Fall brings with it football, cooler weather, and warm “comfort food” – but if that also means sitting and eating more, it can also bring cholesterol trouble. September is National Cholesterol Education Month, making it the ideal time to not just raise your own cholesterol IQ, but challenge your loved ones to brush up, too. The American Heart Association website provides some easy-to-understand resources, and the CDC site hosts a five-question online quiz for a fun and easy way to identify your knowledge gaps.

Meanwhile, understanding some basic but important information can keep you in the game.

Living with lipids

Cholesterol is one type of fat, or lipid, and it’s necessary for important body functions, such as making vitamin D and hormones and aiding our digestion. Since fat can’t travel through the body on its own, it gets some help from lipoproteins; namely, low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, and high-density lipoprotein, or HDL.

You’ve likely heard these referred to as “good” cholesterol (HDL, or “happy” cholesterol) and “bad cholesterol” (LDL). That’s because HDL absorbs cholesterol so that your liver can flush it from your body, while too much LDL can create plaque in your blood vessels that can interfere with your blood flow, which could lead to heart issues or even a heart attack.

Triglycerides are another lipid type. We get a lot of triglycerides from the foods we eat, like fried foods and butter, or from naturally occurring triacylglycerols found in foods like avocadoes, olives, and nuts. While eating some of these foods in moderation is considered healthy, eating too much of them can elevate our triglyceride levels, which also carries with it an increased risk for heart disease.

The best way to keep your lipid levels in check is to have them checked through lab work at your annual exam. If your levels are considered out of the normal range, you and your doctor can discuss the best solution—and how to monitor them. The good news is that your Transocean benefits cover lab work as part of your annual exam, which is covered at 100%—meaning there is zero cost to you.

Prevention or time for action?

If your test shows healthy lipid levels, great! Developing and maintaining healthy habits can help you keep them there. But if your doctor says you need to improve your levels, you may need to bench some bad habits. Here are some measures you can consider, after talking with your doctor:  

• Lower your sugar intake.
• Monitor your intake of saturated fat and simple carbohydrates found in foods like fatty meats, bacon, sweets, and soft drinks.
• Decrease your alcohol consumption.
• Develop a regular exercise program.
• Lose excess weight.

The good news is that implementing recommended diet and exercise measures will often lead to weight loss.

Remember, the earlier you start, the more quickly you’ll see that cholesterol scoreboard tip in favor of your good health.

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