September is National Cholesterol Education Month, a great time to check your cholesterol levels. BaySport is celebrating with the National Institutes of Health National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH) to provide you with important information about cholesterol and what you can do to keep it low.
What is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance occurring naturally in all body parts. Your body needs some cholesterol to work properly. But if you have too much in your blood, it can stick to the walls of your arteries. This is called plaque. Plaque can narrow your arteries or even block them.
High cholesterol levels in the blood can increase your risk of heart disease. Your cholesterol levels tend to rise as you get older. There are usually no signs or symptoms of high blood cholesterol, but it is detectable with a blood test. You are likely to have high cholesterol if members of your family have it, if you are overweight, or if you eat a lot of fatty foods.
You can lower your cholesterol by exercising more and eating more fruits and vegetables. You also may take medicine to lower your cholesterol.
Do you want to know your cholesterol level? Ask your doctor or simply schedule a cholesterol test with BaySport.
5 Ways BaySport Supports Cholesterol Month!
Sources: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/blood-cholesterol
Original Blog Post: September 2, 2011
Updated Blog Post: August 23, 2022
