High Cholesterol: It Can Sneak Up on You

Being skinny and under weight most of my life, I never really had a weight problem and I thought people without a weight problem don't usually have cholesterol issues. Well that's not the case. I only eat out once maybe twice on occasion per week and my job is eight hours of physical labor. So I try to eat a low fat diet, I get exercise everyday and drink plenty of liquids that should be enough to pass the cholesterol test, right?

My doctor's office called a few days after the blood test and said you need to go on a low cholesterol diet. My jaw dropped. I wasn't sure they had the right person. It's not life threatening news but its not good news and more importantly what I've been doing living the way I have been living apparently is not good enough. I felt cheated or disappointed. I just said ok doc I understand. So I went back to cooking dinner which was chivetta's chicken and baked potatoes. That's mostly the kind of meals I eat. I thought to myself why don't I just eat burgers and hot dogs and cake and ice cream everyday because actually trying to eat well isn't working.

Then I said to myself, how can I have high cholesterol because my parents don't even have it and they eat more fat than me. My mother actually cooks a whole pound of bacon twice a month for breakfast. Well I can't make too many changes or else I'll be eating nothing but cereal, bread and water. I'll feel like a prisoner in jail or something.

So I researched and asked questions about some things I can change and found out why my cholesterol is kind of high. First it could be high through genetics which mostly comes from my mother's father and I really didn't get to know him that much. Also, if you eat a lot of sugary foods and candy that can turn into fatty deposits that can slow blood flow through your arteries and form some plaque in your veins. Eating fish twice a week is helpful giving the necessary omega 3 fatty acids. Salmon and Trout are the best.Use olive oil instead of your current high fat oil to cook with. Eat oat bran or wheat bran cereals and breads. Sunflower seeds, walnuts, oatmeal and fruits especially apples which give you 4.4 grams of fiber. You are supposed to get 25 grams of fiber each day.

Changing these few things along with watching the fatty and sugary foods should lower my cholesterol so I won't get that call from the doctor after the next blood test. It is recommended getting at least 30 minutes of exercise per day which could be washing the car, weeding the garden,walking,cutting the grass or in my case its all day at work.

So if you are average in height and weight and get exercise along with eating a low fat diet, you still need to get your cholesterol checked once a year because you never know what the result will be and if there are some small lifestyle changes you can make now instead of later it will probably help you avoid some suffering or problems in the future.