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    Optimal Life: The Essentials of High Cholesterol
    Optimal Life: The Essentials of High Cholesterol
    Optimal Life: The Essentials of High Cholesterol
    Ebook172 pages1 hour

    Optimal Life: The Essentials of High Cholesterol

    By Christine Lee, Pharm. D., BCPS

    ()

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    About this ebook

    High cholesterol can lead to very serious complications, so it’s important to get this condition under control so you can be your healthiest. The Essentials of High Cholesterol will help you understand high cholesterol, and give you a step-by-step guide to bring it under control.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateJun 4, 2015
    ISBN9780986155826
    Optimal Life: The Essentials of High Cholesterol

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      Book preview

      Optimal Life - Christine Lee, Pharm. D., BCPS

      info@optimalife.net.

      Introduction

      WHEN YOU PICKED UP THIS BOOK, you already had the idea that you wanted to become healthier. The good news is you recognized this need. In this book, I provide you with information to help you make that change with ease, not fear. Fear freezes decision making and can hinder your ability to create an action plan to achieve your goal. Deciding to change is a beautiful thing, and you should view it as such. You have created a shift in your life, and you should smile, regardless of the motivating factor. Don’t view it as giving up something; instead, let it create joy because you’re going to do something wonderful for yourself.

      No one can reward you better than yourself by making good decisions. How great is that? This is worth repeating:

      No one can reward you better than yourself by making good decisions.

      When your brain receives positive feelings, you receive kindness back from neurons bathing your brain in neurochemicals that create happiness and decrease depression. I believe that people put so much stress on themselves to change that they set themselves up for failure. There is a difference between making a strong decision to reach your target with obtainable goals, and penalizing yourself for not reaching the first target, or the next target, and then giving up. When goals are obtainable, the beautiful thing is that pressure is decreased. This doesn’t in any way decrease your ability to reach your goals; rather, it builds the confidence you need to get the job done. Focusing on the positive affects not only you but also others around you who respond to your positive demeanor.

      You just took the first step by buying this book. Now, I want you to seize this moment and allow yourself to feel good that you took another action step by reading it. That’s two steps closer! So, smile really big for your brain to feel it. Your brain will thank you by releasing positive feel-good chemicals called neuropeptides that allow neurons to communicate this good feeling to your body. These positive neurotransmitters are dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin. They help your body relax, lower your heart rate and blood pressure, and lift your mood. Endorphins, in addition, act as a natural pain reliever.

      Every positive step is rewarded by another positive step, which increases the chance of a successful ending. In fact, you’ll find yourself smiling often — and smiling more at other people. When you smile at a person, that person naturally smiles back, causing both of you to release those feel-good chemicals in your brains.

      Success is the brain’s ability to learn and create good habits at your command.

      I really want you to get the essence of what I am saying. When you realize the power you have to become healthier by setting attainable goals, you are unstoppable. No one can take that away from you. Life’s good and bad situations come and go, but you are in control of your brain. This doesn’t mean you can’t have bad days. The difference is when you become a positive thinker with positive goals, you rebound faster and get back on track. There is a logical reason for this. Usually, your state of mind is healthier from being positive before a bad situation; therefore, it can be easier to pull out of sadness and get back on track with your goals.

      This book gives you an essential education on high cholesterol and how important it is to control this condition. You will have the information you need to help you work more efficiently with your health care provider, which results in a healthier you. It’s easy to read and won’t overwhelm you, so turn the page and take the next step in creating the healthy lifestyle you deserve.

      ~ CHAPTER ONE ~

      Cholesterol and Your Health

      I’D LIKE YOU TO THINK ABOUT THIS: How much time do you spend with your doctor over the course of a year? One 15-minute appointment? Two 15-minute appointments? OK, let’s say it’s three 15-minute appointments. Whatever it is, you know it’s definitely less than 1% of your entire year (365 days × 24 hours = 8,760 hours). You’d have to spend 87.6 hours with your doctor to hit the 1% mark. When you realize you’re with your doctor for such a small amount of time, you can see that it doesn’t leave your doctor much time to educate you on your condition. This means it’s really up to you to understand high cholesterol and how it affects you.

      The Good and the Bad

      Cholesterol is much like a spouse or significant other: you can’t live without it, but too much can kill you. So how do you walk that fine line between enough and too much? As in all relationships, it’s a matter of balance, proportion, and knowing your limits. Human nature is such that most of us indulge to excess or push it to the limit unless there are strong enough reasons to change our behavior. Perhaps you’ve heard the old saying Once you burn your hand on the stove, you won’t do it again. Learning to manage your cholesterol is akin to making sure you don’t burn your hand again. It’s all about education. When you know more about your high cholesterol, you’ll follow through more easily on your health goals. I want to provide you with enough strong reasons to change your behavior now, before you’re burned by the consequences of ignoring it.

      What Is Cholesterol?

      Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance produced naturally by the body and taken into the body through the foods you eat. Total cholesterol is made up of three components: high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and triglycerides (TG). LDL cholesterol is referred to as the bad cholesterol because it contributes to heart disease and other problems. Consequently, most cholesterol treatments are designed to lower LDL cholesterol.

      Cholesterol is necessary for normal body functions. Your body is made up of millions of cells, each one with a membrane to protect it from its surroundings and to allow certain substances in and out of the cell. Cholesterol is required to build and maintain cell membranes. Cholesterol is also involved in cell signaling and nerve conduction. Each nerve is covered by a fatty substance called myelin, which insulates the nerve and helps transmit messages between the nerves and the brain and other parts of the body. These messages control muscle movements, such as walking and talking. If the myelin is destroyed, the signals sent by the brain for muscle movement are not received, and movement is difficult in the area affected.

      The liver changes cholesterol into bile, which is necessary for fat digestion and the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, such as A, D, E, and K. Cholesterol is also an important precursor for vitamin D and is instrumental in creating certain hormones, such as cortisol and aldosterone, as well as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, which are important sex hormones.

      As you can see, cholesterol is essential to many body functions. You need cholesterol to live, but there is a limit to how much your body needs. When there is more cholesterol than your body needs to maintain normal functions, you need to address that condition to stay healthy.

      LDL and HDL Cholesterol

      LDL and HDL are both lipoproteins, meaning they contain fat (lipo), cholesterol, and protein, and are referred to as carrier lipoproteins. LDL carries cholesterol back to the bloodstream from the liver. HDL carries the cholesterol out of the blood circulation back to the liver. The connection between the fats you eat or make in the body is in the form of triglycerides, which is the chemical form in which most fat exists in food and in the body.

      The danger of having high LDL (bad) in the bloodstream is that it carries triglycerides and cholesterol from your liver back into the blood circulation, which can be deposited in your arteries. The major structural protein component of LDL cholesterol is called apoB. It is responsible for carrying cholesterol to the tissues. The apoB

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