How cholesterol affects our bodies

Cholesterol has mainly been associated with impacting heart health, but because these lipids flow through and affect veins and arteries, high levels of “bad cholesterol” can cause havoc to many important systems.

To learn about all the types of cholesterol, click here. 

There are no symptoms of high cholesterol. The only way you can know you have high cholesterol numbers is to have your doctor perform a laboratory test once a year.

Causes of high cholesterol

Many different things can cause a person to have high cholesterol levels. Some we can control, and some we cannot. Though we cannot control our genetics, or age, for the most part, there are risk factors for high cholesterol that can be controlled. Interestingly, the same risk factors that can be controlled to bring down high cholesterol also can bring down our risk for diabetes.

There are no symptoms of high cholesterol. The only way to know you have high cholesterol numbers is to have your doctor perform a laboratory test once a year. The test is called a Cholesterol or Lipid Panel, and it shows your total cholesterol number, along with values for your LDL-C, HDL-C, and Triglycerides.

Stay tuned to our next blog post where we will discuss if there is a link between high cholesterol and diabetes…