Did you know?

Where does cholesterol come from?
Cholesterol is a waxy substance that comes from two sources: your body and food. Your body, and especially its liver, makes all the cholesterol you need and circulates it through the blood. Cholesterol is also found in foods from animal sources, such as meat, poultry and full-fat dairy products. Your liver produces more cholesterol when you eat a diet high in saturated and trans fats.

Cholesterol cannot dissolve in the blood. It must be transported through the bloodstream by carriers called lipoproteins, which are composed of fat (lipid) and proteins.

Two types of lipoproteins
The two types of lipoproteins that carry cholesterol to and from cells are low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol, along with one fifth of your triglyceride level, make up your total cholesterol count, which can be determined through a blood test.

Cholesterol can be both good and bad, so it's important to know what your cholesterol is in order to manage the health of your circulatory system.

LDL (Bad) Cholesterol
LDL is considered the “bad” cholesterol because it contributes to plaque, which can clog arteries and make them less flexible. This hardening of the arteries is known as atherosclerosis and makes it harder for your heart to circulate blood. The plaque can break open and cause blood clots. If a clot blocks an artery that feeds the brain, it causes a stroke. If it blocks an artery that feeds the heart, it causes a heart attack.

HDL (Good) Cholesterol
HDL is considered “good” cholesterol because it helps remove LDL from the arteries. Experts believe HDL acts as a scavenger, carrying LDL away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it is broken down and passed from the body. One-fourth to one-third of blood cholesterol is carried by HDL. A healthy level of HDL may also protect against heart attack and stroke, while low levels of HDL have been shown to increase the risk of heart disease.

Set your target HDL level
Cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams (mg) per deciliter (dL) of blood or millimoles (mmol) per liter (L). When it comes to HDL, aim for a higher number.

	At risk	Target Levels
Men	Less than 40 mg/dL (1.0 mmol/L)	60 mg/dL (1.6 mmol/L) or above
Women	Less than 50 mg/dL (1.3 mmol/L)	60 mg/dL (1.6 mmol/L) or above

If your HDL cholesterol level falls between the at-risk and desirable levels, you should keep trying to increase your HDL level to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. If you don't know your HDL level, ask your doctor for a baseline cholesterol test. If your HDL value isn't within a desirable range, you may make lifestyle changes to help boost your HDL cholesterol.

Lifestyle changes
Your lifestyle has the single greatest impact on your HDL levels. Even small changes to daily habits can help increase HDL levels.

• Don't smoke. Quitting smoking can increase HDL by up to 10 percent.
• Lose weight. If you're overweight, losing even a few pounds can improve your HDL level. For every six pounds (2.7 kilograms) lost, your HDL may increase by 1 mg/dL (0.03 mmol/L). If you focus on becoming more physically active and choosing healthier foods — two other ways to increase HDL — you'll likely lose excess weight in the process.
• Get more physical activity. Within two months of starting, frequent aerobic exercise can increase HDL by about 5 percent in otherwise healthy sedentary adults. The American Heart Association recommends exercising briskly for 30 minutes five times a week. Examples of brisk, aerobic exercise include walking, running, cycling, swimming, playing basketball, raking leaves and doing housework. — anything that increases your heart rate. You can also break up your daily activity into three 10-minute segments if you're having difficulty finding time to exercise.
• Choose healthier fats. In a heart-healthy diet, between 25 and 35 percent of your total daily calories can come from fat, but saturated fat should account for less than 7 percent of that. Avoid foods that contain saturated and trans fats, which raise LDL and damage your blood vessels. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — found in olive, peanut and canola oils — tend to improve the anti-inflammatory abilities of HDL. Nuts, fish and other foods containing omega-3 fatty acids are other good choices for improving your LDL to HDL ratio.
• Drink alcohol only in moderation. Moderate use of alcohol has been linked to higher levels of HDL. For healthy adults, that means up to one drink a day for women of all ages and men older than age 65, and up to two drinks a day for men age 65 and younger. If you don't normally drink alcohol, don't start just to try raising your HDL levels.

Dietary supplementation helps
The growing body of scientific evidence supports the benefits of fish oil supplements in promoting circulatory health. LPGN IBOs have access to the best fish oil supplement available today, namely Laminine OMEGA⁺⁺⁺. To help you share the benefits, go to the Resource library in the Virtual Office to access the PowerPoint product presentations.