Symptoms of High cholesterol

As explained earlier, atherosclerosis is usually the end product of consistently high cholesterol levels. The symptoms of high cholesterol stem from diminished blood flow and may include:

Symptoms of High Cholesterol Ctd

* Angina (chest pain)
* Intermittent Claudication (leg pain when walking).
* The Pinkish-Yellow (deposits under the skin, particularly around the eyelids or on the tendons of      the lower legs)

High Cholesterol - Things to do:

The American Heart Association and other health experts recommend that daily consumption of cholesterol should be less than 300 milligrams. They also recommend that the fat intake should not exceed 30% of an individual’s daily calories. It is said that for every 1% decrease in body cholesterol level, the chance of heart attack or stroke is reduced by 2%.

* Avoid using cooking oils that are high in saturated fats or trans fats such as coconut oil, palm oil or vegetable shortening. Instead, use naturally occurring oils that are low in saturated fats and high in mono and polyunsaturated fats, such as canola oil, olive oil, and flax seed oil.

* Minimize using commercially packaged foods that are high in trans fats. Look for processed foods made with unhydrogenated oil rather than hydrogenated or saturated fat.

* The more liquid the margarine, i.e., tub or liquid forms, the less hydrogenated it is. Therefore, margarine is still a preferable substitute for butter, and soft margarines are better than hard ones.

* The American Heart Association recommends that consumers should shop for margarine with no more than 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon, and it should have liquid vegetable oil as the first ingredient. They should choose soft margarines over stick forms to limit their intake of cholesterol-raising trans fatty acids. Diet or lite margarine has less fat (hence, trans fatty acids) than regular margarine, and is therefore a preferable choice.

* French fries, doughnuts, cookies and crackers are examples of foods that are high in trans fatty acids and should be consumed infrequently.

* As saturated fats are found in animal products, lower-fat version dairy such as 1% or skim milk should be used instead of regular homogenized milk.