Page 170 - South Mississippi Living - September, 2016

HEALTHY LIVING take control
month
September is recognized as National Cholesterol Education Month, a good time to make sure your cholesterol levels are in check. A simple blood test, ordered by a physician, will allow you to see if your levels are too high and if so, make
adjustments to lower them. “It’s important to be screened
because if you are aware of high cholesterol, then you can treat it with diet and exercise,” said Dr. Randy Roth, internal medicine specialist and medical director of Inpatient Physician Services at Singing River Health System.
High cholesterol can be
due to a poor diet, being
overweight and getting little
or no exercise, but Roth also
notes that some patients just
have bad genes. “We see
patients who are slim and
follow a good diet and still have high cholesterol,” he said. “Their body metabolism and family history preclude them from dropping their cholesterol to a safe level.”
According to Ashley Thomas, a registered dietitian at Singing River Health System, not all cholesterol is bad. “We try to tell patients that cholesterol is not a bad thing,” she said. “It’s needed for production of vitamin D, testosterone and estrogen.”
story by Alexis Williams photos courtesy of Singing River Health System
What’s bad, however, are cholesterol levels that are too high. According to Thomas, your body makes enough cholesterol on its own and when you have high cholesterol levels, you can also begin to build up plaque in your arteries. There are two elements of cholesterol: LDL also
170 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • September 2016
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Randy Roth, M.D.
Ashley Thomas
known as bad cholesterol and HDL, which is known as the good cholesterol.
Dr. Roth recommends that if patients have no family history of heart disease then their LDL should be 120 or less. Those with previous heart events should keep LDL under 100. Thomas says increasing HDL levels with a healthy diet can actually lower LDL. Healthy foods include beans, legumes, high fiber greens, oatmeal
and 100 percent whole wheat bread. Also on the “good” list are salmon, almonds, walnuts,
chia and flax seeds. She also recommends people stay away from butter and margarine when cooking. Instead, opt for
a cooking spray. And when it comes to oils, a little goes a long way.
For those unable to lower cholesterol with a healthy diet and exercise, medication is available. “Statin drugs are used to treat high cholesterol and are very safe and effective,” said Roth.