What is high chOlestrOl?

Cholesterol is a type of fat called a lipid. The body uses it for many things, such as making new cells. Your liver makes the cholesterol that your body needs. You also get cholesterol from the foods you eat.
Your body needs some cholesterol. But if you have too much, it starts to build up in your arteries. (Arteries are the blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart.) This is called hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis. It is usually a slow process that gets worse as you get older.
To understand what happens, think about how a clog forms in the pipe under a kitchen sink. Like the buildup of grease in the pipe, the buildup of cholesterol narrows your arteries and makes it harder for blood to flow through them. It reduces the amount of blood that gets to your body tissues, including your heart. This can lead to serious problems, including heart attack and stroke.
A simple blood test tells you how much cholesterol you have. The test results are given in mg/dL of cholesterol but most people just say the numbers. Your cholesterol numbers help your doctor know your risk of heart attack.
To know this risk, your doctor will also take into account other factors like your age, blood pressure, family history, and if you smoke.

What are the symptoms?

High cholesterol doesn't make you feel sick. But if cholesterol builds up in your arteries, it can block blood flow to your heart or brain and cause a heart attack or stroke.
By the time you find out you have it, it may already be clogging your arteries. So it is very important to start treatment even though you may feel fine.

What causes high cholesterol?

Many things can cause high cholesterol, including:
Diet. Eating too much saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol can raise your cholesterol. Saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol are in foods that come from animals (such as meats, whole milk, egg yolks, butter, and cheese), many packaged foods, and snack foods like cookies, crackers, and chips. (kena insap jugak)
Weight. Being overweight may raise triglycerides and lower “good” HDL. (ermm... kena insap ni)
Activity level. Not exercising may raise “bad” LDL and lower HDL. (memang la nak kena insap)
Overall health. Diseases such as hypothyroidism can raise cholesterol. Smoking may lower HDL.
Age. Cholesterol starts to rise after age 20. In men, it usually levels off after age 50. In women, it stays fairly low until menopause. After that, cholesterol levels rise to about the same levels as in men.
Family. Some people inherit a rare disease called a lipid disorder. It can cause very high total cholesterol, very low HDL, and high triglycerides.
If you have this problem, you will need to start treatment at a young age (ngerinya aku rasa)

How is high cholesterol diagnosed?

Doctors use a blood test to check cholesterol.
A fasting cholesterol test (also called a lipoprotein analysis) is the most complete test. It measures total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides. You cannot have food for 9 to 12 hours before this test.
A direct LDL test measures your LDL level only. You can have this test done at any time, even if you recently had a meal or snack.
A simple cholesterol test can measure total cholesterol and HDL. You can eat before this test. Sometimes doctors do this test first.
If it shows you have high cholesterol or low HDL, then you will get a fasting cholesterol test. (aku kena kuat semangat ni)

How is it treated?

The two main treatments are lifestyle changes and medicines.
The goal of treatment is to lower your "bad" LDL cholesterol and reduce your risk of a heart attack. You may also need to raise your "good" HDL cholesterol. A high level of HDL helps reduce your risk of heart problems.
Some lifestyle changes are important for everyone with high cholesterol. Your doctor will probably want you to:
1)Follow the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diet. The goal is to reduce the amount of saturated fat you eat. Eating saturated fat raises your cholesterol. The TLC diet helps you learn to make better food choices by picking lean meats, low-fat or nonfat products, and good fats like olive and canola oils.
2)Lose weight, if you need to. Losing just 5 lb to 10 lb (2.3 kg to 4.5 kg) can lower your cholesterol and triglycerides. Losing weight can also help lower your blood pressure.
3)Be more active. Exercise can raise your “good” HDL and may help you control your weight.
4)Quit smoking, if you smoke. Quitting can help raise your HDL and improve your heart health.

Ermm... jangan ingat CHOLESTROL ni ikut size bdn saja,I think it is more on your diet. Pemakanan, keturunan, gaya hidup, tu dah cukup membuktikan aku ni ada high cholestrol and my cholestrol dikategorikan sebagai BAD CHOLESTROL. My mom small size but kalau gi check up ja, sure doc advise her to reduce her cholestrol level. Huh, tu dlm jaga makan and selalu gi jogging. Kalau aku tua, mcm mana la agaknya... silap aribulan xsempat tua dah KO. My mom will do everything to reduce her cholestrol level, name it? She usually drink blended celery, masak nasik letak garlic la, dah tentunya dlm mknan memang la dia bykkan garlic, reduce penggunaan minyak dlm masakan (YES, my family memang xpakai byk minyak), siap pakai minyak jagung lagi. Starting this month, I suggest my mom to use OLIVE OIL. Latest supplement yg doc syorkan my mom amik - OMEGA 3 (Fish Oil) and jog everday.

That is my mom. How about me? Huh, bernanah telinga gak kena leter sebab pemakanan. I know she worried about us especially me. I keep on growing since I gave birth to my lil' IMAN.

Dear readers, appreciate if you can share with me,your tips on how to reduce high cholestrol.
I'm thanking you in advance.