Why understanding your cholesterol level is important?

Cholesterol is a fat chemical made by the cells in your body. About a quarter of the total amount of cholesterol in your body is made by the liver. Your body also gets cholesterol from some foods.

Cholesterol is carried in the blood by particles called lipoproteins. There are five types of lipoproteins, with the two main types being Low-Density Lipoproteins (LDL) and High-Density Lipoproteins (HDL):

• HDL cholesterol is good cholesterol as it removes fatty particles from the arteries and transports them back to the liver to be removed or repurposed.
• LDL cholesterol is considered bad cholesterol as it takes fatty particles from the liver to the body’s cells.

Your body needs some cholesterol to keep it healthy, but having too much LDL cholesterol can cause fatty deposits called plaques to build up in your arteries which can lead to heart conditions and other health issues.

What are Triglycerides?

Triglycerides are another type of lipid and are commonly referred to as either saturated or unsaturated fats. Triglycerides are the most common type of fat in your body and mainly come from the foods that you eat such as fried foods, red meat, egg yolks, oils, butter, margarine, and lard.

Any triglycerides from food that the body doesn’t use immediately is stored in fat cells for use later as an energy source between meals.

Triglycerides and cholesterol are different types of lipids but together they can contribute to high cholesterol.

What are the symptoms of high cholesterol?

High cholesterol does not cause symptoms; this is why it’s known as the “silent disease”.

The only way to know you have high cholesterol is by taking a cholesterol test. A cholesterol test will tell you the total amount of cholesterol, together with the proportion of good and bad cholesterol in your body. The AllCheckedUp Cholesterol test will also tell you the level of triglycerides and

By getting a simple cholesterol test and making healthy lifestyle changes, most people can keep their cholesterol levels healthy.

Why is having high cholesterol bad for you?

Having too much Cholesterol in your blood can increase the chances of suffering from the following conditions:

• Heart attack – This is when the blood supply to the heart is blocked and will be a life-threatening and serious medical emergency.
• Strokes – The blood supply to the brain is completely blocked, this condition will also be considered as a serious medical emergency.
• Coronary Heart Disease – the main arteries supplying the heart muscles become blocked and often cause blood clots.
• Vascular Disease – – occurs when blood flow to the legs (and/ or arms) is restricted
• Angina – is caused by a restriction in blood flow to the heart muscle and is often brought on by exercise. The symptoms can be a dull, heavy, or tight pain in the chest which can spread to the left arm, neck, jaw, or back.

These diseases are collectively known as cardiovascular disease (CVD)

Your condition or risk can increase as you get older and if you have any of the following factors:

• A certain ethnic origin such as South Asian
• Being overweight and obese
• Having type 2 diabetes
• Smoking
• Poor diet

The cause of high cholesterol levels has been associated with family history, age, diet (having too much-saturated fat), and lifestyle in general.

Heart UK recommends that all adults, regardless of age or how healthy they are, should check their cholesterol check. However, having a cholesterol test done during pregnancy may not give an accurate result as cholesterol and triglycerides naturally rise during pregnancy

How can I reduce my Cholesterol?

The most important method to reduce your cholesterol is through a healthy diet and exercise. A healthy lifestyle includes stopping smoking and reducing your alcohol consumption.

A healthy diet means:

• Eating more fruit and vegetables, also:
• Lean meat chicken or turkey with the skin removed.
• Whitefish, and oily fish at least once a week.
• Have meat-free days, and instead try dishes based on beans, pulses, Quorn, tofu, nuts, or soya meat alternatives.
• Oils made from vegetables and seeds such as olive, rapeseed, sunflower, and soya oil, and fat spreads are made from these.
• Lower fat milk such as semi-skimmed, 1% fat or skimmed milk, and calcium-fortified alternatives to milk.
• Low-fat yogurts.
• Low-fat cheese such as half-fat cheddar and cottage cheese.
• Plain buns such as currant or hot cross buns, scones, and semi-sweet biscuits.
• Dried fruit and nuts.
• Fresh, baked, or poached fruit, milk puddings, and custard made with low-fat milk and fruit crumbles made with unsaturated spread.
• Dark chocolate, chewing gum, nuts, seeds, popcorn. Lower-fat crisps or baked savory snacks.

The above are just some of the ideas for healthy eating to reduce your cholesterol. You can talk with our dietician for more personalised ways you can reduce your cholesterol

For more serious cases your doctor may recommend medication treatment such as statins.

How Serious is Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)?

According to Public Health England, CVD is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 17.9 million deaths each year … this equates to 31% of deaths worldwide.

In England, CVD causes 1 in 4 deaths which equates to 1 death every 4 minutes and the reality is that most of these deaths are preventable.

In addition, CVD has a financial effect and cost to our health service. With an estimated £15.8 billion per year cost to our National Health Service (non-healthcare cost) with a Healthcare cost in England standing at £7.4 billion per year.

AllCheckedUp Cholesterol Test

You can check or measure the amount of cholesterol in your blood with the AllCheckedUp Cholesterol Test by sending off a small sample of blood and sending it off to our laboratory for analysis.

The AllCheckedUp Cholesterol test can be done at home with a small fingerprick blood test or at our medical clinic where one of our qualified Phlebotomists will take a venous blood draw from your arm. If you’re not familiar with filling a microcontainer of blood from a fingerprick, we always recommend the blood draw method where possible as this will ensure it reduces the chances of the blood from solidifying and becoming untestable. See our article on Fingerprick vs Phlebotomist (blood draw).

These results can be used to calculate your:

• LDL cholesterol
• Non-HDL cholesterol
  HDL Cholesterol
• Total cholesterol to HDL (TC: HDL) ratio
  Triglycerides

If you have high cholesterol, the AllCheckedUp medical team will be able to help you reduce your cholesterol through a healthy lifestyle regime or medication through our in-house Pharmacy.