| 1. |
High blood cholesterol is one of the risk factorsfor heart disease
that you can do something about. |
T |
F |
| 2. |
To lower your blood cholesterol level you must stopeating meat altogether. |
T |
F |
| 3. |
Any blood cholesterol level below 240 mg/dL is desirable for adults. |
T |
F |
| 4. |
Fish oil supplements are recommended to lower blood cholesterol. |
T |
F |
| 5. |
To lower your blood cholesterol level you should eat less saturated
fat, total fat, and cholesterol, and lose weight if you are overweight. |
T |
F |
| 6. |
Saturated fats raise your blood cholesterol level morethan anything
else in your diet. |
T |
F |
| 7. |
All vegetable oils help lower blood cholesterol levels. |
T |
F |
| 8. |
Lowering blood cholesterol levels can help people whohave already had
a heart attack. |
T |
F |
| 9. |
All children need to have their blood cholesterol levels checked. |
T |
F |
| 10. |
Women don't need to worry about high blood cholesteroland heart disease. |
T |
F |
| 11. |
Reading food labels can help you eat the heart healthyway. |
T |
F |
| 1. |
True. |
High blood cholesterol is one ofthe risk factors for heart disease
that a person can do something about. High bloodpressure, cigarette smoking,
diabetes, overweight, and physicalinactivity are the others. |
| 2. |
False. |
Although some red meat ishigh in saturated fat and cholesterol, which
can raise your blood cholesterol, you do notneed to stop eating it or any
other single food. Red meat is animportant source of protein, iron, and
other vitamins and minerals.You should, however, cut back on the amount
of saturated fat andcholesterol that you eat. One way to do this is by
choosing leancuts of meat with the fat trimmed. Another way is to watch
yourportion sizes and eat no more than 6 ounces of meat a day. Sixounces
is about the size of two decks of playing cards. |
| 3. |
False. |
A total blood cholesterol levelof under 200 mg/dL is desirable and
usually puts you at a lower risk for heart disease. A blood cholesterol
level of 240 mg/dL is high and increases yourrisk of heart disease. If
your cholesterol level is high, yourdoctor will want to check your level
of LDL-cholesterol ("bad"cholesterol). A HIGH level of LDL-cholesterol
increases your riskof heart disease, as does a LOW level of HDL-cholesterol
("good"cholesterol). An HDL-cholesterol level below 35 mg/dL isconsidered
a risk factor for heart disease. A total cholesterollevel of 200-239 mg/dL
is considered borderline-high and usuallyincreases your risk for heart
disease. All adults 20 years of ageor older should have their blood cholesterol
level checked at leastonce every 5 years. |
| 4. |
False. |
Fish oils are a source ofomega-3 fatty acids, which are a type of polyunsaturated
fat. Fish oil supplements generally donot reduce blood cholesterol levels.
Also, the effect of thelong-term use of fish oil supplements is not known.
However, fishis a good food choice because it is low in saturated fat. |
| 5. |
True. |
Eating less fat, especiallysaturated fat, and cholesterol can lower
your blood cholesterol level. Generally yourblood cholesterol level should
begin to drop a few weeks after youstart on a cholesterol-lowering diet.
How much your level dropsdepends on the amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol
you used toeat, how high your blood cholesterol is, how much weight you
loseif you are overweight, and how your body responds to the changesyou
make. Over time, you may reduce your blood cholesterol levelby 10-50 mg/dL
or even more. |
| 6. |
True. |
Saturated fats raise your bloodcholesterol level more than anything
else. So, the best way to reduce yourcholesterol level is to cut back on
the amount of saturatedfats that you eat. These fats are found in largest
amounts inanimal products such as butter, cheese, whole milk, ice cream,cream,
and fatty meats. They are also found in some vegetableoils--coconut, palm,
and palm kernel oils. |
| 7. |
False. |
Most vegetable oils--canola,corn, olive, safflower, soybean, and sunflower
oils--contain mostly monounsaturated andpolyunsaturated fats, which help
lower blood cholesterol when usedin place of saturated fats. However, a
few vegetable oils--coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils--contain more saturated
fatthan unsaturated fat. A special kind of fat, called "trans fat,"is formed
when vegetable oil is hardened to become margarine orshortening, through
a process called "hydrogenation." The harder the margarine or shortening,
the more likely it is tocontain more trans fat. Choose margarine containing
liquidvegetable oil as the first ingredient. Just be sure to limit thetotal
amount of any fats or oils, since even those that areunsaturated are rich
sources of calories. |
| 8. |
True. |
People who have had one heartattack are at much higher risk for a second
attack. Reducing blood cholesterol levels cangreatly slow down (and, in
some people, even reverse) the buildupof cholesterol and fat in the wall
of the coronary arteries andsignificantly reduce the chances of a second
heart attack. If youhave had a heart attack or have coronary heart disease,
your LDL levelshould be around 100 mg/dL which is even lower than the recommendedlevel
of less than 130 mg/dL for the general population. |
| 9. |
False. |
Children from "high risk"families, in which a parent has high blood
cholesterol (240 mg/dL or above) or in which aparent or grandparent has
had heart disease at an early age (at 55years or younger), should have
their cholesterol levels tested. Ifa child from such a family has a cholesterol
level that is high, itshould be lowered under medical supervision, primarily
with diet,to reduce the risk of developing heart disease as an adult. Formost
children, who are not from high-risk families, the best way toreduce the
risk of adult heart disease is to follow a low saturatedfat, low cholesterol
eating pattern. All children over the age of2 years and all adults should
adopt a heart healthy eating patternas a principal way of reducing coronary
heart disease. |
| 10. |
False. |
Blood cholesterol levels inboth men and women begin to go up around
age 20. Women before menopause have levelsthatare lower than men of the
same age. After menopause, a women'sLDL-cholesterol level goes up--and
so her risk for heart diseaseincreases. For both men and women, heart disease
is the number one cause of death. |
| 11. |
True. |
Food labels have beenchanged. Look on the nutrition label for the amount
of saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol, andtotal calories in a serving
of the product. Use this informationto compare similar products. Also,
look for the list ofingredients. Here, the ingredient in the greatest amount
is firstand the ingredient in the least amount is last. So to choose foodslow
in saturated fat or total fat, go easy on products that listfats or oil
first, or that list many fat and oil ingredients. |
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Public Health Service
National Institutes of Health
NIH Publication No. 95-3794
May 1995
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
National Cholesterol
Education Program