Many things can cause high cholesterol, including:

• Diet.

Eating too much saturated fat and cholesterol can raise your cholesterol. Saturated fat and cholesterol are in foods that come from animals (such as beef, pork, veal, milk, eggs, butter, and cheese), many packaged foods, stick margarine, vegetable shortening, and snack foods like cookies, crackers, and chips.  

• Weight.

Being overweight may raise triglycerides and lower “good” HDL.* Activity level. Not exercising may raise “bad” LDL andlower HDL.

• 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.

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 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.

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:

• 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.
• Lose weight, if you need to. Losing just 5 to 10 pounds (2.3 to 4.5 kilograms) can lower your cholesterol and triglycerides. Losing weight can also help lower your blood pressure.
• Be more active. Exercise can raise your “good” HDL and may help you control your weight.
• Quit smoking, if you smoke. Quitting can help raise your HDL and improve your heart health.

Sometimes lifestyle changes are enough on their own. But if you try them for a few months and they don’t lower your cholesterol enough, your doctor may prescribe a cholesterol-lowering medicine called a statin. You also may need medicines to lower triglycerides or raise HDL.

You may need to start taking medicine right away if your cholesterol is very high or if you have another problem that increases your chance of having a heart attack. People who have a high risk for heart attack benefit from taking higher doses of statins to lower their LDL cholesterol as much as possible. The more these people can lower their LDL, the less likely they are to have a heart attack.

It is important to take your medicine just the way your doctor tells you to. If you stop taking your medicine, your cholesterol will go back up. You will need to have your cholesterol checked regularly. Your results can help your doctor know if lifestyle changes have helped or if you need more or different medicines.

However, high level of cholesterol in the body may let the fat to be remained in the arteries of heart, consequently making them narrowing and blocking the walls of arteries causing various heart problems. Apparently, high cholesterol has no symptoms. Most of the times, it comes with hereditary and life style, if fated diet is more in use.

In some cases, skin from certain parts of the body, particularly face, starts to get white spots or skin nearby the eyes gets arousing dots. Sometimes, it can only be revealed in a routine blood test when there are no apparent symptoms. In the test, LDL cholesterol level describes bad level whereas, HDL depicts that cholesterol is present at good level in the body.

Women have lower cholesterol level than that of men of same age which becomes higher after the age of 50 years than the men of same age. The common causes of the high cholesterol may be several drugs and diseases. These diseases include over weighting, use of alcohol and mental stress. Heredity and food containing fat are also included in the general causes.

High cholesterol treatment is involved use of drugs depending on risk factors to heart diseases. Apart from medical treatment experts suggests some home care tips which involves balanced diet. Balanced diet should be comprised of total fat less than 30% calories, saturated fat less than 7% calories, polyunsaturated fat less than or equal to 10% of calories, monounsaturated fat Approximately 10-15% of calories, cholesterol less than 200 milligrams per day, carbohydrates 50 to 60% calories Likewise, stanol esters and monounsaturated fat should be included in the diet to reduce LDL in the body. 

Furthermore, some people may control high cholesterol with the use of vegetarian diet. Moreover, a healthy life style should be adapted to reduce the risks of heart diseases. Regular exercises, morning or evening walk, drinking plenty of water, avoiding alcohol and smoking are essential steps for long term healthy body. The combination of medicines for lowering cholesterol and adopting healthy life style can help a lot to control rapidly on the high cholesterol level and preventing heart diseases in general.

Cholesterol is a fatty substance present in the human body, 80% of which is manufactured by the liver. The other 20% comes from your diet such as meat, eggs and dairy products. We have always considered cholesterol to be bad. But that is not the case; there are two types of cholesterol, good cholesterol – HDL (High-density lipoproteins) and bad cholesterol – LDL (Low-density lipoproteins).

High levels of LDL cholesterol present in the body enter the inner walls of the arteries and harden it, leading to coronary artery disease. Similarly, high levels of HDL cholesterol minimize the harmful effects of LDL cholesterol. Some measurements you can keep in mind to maintain healthy LDL cholesterol level.

• Less than 100 mg/dL would be optimal
• 100 to 129 mg/dL is near optimal/ above optimal
• 130 to 159 mg/dL is borderline high
• 160 to 189 mg/dL is considered high
• 190 mg/dL and above is very high

Regular check up or screening of your cholesterol level is very important. It is recommended for men and women of 20 years or above to get the test done every five years. This kind of screening helps to keep your health in check. It also helps if the patient has a family history of diseases like diabetes, obesity or cardiovascular disease.

Tips to remember:

• Do your exercises regularly to keep your heart healthy. It also helps in burning out the excess fat you have been carrying around.
• Avoid trans fatty acids like French fries, cookies, cakes and many other fried fast foods.
• Consume fewer carbohydrates by avoiding sugar, flour, potatoes and white rice.
• Avoid food which contains too much cholesterol like egg yolk, liver, kidney, brain etc.
• Stop smoking, it increases HDL levels by seven points.

Natural Ways to Increase HDL

• Red wine consumed in reasonable quantity gives a positive result. It contains antioxidants such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir that slows down oxidation of HDL and LDL cholesterol. By drinking wine HDL level does not shoot up, but it contains higher level of various types of blood fats, thus making it useful for the body.
• Drinking orange juice every day increases HDL level by nearly 21%. This is possible due to the presence of flavonoids. Kidney and red beans are another source to increase HDL level. They contain low-glycemic carbohydrates which do not require insulin spikes during digestion.
• Eating fish several times a week is very useful in increasing HDL level as it contains omega-3 fatty acids. Fishes like sardine, salmon, sea bass, herring and many more are some of the sources of good cholesterol. If you do not like fish, you can have fish oil supplements.
• Olive oil contains the highest number of mono-saturated fats. Having 1-2 teaspoons in your daily diet would help you tremendously. Oat bran lowers LDL and increases HDL. Studies have shown that two ounces of oat bran per day helps in reducing 16% LDL and 15% increase in HDL.
• Half raw onion per day increases HDL level by 30%. Soy products increase HDL level thereby decreasing LDL.
• Soluble fiber found in fruits like apples, grapes and citrus fruits are useful in increasing HDL level.
• Guggul lipid a native herb used mainly for Ayurvedic medicine also helps in maintaining healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Green tea lowers LDL levels by increasing HDL levels. Eat more fiber and include raw garlic in your diet, these are very useful in lowering cholesterol levels.

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.

Normal cholesterol levels are found in over half of Americans. Normal cholesterol levels are usually associated with a lower risk for cardiovascular disease, but not always. Normal cholesterol levels are also necessary in the formation of lipid rafts, such as caveolae and detergent-resistant membrane domains.

 As a general rule the GOOD cholesterols are good for you and the BAD cholesterols are NOT good for you. If you are overweight, eat an unhealthy diet, or have a family history of high cholesterol, get your levels checked regularly. Reduce high blood pressure and cardiovascular risks by: Losing weight.  Risk factors associated with the influence of a persons blood ratio include; diet, age, weight, gender, genetics, diseases, and lifestyle. Ever since weight-loss programs gained optimal popularity in the market, the word cholesterol gained the negative connotation as the evil fattening wax from the food we eat. People who are overweight have placed themselves in a higher risk category.

The location of the extra weight also impacts whether or not the blood ratio will increase. When the weight is centered around the abdominal area, as opposed to the legs or buttocks, an increased risk exists. Weight loss can also decrease blood cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar levels. Weight loss also means that the volume of blood your heart must pump decreases and less blood flowing through the arteries means less pressure on them. Overweight people tend to have higher cholesterol and triglyceride levels, while physical activity appears to improve them.

As a result, many people with normal cholesterol levels are not identified as having special risks. Healthy men and women with normalcholesterol levels are still at risk for future heart attack if they have elevated levels of CRP. The best way to maintain healthy blood pressure is always through lifestyle, including diet and exercise.

You can’t control your genes or your age, but there are things you can do to prevent or reduce high blood pressure even if you have genes that might make you more likely to have it. Regular aerobic exercise such as walking, running, bicycling, or swimming laps can prevent and reduce high blood pressure. Cooking with sesame oil in place of other edible oils appears to help reduce high blood pressure and lower the amount of medication needed to control hypertension, researchers reported today at the XVth Scientific Meeting of the Inter-American Society of Hypertension.

Health care savvy Americans, confident in their cholesterol knowledge, may be in for a surprise. Knowing their cholesterol numbers-and where they should be-is not enough. To protect their heath, consumers need to recognize key myths surrounding cholesterol. According to experts, the top five include:

Myth No. 1: If my total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol are “normal,” I don’t need to worry about heart disease.

Wrong. Patients who get their total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol results back as “normal” may actually be at risk because standard cholesterol tests fail to measure many cholesterol abnormalities that can lead to heart disease. In fact, almost half of all patients who have heart attacks have “normal” cholesterol, as measured by the standard cholesterol test.

Myth No. 2: If I exercise and eat healthy, I don’t need to worry about heart disease.

That’s another fallacy. Many people who are at risk or already suffer from heart disease exercise and eat right. That’s because genetics play a significant role in heart disease. In fact, a recent study of male twins, one lean and athletic and the other heavier and more sedentary, found that the brothers tended to show the same cholesterol response to high-fat and low-fat diets.

Myth No. 3: Women aren’t as susceptible to heart disease as men.

This myth couldn’t be further from the truth. Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death in women. In fact, nearly twice as many American women die of heart disease and stroke as from all forms of cancer combined, including breast cancer. High cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, and women tend to have higher cholesterol than men starting in their 40s.

Myth No. 4: The routine cholesterol test gives an accurate measure of my LDL cholesterol.

Wrong again. A little-known fact about the routine cholesterol test is that it estimates LDL cholesterol, rather than directly measuring it. This process can result in a significant underestimation of a patient’s LDL level-and resulting heart disease risk.

Myth No. 5: If my good cholesterol (HDL) is high, I am protected against heart disease.

This may appear true, but there’s a catch: High-density lipoprotein (HDL) consists of subclasses (HDL2 and HDL3). While people with higher HDL2 are more protected against heart disease, those with more HDL3 may actually be at increased risk-even if they have normal total HDL.

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The presence of cholesterol has been seen by many as a dreaded component in the human system. The fact of the matter is that these substances are need by the human body to help in creating hormones and other essential vitamins. Generally, there are two kinds of cholesterol that is produced by the human system, the low density lipoprotein (LDL) and the high density lipoprotein (HDL). Both are naturally produced by the body and are supported by the kind of food products that you eat.

The liver is the organ of the human body that produces the cholesterol. The presence of high HDL cholesterol has been noted to relieve the body of the high LDL cholesterol. High HDL cholesterol has significantly helped the flow of the dense lipoproteins in the bloodstream. In fact, studies and research have shown that high HDL cholesterol is perfect in reducing the risks of heart diseases by easily moving the LDL component in the blood. The bad LDL cholesterol has been known to clog or block the arteries. If the LDL flows freely to the liver, it can be excreted from the body, thereby helping to decrease the risks and dangers related to its production.

When test results show the body has low levels of high density lipoprotein, they are in danger of heart ailments and diseases. As the high HDL cholesterol is important in the removal of LDL substances, it reduces the effects of artery blockage that prevents proper flow of blood from the heart to other parts of the body. High HDL cholesterol presence should not be considered as a problem.  It must be seen as a perfect accompaniment in the goal in getting bad cholesterol out of the body.

The food that you eat is an additional source of cholesterol for the body. The high HDL cholesterol is supported with food products such as fish oil from tune and other fruits and vegetables. The high concentration of omega 3 acids will help the body maintain high HDL cholesterol levels. However, it is important for you to note that not all the fish in the ocean contain good cholesterol. Some of these fishes have high saturated fats that will increase LDL levels in the body.
Medical experts have also proven that foods rich with high soluble fiber can help the body in reducing LDL and may result to high HDL cholesterol count. These foods that are rich in fiber include the oat bran, the whole grains, the brown rice and citrus fruits. Dealing with the high LDL cholesterol is made easier with these food products.

Most notably, people who have the right diet and exercise regimen are those that can effectively reduce the presence of LDL cholesterol and help retain high HDL cholesterol levels.