Do you know your vital signs for heart health: your cholesterol levels and your blood pressure? For total cholesterol level, normal is less than 200 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter). The higher your level, the greater your risks for heart attack or stroke. So, even if your cholesterol level is borderline high (200 to 239 mg/dL), work toward a lower, heart-healthier goal.
Four key strategies can put you in the total “cholesterol countdown”: (1) if you smoke, stop; (2) eat smart; (3) move more; (4) lose weight if you need to. Make your eating style low in saturated fat and cholesterol, moderate in fat overall, with plenty of fruits, veggies, and whole-grain foods. If that’s not enough, you might need cholesterol-lowering medication, too.
Know your HDL- (good) cholesterol, LDL- (bad) cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, too. Even with normal total cholesterol, your LDLs could be too high, and your HDLs, too low for heart health. Normal is: HDLs, 60 mg/dL or more; LDLs, less than 200 mg/dL; triglycerides, less than 150 mg/dL.
Start today; eat to help bring blood cholesterol levels within a healthy range.
- Go for five. Have five to nine daily servings of fruits and vegetables (seven for physically active women, nine for physically active men).
- Enjoy beans (legumes). One or two bean meals a week gives variety.
- Eat six to eleven grain products (at least three whole-grain) servings daily.
- Eat fish, poultry without skin, and lean cuts of meat. Cook them in low-fat ways.
- Eat mostly fat-free and low-fat dairy foods: two to three servings daily.
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