Why cholesterol is important

Some risk factors that can be changed include lack of exercise and poor eating habits. Cholesterol-lowering medicines. Medicines are used to lower fats in the blood, particularly LDL cholesterol.

Statins are a group of medicines that can do this. The two most effective types are atorvastatin and rosuvastatin. Other medicines that lower cholesterol levels are ezetimibe and PCSK9 inhibitors. Triglycerides are another class of fat found in the bloodstream. The bulk of your body's fat tissue is in the form of triglycerides. The link between triglycerides and heart disease is being studied.

This means that there is not enough good cholesterol — which normally helps to reduce your bad cholesterol — to effectively do its job. Whether or not you have diabetes, try to keep your cholesterol levels within these recommended ranges:. Maintaining healthy cholesterol levels will help lower your risk for heart disease, which is especially important for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. To monitor your cholesterol levels, regular lab tests are recommended.

Speak with your healthcare professional about how to make sure your cholesterol levels remain in a healthy range. To learn more about your lab tests, read our article on standard diabetes lab tests and how to understand their results. Switch out processed and refined grains for whole grains. Dietary fiber is critical for promoting healthy cholesterol in the body, but refined grains are stripped of fiber when processed. Consuming whole grains which include the entire grain has been shown to improve blood cholesterol levels and lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, and obesity.

Foods like pasta and bread are available in whole wheat or whole grain versions which have high levels of dietary fiber. These kinds of swaps are tasty and helpful for lowering cholesterol levels. Chips, crackers, and sugary cereal should be limited — though you can try whole grain options made with oats, seeds, quinoa, flax, or lentils. The American Heart Association suggests that adults aim for about 25 grams of fiber per day, though your healthcare professional may suggest more or less.

Vegetables and fruits contain vitamins and nutrients that your body needs, in addition to more fiber. For lunch, make sure to get some greens like spinach, kale, and lettuce into your meal, or try some sliced carrots and bell peppers with hummus for a delicious snack. To read more about nutrition, click here.

Avoid saturated and trans fats. Saturated fats differ from healthier unsaturated fats because they are usually solid at room temperature and trans fats are a type of saturated fat. Saturated fats include foods like butter, animal fats, and processed food most premade breakfast sandwiches or freezer meals can hide dangerous saturated fats. Red meat and the skin and fat from chicken and turkey have high saturated fat levels.

Remember that dietary cholesterol is different than saturated fat and, in moderation, generally will not affect your cholesterol levels. Read our article on dietary fat here. Use healthy oils. Healthy oils are low in saturated fat and instead contain unsaturated fat. Any patient taking statins or fibrates who complains of muscle pains, tenderness or weakness must be seen urgently by a doctor to be evaluated for the possibility of having developed this condition.

Patients treated with these drugs should be made aware of this possible side-effect and advised to seek advice if symptoms develop. General and Systematic Pathology. Churchill Livingstone. France M. Abnormalities of lipid metabolism. In: Ahmed N Clinical Biochemistry.

Oxford University Press, Oxford. Holness M et al. Energy metabolism. Medical Sciences. Saunders Elsevier. Beckett G et al. L ecture Notes Clinical Biochemistry. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. Higgins C. Blackwell Publishing, Chichester. Cooper A et al.

Clinical guidelines and evidence review for lipid modification. Greenstein B, Greenstein A. Concise Clinical Pharmacology. Pharmaceutical Press, London. Rang HP et al. Rang and Dales Pharmacology. What do you think? Leave a comment below or tweet your views to IndyNurseMag. This material is protected by MA Healthcare Ltd copyright. See Terms and Conditions. Please view our Terms and Conditions before leaving a comment. Register to read a free issue from our sister publication, Practice Nursing.

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