Eat healthy food.

After doing all this you may still feel severe urges to smoke. You may also actually retort back to it, but that�s no problem, just be persistent and bring back your decision on to the right track after this break, because most of the people are successful only after 2-3 attempts.

Be prepared for withdrawal symptoms

About 80% people retort back to smoking after once leaving it and only 20% successfully accomplish the task. People retort back due to many reasons. Some say they feel agitated. Others say that the aroma when someone lights up is irresistible. But most of them do so due to the fear of symptoms that appears after that last puff viz. weight gain, aggressive thinking, dry throat, fatigue, muscle cramps, constipation, dizziness, hypersensitivity to stimuli, etc. but these are all just temporary symptoms and disappear in a few days. In fact after the initial bout is over the blood pressure, heart rate, pulse arte all get back to normal. You thus need to keep your will power strong and stick to your decision for a few more days.

Some people are not able to continue with the smoke cessation programs because they say that they are costly. But this is a wrong perception because they are not costlier than the price spent for buying cigarettes. And then isn�t it more logical to spend on your health rather on a disease.

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