A cholesterol test is an important laboratory examination that tests a blood sample and provides a measurement of the patient’s cholesterol level. It is recommended that individuals over the age of 20 years old receive a cholesterol test every five years. As a patient grows older the frequency of testing may increase.

In understanding more about a cholesterol test, it is important to know what a cholesterol test is, what the test results mean and methods of treatment.

What Is A Cholesterol Test?

A cholesterol test is known as a lipid profile and generally measures the HDL and LDL cholesterol levels as well as the triglycerides. The test is conducted on the blood sample that is drawn by laboratory personnel through a doctor’s order.

The test is fairly painless with the only possibility of discomfort due to the insertion of a needle into the patients arm. The opposite end of the needle is inserted into a blood collection tube and the cholesterol test is performed on the blood sample.

In addition, the patient is asked to fast prior to the exam. This simply means that the patient should not eat any food 12 hours before the blood sample is to be collected.

What The Results Mean?

When the lab results come back from the medical laboratory there will be two figures that the doctor will be especially interested in. Those numbers will correspond to HDL and LDL cholesterol levels.

A good LDL cholesterol level should fall in the range of 200 mg or less. This is an optimal level and indicates that the patient is at a lower risk for coronary heart disease. If the LDL cholesterol level ranges from 200 to 239 mg this is considered as borderline. Unfortunately, if the LDL level is 240 mg or higher this indicates a high blood cholesterol level and puts the person at great risk for coronary heart disease.

In regards to the HDL level of cholesterol, less is not better. This means that for a man who has an HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg or less puts that individual at a greater risk for heart disease. This level for women corresponds to a level of 50 mg or less. An optimal HDL level reflected on the cholesterol test should be in the range of 60 mg. or above.

Treatment

There are three basic treatments that a doctor can take in regards to abnormal cholesterol test results. Those three responses can include ordering a low-fat diet, suggesting an exercise regimen and medication.

Often, when a cholesterol test indicates that the HDL and LDL levels of cholesterol are abnormal, the easiest treatment method of normalizing those levels of cholesterol is through diet. Often a doctor will prescribe a low-fat diet which means that the patient will need to eat less animal products. This diet will limit their use of eggs, cheeses, cream cheese, butter, etc. In addition the patient’s intake of red meat and lamb should be limited as well. It is also important that the patient does not eat large amounts of processed food which can contain high levels of saturated fatty foods.

In addition, another treatment method of normalizing cholesterol levels is through exercise. This exercise should be in the form of a highly stimulating cardiovascular exercise routine.

Finally, the doctor may be forced to prescribe medications. These medications can help to reduce or absorb high levels of cholesterol within the blood stream.

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Right now, many are frighteningly overweight compared to 30 years ago & the epidemic of alarming proportions is only getting worse and by the year 2010, according to studies, there are many people including kids who will be more overweight and obese than ever before. Being obese can significantly affect anybody’s daily way of life, potentially causing serious physical and psychological problems now and in the future. Researchers from all over the world gave their time through nearly 2 decades of discoveries to evaluate the extensive stigma that overweight people usually endure. Other people are now looking for ways to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle but because of the hectic works in this modern world, many can’t find a time to squeeze even a little exercise in their daily lives. Even exercising for just 45 minutes each morning seems impossible but they don’t know, or perhaps they already do but they just ignore it, that to fight obesity, they need to learn how to lower cholesterol naturally and whether they like it or not, they need to put some time on it.

So, How To Lower Cholesterol?

How to decrease blood cholesterol? This is a common question when people found that they have high cholesterol levels. To reduce cholesterol in the blood is important for everyone, even if you think and feel that you are physically fit and is not prone to heart diseases. It is recommended to lead a more healthy life. Lowering cholesterol is really verysimple and doesn’t require for you to go under the knife or drugs. With adapting a healthy lifestyle, naturally lowering cholesterol is easy since it helps normalize your cholesterol, naturally and safely. One of the effective and easy ways to starting lowering cholesterol is to limit the amount of cholesterol you take in. This is the first of the natural ways to lower cholesterol. Ask yourself what kind of foods and diets you need to choose in order to successfully lower cholesterol. Ask your doctor or dietician about the food pyramid chart so you can have the idea what to eat more and what to eat less with regards to cholesterol and another way to naturally lower cholesterol levels is to adapt a healthy active lifestyle. Be on the run, figuratively and/or literally. Regardless of how busy you are with your work, you need to sweat it out before going on with your everyday busy life. There is even an 8-minute workout for all busy people and there are even some supplements that can help.

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People – especially in their middle age are prone to gaining weight on the belly area. A huge belly is not only an embarrassment, but is extremely ugly and bad for your health. The wrong foods, unhealthy eating habits and a sedentary life style result in the accumulation of fat and the resulting gaining of unwanted weight. The unhealthy side effects increase risks of heart disease, digestive ailments, allergies, joint stresses and skin disorders. In addition to the high health risks, there is significant financial costs when sickness occurs.

When the decision is made to lose weight, the body must be looked at in its entirety. It is not possible just to lose weight in one particular area. While crunches and sit-ups are excellent for strengthening your abdominals, they don’t really take away fat from the stomach or other unwanted fat areas. Logically, complete body workouts help in burning more calories and fat from the entire body. Brisk walking, swimming, playing basket-ball, cycling and any other physical activity assists in weight reduction.

It is easy to change one’s lifestyle, for example, use the stairs when you can, instead of the elevator. Start walking instead of driving short distances. Going to the shops for example. Use your lunch break not just for meals but do a bit of walking. It is not important to join a gym to lose weight. In fact, with our daily hectic schedules, we often look for excuses for not joining a gym, lack of time being the most common one.

A significant step to reducing weight is to start and maintain a balanced and healthy diet with exercise mentioned above. Have low-calorie meals and drinks. Avoid processed foods, especially fast foods. Include fresh fruits, green vegetables, nuts, whole wheat and bran in your daily diet. Good home cooked food is far more healthy and better than eating junk food. Besides lowering cholesterol levels, these foods have great digestive cleaning properties. The system is lesser prone to constipation and hence weight loss and a general improvement of your health.

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