What are the instructions for cholesterol?

Since the medical community has first increased alarm on the health risks of cholesterol, it has been almost known as a "dirty" word. But we cannot live without it. In fact, cholesterol is found in virtually all cells of the body where it is used to regulate hormones, to start digestion and to produce vitamin D. On the other hand, too much of this substance in the blood can lead to serious problems such as heart attack or stroke. In order to reduce this risk and clarify the confusion of healthy cholesterol, national cholesterol instructions have been established in the US. In addition to providing specific numbers representing the desired level of "good" and "bad" cholesterol, the agency also offers clinical instructions in cholesterol testing and management. These instructions are regularly subject to control and update, with the latest design in 2004. The current version called the third report of the panel of experts for the detection, evaluation and treatment of high blood cholesterol in adults (adult treatment panel)develops for a new edition.

It is expected that new cholesterol instructions will be dealt with by recent findings that previous recommendations could be insufficient. The basis for this stems from a national study that has revealed that nearly 75 percent of the patients with a heart attack did not show the cholesterol levels that would expose them to the risk of heart disease according to the National Cholesterol instructions. In fact, approximately half of these patients had LDL levels, a "bad" type of cholesterol, in recommendations or under instructions.

cholesterol is measured by blood tests, the results are calculated to reflect the levels of serum lipoproteins with high density (HDL), Lipop with low densityins (LDL) and triglycerides. In addition, overall cholesterol is also considered. According to current cholesterol instructions, the optimal amount of circulating LDL cholesterol is 100 mg/dl or less, 160 mg/dl je too high. The desired HDL cholesterol level is 45 mg/dl for men and 55 mg/dl for women. Ideally, triglycerides should remain below 150 mg/dl and total cholesterol below 200 mg/dl.

To follow these instructions, the US Heart Association recommends 200 to 300 mg daily daily. The lower number is focused on people with higher risk of heart disease from factors such as obesity, smoking or family history of stroke or heart attack. Other recommendations include regular exercise and stress management, which have been shown to help reduce LDL cholesterol levels while improving HDL cholesterol levels.