5 things you need to know about your cholesterol

Like blood pressure, our cholesterol readings are quite important as we age. It’s important to know these numbers because if uncontrolled, or if you have too much of the “bad” kind, it can lead to serious health consequences.

Cholesterol comes in two forms: Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). LDL is the type we generally refer to as “bad” and HDL is the “good” kind. But what makes cholesterol good or bad?

Well, LDL can actually stick to the walls of your arteries making blood flow more difficult. HDL, on the other hand, moves cholesterol to the liver where it can be removed. Cholesterol is essential to our body and in fact 80 percent of it comes from the body and so it’s imperative we maintain a healthy balance.

Although you may know that the key to good health is having healthy cholesterol, there are a few facts about cholesterol that maybe you don’t know. Therefore let’s look at some cholesterol facts that are not as common.

Surprising facts about cholesterol
1. High cholesterol can reveal itself on your skin: If you think the only way to determine if you have high cholesterol is through blood work, you’d be mistaken. In fact, high cholesterol can be seen with the naked eye. With seniors in particular spots can develop on the face and joints called xanthoma (pronounced zan-thoh-muh-tuh).

2. Cholesterol-free can still raise cholesterol:

Read more at http://www.belmarrahealth.com/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-your-cholesterol/