Should Women Be Concerned About Cholesterol?
Should Women Be Concerned About Cholesterol?
Not that many years ago the idea that women should be seriously concerned about cholesterol was about the last thing on most doctors minds. After all, women don't have a high risk for heart attack or stroke so why worry, or at least that was how the conventional wisdom of the day went. But today we know that line of thinking couldn't be further from the truth.
Certainly women have a different dynamic when it comes to cholesterol than do their male counterparts, primarily due to the higher levels of estrogen and HDL (good cholesterol) during certain periods of their lives.
In cardiovascular speak the higher the level of estrogen and HDL the lower the chances of heart attack or stroke. This may help explain why premenopausal women are usually protected from heart and artery disease.
While premenopausal women have a number of advantages when it comes to cholesterol, and the subsequent diseases and conditions resulting from chronic high cholesterol, they do seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to triglycerides.
While triglycerides (one molecule glycerin and three molecules fatty acids) are not technically cholesterol they are blood fats just as is cholesterol. The difference is they are produced in the liver when a person consumes more calories than needed and sent on their merry way through the bloodstream carrying a load of fat derived from that chicken fried steak or that irresistible slice of cheesecake. Ultimately they will end up stored in the tissue as body fat.
Triglycerides are dangerous! In fact, some believe they are a bigger threat to cardiovascular disease than LDL (bad cholesterol) itself. Since 95 percent of all triglycerides come from simply eating too much food the solution to curtailing them is fairly straightforward; just eat less.
For woman, and their cholesterol woes, the real problems starts to occur around the age of 50, though their risk for cardiovascular disease won't reach its peak for another 15 or 20 years. The reason for this is that up until the age of 50, or so, a woman's blood vessels are generally more elastic and are less cluttered with arterial plaque.
When it comes to women and cholesterol pregnancy may be another concern, even though the naturally evolution of things may moderate the risk. During pregnancy protective HDL (good cholesterol levels) declines creating an imbalance between good and bad cholesterol. Weight gain may also be factor as well. But the good news is that a recent study consisting of over 1,000 women found that nursing the newborn for longer than 3 months actually moderates the decline in HDL (good cholesterol).
By age 65 the number of women dying for heart attacks will surpass that of their male counterparts. So it is critically important for women to get a handle on their cholesterol and triglycerides well before the age of 55.
In order to do this there are a number of steps that should be implemented.
They are: holding saturated fat consumption to less than 8 percent of calories, daily exercise, effectively managing other health concerns (diabetes, high blood pressure), avoiding cigarettes or cigarette smoke, consuming no more than 200 milligrams of cholesterol daily, and considering medication or a natural cholesterol reduction supplement if needed.
Additionally, there is an ever growing mound of evidence to support the premise that omega 3 fish oil supplements help with cholesterol, heal damaged arteries, and may reverse the accumulation of arterial plaque.
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