Importance of a Cholesterol Test

The advances made by medical science truly cannot be underestimated. Diseases that terrified humanity hundreds of years ago are now cured, controlled or wiped out. The modern lifestyle includes vaccinations, safe housing, accessible medical care and vitamin supplements as well as good health information. People are living longer, healthier lives. One exception to the benefit of the modern lifestyle, however, is the modern diet.

Where mankind once lived on small meals of fresh fruits and vegetables supplemented with roasted meat, now an average person eats three or more meals a day of foods heavy with flavor-filled fats and artificial ingredients. Our diet changes more rapidly than medical science can assess the effects. Fortunately, one addition to the modern lifestyle is the cholesterol test.

Why Test it?

Your cholesterol levels are an indication of potential heart disease. High levels of bad cholesterol, HDL, can foretell the hardening of arteries that can result in heart disease or a heart attack. As serious as high cholesterol is, there are no symptoms that can warn someone of a problem.

And following a diet filled with foods low in cholesterol and foods that can lower cholesterol is no guarantee that your body is not making too much HDL, either. The only way to know your cholesterol levels is to take a cholesterol test. Of course, the results of a cholesterol test are not the only indication of a problem or the lack of one. Your doctor will also want to listen to your heart, check your heart rate, take your blood pressure, ask about your medical history and perform a full physical exam. That's because your levels don't tell the whole story.

What your cholesterol test does tell is the level of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL - the "bad" cholesterol), the level of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL - the "good" cholesterol), triglycerides (very low density lipoprotein) and the total cholesterol level.

If your cholesterol is too high, your doctor can discuss options to help lower it. You would probably be told to change your diet and exercise habits and if the numbers are very high or you have a contributing condition like diabetes, you may be put on medication. Doctors recommend that everyone over the age of 20 take a cholesterol test at least once every five years.

Even though medical science tries to control cholesterol levels through foods low in cholesterol, most cholesterol is made in the body itself. The best way for your doctor to understand how your body is dealing with cholesterol is through your cholesterol test.

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