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Duodenal Switch - Barbara's WLS Journey & Resources |
Not sure what
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C H O L E S T E R O L
How much is too much? The American Heart association recommends that you limit your average daily cholesterol intake to 300 milligrams or less.
HDL and LDL are often referred to as types of cholesterol, but to be strictly accurate, they are not. Cholesterol is carried in the blood by lipoproteins; LDLs, or low density lipoproteins, carry most of the cholesterol in the blood.
HDLs, or high-density lipoproteins, carry only one-third to one-fourth of the cholesterol in the blood, but HDL is known as the "good" cholesterol anyway, because it appears to carry cholesterol away from the arteries and into the liver, which then flushes it out of your system. A high level of HDL indicates a lower risk of heart disease, while a high level of LDL indicates a higher risk of heart disease.
A "blood cholesterol level" measurement quantifies the amount of cholesterol in your blood in milligrams per deciliter of blood. This is the most common measure of blood cholesterol. According to the American Heart Association your total blood cholesterol should be under 200 mg/dL. Anything over 240 mg/dL is considered a high blood cholesterol level.
If your blood cholesterol level is over 200, you are at an increased risk for coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis (also known as hardening of the arteries), a disease in which cholesterol combines with other substances to coat arteries, eventually blocking the flow of blood through that artery, and cutting off the blood supply to the heart.
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What is
cholesterol?