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Be aware of your cholesterol level
For more information about cholesterol and
the risk factors for heart disease, visit the Wellness Wednesday booth
from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 20 at MUSC Children’s Hospital lobby.
September is Cholesterol Awareness Month, and as many already know, a
high cholesterol level may increase the risk of heart disease. What
people may not know, however, are the new guidelines for cholesterol
goals. They are outlined below.
The main ways to lower your cholesterol are with diet, exercise, and
medications. A low saturated fat diet lowers the LDL cholesterol. A
diet low in carbohydrates and sugar lowers triglycerides. Increasing
your HDL, good cholesterol, is done by exercising, stopping smoking,
and diets substituting monounsaturated fats such as nuts and
canola/olive oil for saturated fats.
There are several medications to lower your cholesterol based on the
type of abnormality. Statins have been used for many years and are very
safe and effective in lowering cholesterol.
2006 Cholesterol Goal Guidelines
Total cholesterol
less than 200mg/dl
HDL- “good cholesterol”
> 40mg/dl
LDL- “bad cholesterol”
100-130mg/dl,
(optimal is < 100mg/dl)
If bypass, heart attack,
or
Stent (optional goal) < 70mg/dl
Diabetes
<
100mg/dl
Triglycerides
< 150mg/dl
Weekly
tips from the Healthy S.C. Challenge
Healthy S.C. Challenge is a results-oriented initiative created by Gov.
Mark Sanford and first lady Jenny Sanford to motivate people to start
making choices that can improve health and well-being. Visit
http://www.healthysc.gov.
Nutrition
Drinking eight glasses of water a day quenches thirst, aids digestion,
cools the body during exercise, flushes out waste and carries essential
nutrients to the body’s cells. Water also reduces the risk of kidney
stones, lubricates joints, improves skin tone, relieves headaches and
curbs appetite.
Editor's note: The preceding
column was brought to you on behalf of Health 1st. Striving to bring
various topics and representing numerous employee wellness
organizations and committees on campus, this weekly column seeks to
provide MUSC, MUHA, and UMA employees with current and helpful
information concerning all aspects of health.
Friday, Sept. 15, 2006
Catalyst Online is published weekly,
updated
as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public
Relations
for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of
South
Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at
792-4107
or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to
Catalyst
Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to
catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island
Papers at 849-1778, ext. 201.
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