Lowering our "Cholesterol"

We spoke yesterday about "diabetes" and unfortunately if someone has diabetes, they often times have high "cholesterol" also.

Nearly 29 million adults in the U.S. have a total "cholesterol" level higher than 240.

This number is mind blowing to me and unfortunately, those statistics are the people that have been diagnosed. Many of us don't even know we have high "cholesterol" until we get tested. And most people don't have any symptoms, so they don't get tested.

So let's better understand the process of this "cholesterol".

Okay . . . "cholesterol" is a waxy substance that the body needs to build cells. So "cholesterol" is not the enemy, it's actually critical for life . . .

Unless . . . we have too much . . . this now becomes a health crisis.

As we know . . . there are 2 types of cholesterol . . . LDL which is the "bad" and HDL which is the "good". And if the body has "too" much of the "bad", or "not" enough of the "good", this now increases the risk that "cholesterol" will slowly build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and brain.

At this time . . . "cholesterol" can join with other substances to form a thick, hard deposit on the inside of the arteries. This can narrow the arteries and make them less flexible. This is called "atherosclerosis". And if a blood clot forms and blocks one of these narrowed arteries . . . a heart attack or stroke can be the result.

Okay . . . so where does this "cholesterol" come from???

Well . . . the body actually makes its own "cholesterol" in the liver. That's a good thing!

And guess what? . . . the cholesterol the liver makes is "all" the body needs.