What Are The Normal Cholesterol Levels?
Do you know that cholesterol levels vary by weight, age and gender? After some time, a person’s body tends to deliver more cholesterol, meaning that all adults should check their cholesterol levels regularly – about every 4 to 6 years.
Cholesterol is measured in 3 categories: LDL (bad cholesterol), HDL (good cholesterol) and total cholesterol. The balance between these three levels is very important. While LDL and total cholesterol levels have to be kept low, having more HDL cholesterol can protect a person against developing heart-related issues including strokes and heart attacks.
Aging
Age is the main factor in the amount of cholesterol in your blood. Being older than 45 years old (if you are a man) and older than 55 (if you are a woman) is a risk factor for having a cholesterol issues. Usually, men have a tendency to have higher levels of cholesterol throughout life than women. But women are also not protected from high cholesterol levels. During the menopause the cholesterol often increases.
Cholesterol levels for adults
Total cholesterol level less than 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) is considered normal for adults. A level between 200 and 239 mg/dL is viewed as borderline high. Values higher than 240 mg/dL is considered high.
LDL (bad) cholesterol level has to be less than 100 mg/dL. Levels between 100 and 129 mg/dL are acceptable for individuals with no health issues, but should be of more concern for those with heart disease risk factors or with heart disease. A reading between 130 and 159 mg/dL is borderline high and 160 to 189 mg/dL is considered high. A level of 190 mg/dL or higher is considered very high.
HDL (good) cholesterol level should be kept higher. A reading of less than 40 mg/dL is thought to be a major risk factor for heart issue. A reading between 41 mg/dL and 59 mg/dL is reviewed as borderline low. The optimal reading for HDL is of 60 mg/dL or higher.
Prevent high levels of cholesterol
As the cholesterol levels start to increase with age, health specialists typically recommend taking earlier steps in life to avoid high levels of cholesterol. Years and even months of unmanaged cholesterol can turn out to be considerably trickier to treat in just one go.
The 4 lifestyle changes you may be advised to make are:
- regular exercise
- eating a heart-healthy food
- quit smoking
- losing weight
If your LDL levels are still too high after these lifestyle changes, talk to your GP about cholesterol-lowering medications like statins, but give these pieces of advice your best shot.
What Causes High Cholesterol Levels?
Cholesterol is found everywhere in your body and has essential natural functions when it comes to producing hormones, digesting foods, and producing vitamin D. It is generated by the body and can also be taken in from food.
Cholesterol is fat-like and waxy in appearance. It is both good and bad. There are 2 types of cholesterol. HDL (good cholesterol or high-density lipoproteins) and LDL (bad cholesterol or low-density lipoproteins). At normal levels, it is an important substance for the body, but if concentrations in the blood get too high, it turns into a silent danger that causes risk of heart attack.
Here are some facts on cholesterol:
- Cholesterol is a fundamental substance, produced by the body. It is also ingested from animal-derived foods
- Having high levels of cholesterol doesn’t usually produce any symptoms
- The most serious risk factors for high cholesterol are lifestyle choices – exercise and diet
- If lifestyle changes are unsuccessful or cholesterol levels are extremely high, lipid-lowering drugs such as statins may be recommended.
Find out some of the causes of high cholesterol and change your lifestyle to keep it at normal levels.
Food
Eating too much trans fat and saturated fat can raise your cholesterol levels. A diet rich in vegetables and fruits, beans, whole grains, and good fats can help lower the “bad cholesterol”.
In general, avoid the food if any of these things appear high on the product label’s ingredient list:
Trans fats: These are harmful to you! They can be found in packaged snacks such as cookies, pastries, crackers, breakfast sandwiches, microwave popcorn, cream-filled candy, doughnuts, fried fast foods, frozen pizza and some types of margarine. Read the nutrition facts to be aware of all the fats in the product.
Salt: Too much sodium can raise your pulse. You probably already know not to have too much salty snack foods and canned soup. But did you know it can also be hidden in rolls and breads, cold cuts and cured meats, some chicken, pizza, and some fast-food products?
You might be surprised how frequently it’s also found in frozen foods. Read labels and try not to get more than 2,400 milligrams daily.
Sugar: Sugar might cause problems such as heart disease, weight gain, and diabetes as well as cholesterol. It is essential to limit the the sugar in what you drink and eat.
Sport
Make movement a part of your cholesterol-lowering plan to avoid heart disease. Research proves that a combination of aerobic (cardio) and resistance training is the best thing to do for reducing the risk of heart attack. In a study of obese and overweight participants, researchers found out that engaging in both types of activity gave more benefits for fat and weight loss rather than practicing either of the mentioned.
Lifestyle
If you want to keep your cholesterol levels in normal range, you should not only exercise regularly and eat a heart-healthy diet.
You should…
… quit smoking…
Smoking brings down your HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It makes all heart health markers bad: smoking causes inflammation, which can contribute to blood clots, atherosclerosis, and risk of heart attack. Consult with your doctor and build up a plan to help you quit smoking.
… and drink alcohol only in moderation
Moderate use of alcohol has been connected with higher levels of HDL cholesterol, yet the benefits are not strong enough to recommend alcohol for anyone who does not already drink. If you drink alcohol, do so with some restrain. For healthy grownups, that means up to one drink per day for ladies of all ages and men older than age 65, and up to 2 drinks per day for men age 65 and younger.
Drinking a lot of alcohol prompt dangerous health problems, including heart failure, high blood pressure and stroke.
How hard is it to deal with prostate issues?
Prostate health easily gets sidelined by other health subjects. Men are usually hesitant to talk about their prostate concerns, even with their GP. The easiest screening option – a blood testing your PSA levels indicates expansion in cases of prostate growth, which causes a lot of anxiety related to the anticipation of results and is very often skipped.
Why does a prostate issue have to be difficult when the problem could be dealt with ease when addressed early on? Why not concentrate on prevention by keeping a healthy prostate?
Fortunately, there are natural approaches to keep a healthy prostate.
Eat Healthy Food
Including a balanced amount of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables to your daily snacks and meals would be a perfect way to guarantee that your prostate stays healthy, particularly those rich in zinc and vitamin C. Other example of foods that boost prostate health is nuts, avocados and healthy oils (for example – the organic olive oil).
Do The Pelvic Floor Exercise
Exercises help your bladder empty at a normal rate. The pelvic floor practice works the muscles by contracting and relaxing them regularly. While relaxing the muscles, all you should do is simply leave them. Repeat this routine several times daily. It is important to keep the muscles tight, as hard as possible, and enabling the muscles to relax completely afterwards.
Manage Hormones
Dealing with your hormone production is an essential step in managing your aging prostate health. As you age, your hormone production changes. An enzyme and hormone called 5-alpha-reductase turns testosterone to dihydrotestosterone or DHT. This can cause the testosterone levels to drop down and create imbalance between your testosterone and estrogen. This leads to an enlarged prostate. You can naturally manage your hormones through maintaining a healthy weight and by using supplements.
Your lifestyle significantly affects your prostate health – from the exercises you do to the food you eat to the supplements you take. Following all of the above easy ways to shrink your prostate can help you in preventing BPH symptoms from getting worse. Taking steps to improve your prostate health through these efforts can help you to naturally manage your prostate health.
Aging and Joint Problems
Time changes your joints and your entire body. Age modifies each of the structures that make up a joint, and over the span of your life, your joints sustain an enormous amount of wear and tear. You cannot prevent all the changes age brings to your joints, but you can slow the rate of deterioration and minimize the impact on your ability to live an independent and dynamic life.
As you age, the joints become stiffer and less flexible. That’s why, the older you get, the more common it is to encounter aching or mild soreness when you stand, exercise or climb stairs. The body does not recover as fast as it did in your youth.
Many of the age-related changes to joints are caused by absence of activity. Movement of the joint, and the related ‘stress’ of movement, helps keep the fluid moving. Being inactive makes the cartilage to shrink and stiffen, reducing joint mobility.
You cannot bring back cartilage that is already lost… But there are a few easy steps you can take to prevent the war or even reduce the pain associated with osteoarthritis.
Keep up a healthy weight
Maintaining a healthy weight to protect your joints. Keeping your weight down will help reduce the small tears that break down cartilage. A weight loss of 11 pounds can reduce arthritis pain by 50% for many women. Weight loss may also slow the progression of osteoarthritis.
Exercise
Keep your body active to reduce stiffness in the joints. Specialists recommend low- or no-impact aerobic exercises, such as walking, swimming, or cycling.
Add ice
Icing your joints after exercise can prevent swelling and help you manage pain. When you are active, you draw a lubricant called synovial fluid to your joints. Bear in mind that if the fluid sticks around too long after exercise, it can cause cracks in the cartilage. Specialists suggest icing the joints you use during exercise for 10 min after the activity.
Eat superfood
Research shows that the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish can help to reduce the symptoms that cause joint pain. They also change the levels of inflammation that may be causing some of the pain. Fish oil slows the generation of inflammation-signalling cells. The best sources are fish such as tuna and salmon. Studies prove that vitamin D may help protect your joints, too, via an anti-inflammatory effect. Ensure you get 400-800 International Units of vitamin D daily.
The Best Activities for Those With Joint Issues
On the whole, doctors will tell you that exercise is good for you. And they are right! You are likely acquainted with the general health advantages of exercise: improved circulation, heart health, and lower blood pressure are only a few reasons to keep active, even when you are feeling pain or mobility problems.
However, for those with joint issues like arthritis and arthralgia, engaging in low-impact, moderate-intensity exercise can bring extra benefits that may enhance your quality of life.
The following exercises will not put excessive strain on the joints. Try to incorporate activities from each category into your daily routine for best results.
Every individual with joint pain and arthritis is different. Do what you can, when you can, and consult a doctor to determine what is safe and reasonable for you.
Cardio Activities
Aerobic exercise is any conditioning exercise that raises your heart rate over its normal resting rate. A reasonable target is to practice so that you are breathing harder than regular but are still able to carry on a conversation.
30 minutes per day of aerobic exercise is perfect, but 150 minutes for a week is the recommended minimum.
You can finish your aerobic activities all in one session, or you can work it into your day in short multiple sessions, for example – 15 minutes of bike riding and 15 minutes of yard work.
Strengthening Activities
Strengthening your muscles is essential, especially for people with osteoarthritis – stronger muscles can help to take some of the pressure off your joints.
Aim to perform strengthening exercises 2 times per week. Involve all the major muscle groups of the body (back, chest, arms, shoulders, hips and legs). Practice your strength training routine at home or in a gym.
Balance Activities
Those with arthritis and joint pain, especially people with ankle, knee and hip issues, may struggle with deteriorating balance. Keeping up balance is important to older people, as sustaining a fall will probably result in a debilitating injury, particularly if you have decreased bone thickness due to osteoporosis.
When designing your activity, consult with your GP, try to practice balance exercises at least twice per week. Balance training does not have to take much time.
Flexibility Training
A stretching regimen is a basic part of physical activity, especially in people with joint issues. If your joints are getting painful and stiff, regular exercises may get more difficult after some time.
Stretching your muscles with dynamic stretches after your daily practice is a good way to boost your flexibility and hold your range of motion. Ask your trainer for a list of flexibility exercises perfect for your particular joint problems.
However, if you have joint issues you should avoid some sports, such as dancing, baseball, hockey, soccer, rugby and tennis.
How to Reach an Ideal Weight?
There are useful methods for calculating your healthy weight. Reaching and maintaining it can help you control and prevent many diseases and conditions. When it comes to dieting, hitting the gym, and getting to your perfect weight, the ultimate goal should always be health.
There are many reasons that traditional diets may not help you to achieve sustainable healthy weight reduction. Keep in mind that:
- Dieting disrupts normal body processes;
- Dieting causes yo-yo effect;
- Dieting may lead to eating disorders;
- Diets do not last;
- Dieting causes preoccupation with food.
To make improvements that prompt long term ideal weight, it is important to begin with accepting your present pounds, while also grasping an inspiration for change.
Here are a few tips you can use to reach your ideal weight:
1. Make sure you are on a real calories deficit
Research shows that individuals tend to overestimate the number of calories burned and to underestimate the number of calories they consume. You need to make sure you are creating a real calorie deficit. What’s more, the best way to do this is by counting every single calorie. This will give you an unmistakable estimate of the quantity of calories you consume every day.
But you don’t have to be obsessed by calories counting for the rest of your life. Stop counting calories when you can precisely eyeball portions.
2. Change your exercise routine
Exercises turn out to be less effective as the body gets used to them. You will start burning fewer calories doing the same exercise than you were before, because your body adjusted to it.The changes you have to make to your exercise routine will rely upon your current workout. Increase the difficulty and the intensity of your exercises, if you don’t practice a lot. If you have been training overwhelmingly, lessen the intensity of your workouts for 7 days to reboot. After the break start a challenging new workout.
3. Get rid of stress and get enough sleep
Studies have found that the stress and lack of sleep can trigger high cortisol levels. This causes fat to settle around the abdominal area, because the metabolism is slowed down. The amount of sleep a person needs varies, but the National Sleep Foundation recommends 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night for grownups.
Talk to your health care provider if you are concerned about your weight. And remember – the ultimate goal is being within a normal, healthy weight range.
Take Care of Your Joints!
Anyone who has been working out for some time knows the importance that joints have in one’s capacity to keep training hard. The abilities to lift heavy weights and to perform body exercises becomes limited if the joints aren’t operating at their peak. Also, without taking care of your joints, your bones will hurt when rubbing against each other.
We shouldn’t wait until we have joint inflammation to take action. Use these simple tips to prevent pain and possibly even arthritis.
Use your big joints
Use your big joints to carry heavy objects. Try not to carry big shopping bag with your fingertips. Put it over your forearm or shoulder instead. Also, you should carry a large pot by putting your hands (while wearing gloves) under the handles, grasping the side of the pot, rather than the handles.
Do exercise
The pain in joints may make you hesitant to work out. However, research shows that stiffness get worse when you are not training enough. You should do aerobic exercise every day. When your heart is pumping you will boost your blood flow. Thus the cartilage will be well nourished. And there is an extra advantage – doing exercise helps you reach a healthy weight.
Don’t carry – push
When carrying objects, put them close to your body. Bend your knees rather than your back when lifting things. Don’t carry heavy objects – push them. It is better to use a shopping trolley instead of a heavy basket. Buy a suitcase that has wheels, so that you don’t have to carry a heavy suitcase. And keep in mind – don’t carry more than 25 kg.
Lose weight
You won’t simply look good, your body will feel better, as well. Each extra pound you gain puts four times the weight on your knees. On the contrary, even a small amount of weight reduction will give your knees relief. Research has shown that losing as little as 11 pounds may enhance your joint health and minimize the risk of osteoarthritis of the knee by 50%.
Stretch your body every day
Stretching will help you improve your ability to move your joints. It fights stiffness and also helps protect the cartilage from wear and tear. There are many types of stretches that can help keep your joints healthy, but the four most common are static, ballistic, dynamic and P.N.F. Ignoring issues related to the joints may cause problems not immediately, but with age sooner or later you’ll feel it.