Cholesterol 101

Hello, I'm Bethany. Today, this vlog is about cholesterol. [introduces sign for cholesterol] What is cholesterol? You know that we have fat in our bodies, like our stomach, and back of our arms. But did you know your bloodstream has fat inside? That is called cholesterol. Cholesterol is dangerous because you could have a heart attack or stroke, or other health problems could show up. Wow! It's a big risk for a heart attack. When your heart beats, it pumps blood through your arteries and circulates blood to your entire body. Blood goes quickly through the arteries (bloodstream). If you have too much cholesterol, hard fat sticks to the walls of your arteries. Before bloodflow was smooth. Now the arteries are tight, and fat is thick inside the arteries. Blood does not flow smoothly. If blood cannot pass through, you could have a heart attack. I will show you. This side has no cholesterol. Yikes! This one has a lot of cholesterol. There is a lot of thick, heavy, waxy, and hard fat. What happens if blood gets stuck and can't get through? A heart attack. Where do we get the cholesterol in our body from? Food. Your body makes cholesterol -- this is normal. That cholesterol is fine. It does not affect high cholesterol. Dangerous cholesterol comes from food. What kind of food? Meat, ice cream, cheese, eggs, baked foods like muffins, cookies and pastries... Meat like sausage and steak are very high in cholesterol. How do you know if your cholesterol is dangerously high? Can you feel it? Can you see cholesterol? No. Other sicknesses will show symptoms, like fever, weight loss, nausea, and vomiting. High cholesterol has no symptoms. You might feel normal, that your body is great and fine, but what's really happening inside your body might look like this... [shows example of clogged artery caused by high cholesterol] Some people are thin, and they still have high cholesterol. Some overweight people have low cholesterol. Anybody can have high cholesterol. You cannot see or feel it. Do you want to know if your cholesterol level is high or low? Go see your doctor. You can have a blood test to check your cholesterol numbers. Do you know how to reduce your cholesterol levels? Did you know that you can reduce your cholesterol yourself? If your doctor tells you that your cholesterol level is high, you can change your diet, exercise, and change your lifestyle to help decrease your cholesterol level. For example, it is important to eat more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. [shows pictures of fruits and vegetables] [shows container of plain oatmeal] This is oatmeal. Ask your doctor what types of food you should be eating to help lower your cholesterol. Exercise can also help you lower your cholesterol. If you eat a lot and then exercise right after, will that lower your cholesterol? No. It's important to exercise every day or 3-4 times a week over a long time to lower your cholesterol. Your doctor might tell you that you need to lose weight. Sometimes that lowers your cholesterol. It's important to ask your doctor. This is a picture of what your plate should look like when you eat. How much meat do you eat at dinner? It should be small, only 1/4 (25%) of your plate. Some people eat too much meat, like 1/2 (50%) of their plate, and that is too much. Meat should be limited and in smaller sizes. It's good to add more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Limit how much meat is on your plate. It is important to know your cholesterol number, because some families have a history of high cholesterol. I may be a healthy person and exercise, eat vegetables and healthy food, and limit meat, but if my parents or grandparents had high cholesterol, I may have the same high cholesterol too. It is important to ask your family if anyone has high cholesterol. It's also important to go to your doctor to test your cholesterol. If you would like more information about cholesterol, please contact DEAF, Inc.'s Project HOPE. Thank you. Goodbye!