Things That Affect Blood Cholesterol

Your blood cholesterol level is influenced by many factors. These include:

• What you eat--High intake of saturated fat, dietary cholesterol, and excess calories leading to overweight can increase blood cholesterol levels. Americans eat an average of 12 percent of their calories from saturated fat, and 34 percent of their calories from total fat. These intakes are higher than what is recommended for the health of your heart. The average daily intake of dietary cholesterol is 220-260 mg for women and 360 mg for men.

• Overweight--Being overweight can make your LDL-cholesterol level go up and your HDL-cholesterol level go down.

• Physical activity --Increased physical activity lowers LDL-cholesterol and raises HDL-cholesterol levels.

• Heredity--Your genes partly influence how your body makes and handles cholesterol.

• Age and Sex--Blood cholesterol levels in both men and women begin to go up around age 20.

• Women before menopause have levels that are lower than men of the same age. After menopause, a woman's LDL-cholesterol level goes up--and so her risk for heart disease increases.