Basic Introduction - If you are reading this, then odds are you are worried about cholesterol.  Whether you are concerned because you have read statistics that suggest high cholesterol may be bad for you or whether you are worried because you or someone you know has been diagnosed with having high levels of “bad” cholesterol, the fact is that we could all stand to learn more about this important health issue.

01. Understanding Cholesterol - In order to understand why it is important to lower cholesterol, it is necessary to first understand what cholesterol is. Cholesterol is a fatlike waxy substance and is produced by the liver. Although cholesterol has purposes and is important to overall health and body function, too much cholesterol in the body has damaging effects.

02. Your Arteries - The job of your arteries is to pump blood. The Dorsal Aorta or the main artery branches out into many smaller arteries. Each body system has arteries which are responsible for providing the oxygen rich blood that keeps us alive.

Too much cholesterol in the blood - especially bad cholesterol - prevents arteries from working their best.  High levels of bad cholesterol may even prevent arteries from functioning at all, since cholesterol can actually lead to blockages in your arteries. 

03. Lower Cholesterol - Eating is one of the things that can affect your cholesterol level a great deal.  If you have too high cholesterol, the foods you eat can be one of the things you can control to most effectively and quickly lower your cholesterol. In fact, if you have elevated levels of high cholesterol, a healthy diet is the one thing that you must absolutely do in order to ensure heart health.

04. Children + Cholesterol - Many people assume that high cholesterol is a problem that affects middle-aged adults only.  In fact, many people don’t even worry about their cholesterol when they are younger, eating all the fatty convenience foods they want, assuming that their early diet makes no difference.

Nothing could be further from the truth. 

05. Two Big Secrets - Most of us know what we have to do to lower our cholesterol.  Face it, most of us have been taught which foods are healthy and low in fat and which are less than good for us.  However, adopting a very low-fat diet and healthier lifestyle is often challenging, especially if we have followed less than ideal eating and life patterns for some time. Although we may know which foods we should be turning to and which lifestyle changes we need to make, we don’t always do what is right.

06. Shop Lower Cholesterol - Where and how you shop can have a huge impact on your cholesterol levels.  If you do most of your shopping at the local supermarket, are you often tempted by the foods you see on sale in the aisles - foods such as potato chips and frozen chicken dinners?  Do you leave the store with high-fat items that were not on your list?  You are not alone.

07. Drugs and Treatments - If your doctor has determined that you have heightened levels of bad cholesterol, he or she will likely make some suggestions about things you may do in order to improve your health.  Some of these suggestions will have to do with diet and lifestyle changes.  However, if your cholesterol is quite high or you require an aggressive approach to lowering cholesterol, you may be advised to take certain medications or treatments in order to lower your cholesterol. 

08. Good News - Dr. Nicolas Duverger of Gencell in France along with Dr. Caroline Desurmont of Institut Pasteur in Paris are conducting studies associated with gene therapy. In addition to their hope to find a good solution to reducing high cholesterol, they are also studying the elimination of fatty plaques associated with "hardening of the arteries."

09. Lifestyle Cholesterol - Eating differently and getting doctor-supervised cholesterol treatment will help lower your cholesterol. However, to stay heart healthy and or lower your cholesterol in the next thirty days, you will need to make some changes to your way of life in order to reap the maximum benefits. Luckily, a few easy-to-make changes are all that is needed to start reaping big cholesterol-lowering benefits:

10. Your Doctor - If you want to lower your bad cholesterol in the next thirty days and experience a lifetime of good health, you need to work effectively with health care professionals, including your doctor, nurses, pharmacists, and (possibly) nutritionists, dieticians, holistic practitioners, and lipid specialists.

Communicating effectively with your doctors and care givers is very important, since you need to give them information about your condition and symptoms which may help them treat you.

11. Cholesterol Myths - There are many myths out there about cholesterol.  If you believe any of the following misconceptions and misinformation, you may be making uninformed choices that can sabotage your chances of lowering your cholesterol:

• Cholesterol Myth: I follow a good diet, so I don’t need to get tested for my cholesterol levels.

People who are overweight and consistently choose high-fat and processed foods (which are high in trans and saturated fats) may well have elevated levels of cholesterol. 

12. Cholesterol Resources - There are a number of places you will want to check in order to find more help with lowering your cholesterol.  Consider the following resources:

1) Your library. Your library will have many resources that can help you with lowering your cholesterol. From library books about cholesterol to cookbooks that feature heart-friendly recipes, the library should be one of your first stops when you are looking for resources

13. Cholesterol Glossary - As you lower your cholesterol over the next thirty days, you will likely encounter new words and terms.  As you get used to these new concepts, feel free to turn to this glossary to help you recall what is what:

If you have too much cholesterol in the blood, it will create a yellow thick substance on the lining of the blood vessels.  This is known as atherosclerosis. 

14. Conclusion - By now, you understand what cholesterol is and what you need to do to keep your cholesterol level healthy and your heart in good condition.  There is a lot of information in this ebook, and that is why you will want to take the time to look over parts of it again to refresh your memory and to get more ideas for lowering your cholesterol.

THE END