Analysis of Different Types of Fat in the Blood
Dr. Pham Hoang Trung
When testing for blood lipid, the doctor usually gives you the following tests:
1. Total cholesterol
- Level below 200 is considered to be good and appropriate.
- Level from 200 - 239 is borderline high.
- High range is 240 or more.
2. HDL good cholesterol (the higher the better)
- Level above 60 is high, very good.
- Level from 40 - 60 is good, acceptable.
- Level below 40 is low, not good.
3. Bad cholesterol LDL
- Ideal level is below 100 (hard to achieve).
- The level of nearly ideal is from 100-129.
- The borderline high level is between 130-159.
- High level is 160-189.
- Very high level is from 190 upwards.
4. Triglycerides
- The level of triglycerides in the blood below 150 is considered ideal.
- The boundary level is slightly high (borderline high) is from 150-200.
- Triglycerides level is considered high: from 200-500.
- A level above 500 is considered to be very high.
Triglycerides are a special type of fat that is stored as energy for the body to use. When we eat, the body converts food into energy to use for the activities of the body, especially carbohydrates that are converted into energy for the body to use immediately. If we eat high calory foods, such as flour or sugar, the excess energy that the body does not use completely will be converted into triglycerides for the body to use later. So, when we eat food that is more calories than the body regularly uses, we get high triglycerides in our blood. Therefore, people who have a blood test and see a high level of triglycerides must pay attention to whether they eat or drink sugar- sweetened foods, whether they eat a lot of starchy foods, such as eating a lot of rice; or drinking a lot of alcoholic beverages also causes triglycerides to elevate in the blood. If you know this, just abstain from sugar-sweetened foods, alcoholic beverages and eat less rice, the triglycerides level will drop immediately.
If you have high cholesterol, then abstain from greasy foods such as fried foods, especially deep fried foods. Although the food you fry with olive or canola oil which is the best oil on the market, but when fried up to a temperature of about 400 degrees Fahrenheit, this oil will change its form to become a saturated fat that is high of cholesterol, especially if you cook the already used oil that has been fried many times, the risk of high cholesterol in the blood is increased.
As you know, long-term high cholesterol will narrow the artery diameter due to the fact that fat forms plaque on the inside walls of arteries, which prevents blood circulation. If this condition occurs in the brain, it is more likely to have a stroke and if it occurs in the coronary artery, it is more likely to cause a heart attack.
If triglycerides are high plus cholesterol is high, especially the bad LDL cholesterol, the greater the risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, if triglycerides are high, there is a high risk of fatty liver and, in rare cases, pancreatitis.
When high cholesterol in the blood, there are usually no symptoms at all, only a blood test will detect it. But for some people with high cholesterol would have symptoms such as: after having lunch, feeling heavy head and sleepy as if you want to go to deep sleep, or having a headache, limb stiffness. Because high cholesterol in the blood increases the thickness of the blood, this prevents of blood circulation to the head, which cause headaches, or prevents the circulation of blood into the coronary arteries, which cause pain in the left chest.
DR. PHAM HOANG TRUNG
9822 Bolsa Ave. Suite E – Westminster, CA 92683 – USA