Kim Blanch
10/08/2013
Tues/Thur 12:00pm
Cholesterol Assignment
1. Blood Pressure
a. What is the normal range? The normal range varies but it is widely accepted between 120/80.
b. How your readings effect your health. My reading first were off the charts. This is alarming to me, especially since my diet and exercise habits are great. For some time now my normal blood pressure has been consistently 140-150/90 or higher over 90 +. I have seen doctors about this and even had the opportunity to speak to the man (possible doctor, not sure) that was doing the cholesterol screening. As other doctors have told me before that it is possible that being high like that may just be my bodies norm. While that sounds nice I am still very worried as I want to live until a very old age, as healthy as possible.
c. What can you do to maintain a healthy range? Exercise! And More exercise. That and a healthy diet to include lots of veggies and fruits. On a side note I do not eat many fruits due to the high sugar content. I keep away from sugary foods, even fruits except on occasions, like cheat on diet days. 2. Glucose Level
a. What is the normal range? Less than 100mg. (This is the fasting range)
b. My glucose was at 93. This is good. Essentially this is a healthy range with just the right amount of glucose, sugar in the blood. We know that glucose equals energy and therefore we need to have the right amount for our bodies to function effectively.
c. What can you do to maintain a healthy range? There are several things a person can do to maintain healthy levels of glucose in the body. As with almost everything with our body I would say exercise is number one. Try and keep the extra pounds off as best you can. Diet is the second thing. Reduce or completely stop eating junk food, candy, doughnuts and other sugary foods.
3. Cholesterol
a. What is the normal range? For total cholesterol it is best to be under 200mg/dl. There are two branches of cholesterol, good, HDL and bad, LDL. For men HDL levels should be greater than 40 and for women greater than 50. The LDL levels need to be less than 100mg/dl
b. How does my reading effect my health? My total cholesterol levels were 163 which is good. My HDL levels were 53