Cholesterol (Blood Lipids)

Cholesterol is a fat (also called a lipid) that your body needs to work properly.  Cholesterol levels that are too high can increase your chance of getting heart disease, stroke and other problems to include shortness of breath and fatigue.

This fatty substance (cholesterol) in the body serves several vital roles.  It is a building block for various hormones and bile acids, and it plays a major role in stabilising cell membranes.  While a certain amount of cholesterol is required by the body to maintain good health, the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that elevated blood cholesterol levels greatly increase the risk of death due to heart disease.

The medical term for high blood cholesterol is lipid disorder, dislipidemia or hyperlipidemia.

Causes, incidence and risk factors

There are many types of cholesterol.  The ones talked about most are:

• Total cholesterol  -  all the cholesterols combined
• High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol  -  often called "good cholesterol"
• Low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol  -  often called "bad cholesterol

  For most people, abnormal cholesterol levels are the result of an unhealthy lifestyle - most commonly, eating a diet that is high in fat.  Other factors are:

• Being overweight
• Heavy alcohol use
• Lack of exercise and leading an inactive lifestyle

Diabetes and an underactive thyroid gland may lead to high cholesterol levels.  Other illnesses that may raise cholesterol levels include polycystic ovarian syndrome and kidney disease.

Higher levels of female hormones increase or change cholesterol levels.  This may include women who take birth control pills or estrogen, or who are pregnant.  Some medicines used to treat depression may also cause cholesterol to rise.

If you feel  that you may fall under any of the above categories why not check your cholesterol today.  Our test is simple.

How do we test for cholesterol ?

The cardiocheck PA is a  fast, portable and accurate whole blood test system designed to enable physicians to test patients for dyslipidemia and take action to bring their lipids under control on-the-spot, while they are in the office.  This means you cut down on unnecessary trips to get referrals and than to pathology labs and back again to get results.  At the BetterHealth Naturopathic Clinic it all happens in one simple consultation.  You will receive a printed report.

Remember LDL cholesterol levels that are high can be an indicator of a variety of health issues, so don't put it off as it only requires a few drops of blood from your finger.

Having the information provided by our screening system about your cholesterol levels gives you the power to change your lifestyle and make healthier decisions.

We would like to thank Bioceuticals & PubMed for some of the information used on this page.