Some notes from office health booths

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is fat-like substance found in bloodstream or stored in tissues
Body produces cholesterol to build cell walls and to make hormones.
Cholesterol comes from two main sources: made in your liver and comes from food that we eat.
Too much cholesterol is bad as it can build on artery walls.

Healthy cholesterol levels:
Total cholesterol < 200 mg/dl
LDL cholesterol
< 130 mg/dl
< 100 mg/dl if history of heart attack, stroke, bypass
surgery or diabetes
HDL cholesterol > 45 mg/dl
Triglycerides < 150 mg/dl

LDL = Low density lipoproteins (Bad cholesterol)
HDL = High density lipoproteins (Good cholesterol)

Note for cholesterol control:

- Choose cereals/bread/cracker having 3 or fewer grams of total fat per serving
- Avoid fruit juice if you have high triglycerides or trying to loose weight
- Use mono-unsaturated oils
- Avoid hydrogenated fat or trans fat found in most margarines
- Try to include plant sterols ( cholesterol lowering foods) in diet these include Benecol, Take control, canola harvest and others
- Avoid saturated fats eg lard, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, shortening, coconut or palm oil and the favorite chocolate
- Add flax seed meal daily 2 Tbsp
- Limit salt to 2300 mg/day


Blood pressure

Blood pressure is pressure of blood against your artery walls.
When blood pressure is high, heart has to work harder than it needs to in order to send blood throughout the body.
Adult blood pressure levels (mmHg = millimeters of mercury)



Systolic pressure: Force of blood against your arteries when your heart is sending blood to your body.
Diastolic pressure: Force of blood against your arteries while heart relaxes between beats.

Note: Both numbers are important.

Body Fat percentage