Cholesterol, triglycerides and glycaemia: always to be kept under control - Cholesterol and triglycerides, i.e. the fats of our bodies, and glycaemia, i.e. the blood sugar concentration, must be kept under control.
Cholesterol, triglycerides and glycaemia: always to be kept under control
By Francesca Tessarollo
Nov 12, 2010 - 9:04:05 AM
Cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose are important
for our body: triglycerides and glucose are essential sources of energy, while
cholesterol forms cell membranes, is used to synthesize the hormones of growth,
development and reproduction, and also serves to form the bile acids that
contribute to intestinal absorption of fat. The value of triglycerides,
cholesterol and glucose must be monitored, in order to prevent them to cause
damages to ourselves.
As far as cholesterol is concerned, we must distinguish
between the so-called “good” cholesterol (HDL type), which plays an important
role in the protection of arteries, and the VLDL or LDL cholesterol, the bad
one, which can cause thickening of arteries and, as a consequence, loss of
elasticity and tone, if it is present in our bodies in higher-than-normal
levels.
This means that an excessive accumulation of cholesterol in our body
(over 200 mg per 100 ml of blood) may increase the risk of heart attack and
stroke. In order to avoid these problems, it is advisable to undergo specific
tests to measure the concentration of cholesterol in the blood, especially if
you are at risk. The cholesterol test permits to measure the total level of
cholesterol and the level of good and bad cholesterol. Measuring cholesterol is
not important to diagnose a disease, but to prevent cardiovascular diseases,
namely coronary artery disease, cerebral stroke and myocardial infarction.
However, it is not enough to know the level of blood cholesterol to know
something more about the risk of suffering from one of these diseases: in order
to assess the cardiovascular risk you should have an overview of blood glucose,
blood pressure, age, lifestyle and level of triglycerides in the blood.
The test that measures the concentration of
triglycerides in the blood, as well as the cholesterol test, is very important
and useful. Triglycerides, as well as cholesterol, are produced in part by the
body and are in part introduced though food. In the case of triglycerides, the
highest percentage is introduces through food: triglycerides are then
accumulated in the adipose tissue and in part in blood. Monitoring the presence
of blood triglycerides is essential to assess the cardiovascular risk of a
person, especially in the case of patients suffering from heart diseases.
In addition to the fats of your body, you should keep
also the level of sugar under control, namely of glucose, which is an important
source of energy for the body. The level of blood sugar depends on the balance
between the sugar deriving from food or from body reserves and the sugar that
is used by various tissues. If this balance is altered, there may be some
serious problems such as hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. The blood glucose test
is therefore useful to ascertain that there are no such problems and is also
fundamental for the diagnosis of diabetes.
To conduct cholesterol, triglycerides and glycaemia
tests a blood sample is enough, but for glycaemia also a urine test is enough.
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