Local health educator offers tips for successfully battling cholesterol

By: Jared Hoffmann

For the duration of September, health agencies will be promoting community awareness of National Cholesterol Education Month.

Stacy Benninghoff, a health educator with the Platte County Health Department, answered the following common questions about cholesterol.

Q: How does someone know whether they have high cholesterol?

A: You want to get a lipid profile from your physician. For a male, you want the HDL — high-density lipoprotein — to be above 40, and for women, we want above 50. For LDL — low-density lipoprotein — you want under 100. You want your total cholesterol to be 200 or lower.

Q: What is the difference between good and bad cholesterol?

A: The LDL, also known as the lousy cholesterol, basically builds up on our artery walls when we consume a lot of cholesterol. If the artery wall is blocked, then a heart attack or stroke can form.

HDL is healthy cholesterol. We make good and bad cholesterol in our bodies, and the HDL kind of acts like the policeman in our system. Its job is to attach to the LDL and carry it to the liver. They try to keep the LDL away from our arteries.

Q: What causes high cholesterol?

A: Cholesterol basically comes from two places, our bodies and food. Our body actually makes enough cholesterol for us to live on, and the foods we eat can increase the cholesterol in our bloodstream. That's how it rises. High blood pressure, smoking, being physically inactive and overweight also raise our cholesterol.

Q: What role do genetics play in high cholesterol?

A: If your grandfather made a lot of cholesterol, your body might, too, and then you're kind of stuck. You can eat right, exercise and do all the right things and still need to be put on medicine later in life. Your physician will determine if you need to be put on a medication.

Q: If someone is not genetically predisposed to high cholesterol, can their level be lowered simply through diet and exercise?

A: If your family history doesn't have bad cholesterol, you can probably get it down just with exercise and eating healthy. A lot of heart disease factors can be turned around.

Q: What are the most common misconceptions regarding cholesterol?

A: I find that people are stuck on total cholesterol, but what's important is knowing your HDL and LDL. Your total cholesterol level can be fine, but then your LDL can be way high and your HDL can be way low, and that's not good.

Another misconception is when you should get your cholesterol checked. You should at least have it checked once by the time you are 20. But, if you have it in your family, even a child needs to be checked to catch it early.

Q: What are some suggestions for adopting a healthy lifestyle?

A: Watch how much cholesterol intake you have, exercise at least 30 minutes on most days of the week and maintain a healthy weight. Those three things are important. Avoiding tobacco is also one of the biggest things because the plaque makes the cholesterol stick to your artery walls more.