Cholesterol- All of the numbers explained. What can I do about it?? Do I have to worry about the kids?

What is cholesterol?  It is a fatty substance found in the blood. It is used to make hormones, tissues and bile for digestion. The liver makes cholesterol for your body and we also get cholesterol from some foods.

There are a few types of elevated cholesterol. There is familial high cholesterol which you inherit from your family ( 1 in 250 people) and food related which is the most common - even if family members also have high cholesterol, remember you all eat the same food. So safe to say if yours is high then we need to pay attention to your kids for both reasons.

1. High cholesterol in kids is actually quite common- a study from JAMA 2019  REPORTED that only half of children and adolescents are in the ideal range which also means that half are NOT normal and 25% are clinically high.

2. There is now a recommendation (since 2015) from AAP and AHA for cholesterol screening starting at age 2-3 yrs old and as needed if there’s high risk (family history or child is overweight). In addition universal screening is recommended for  EVERY 9- 11 yrs old and at 18-21 years old if your child is healthy with no risk factors. If your child is overweight it needs to be checked on because it is most likely elevated. We know that having high cholesterol as a child can lead to heart disease later.

3. What is the main cause? Sugar and fat 

   1. THE main cause and  treatment is diet for kids and many adults.

4. How to treat it with diet in most kids and adults ( unless numbers are really high then we need medication).

   1. NOT ALL FATS ARE BAD : increasing healthy fats with omega-3 like: fish, avocado, olive oil - or take supplements.          

   2. BAD FATS need to decrease, such as saturated fats like fried greasy foods and many fast foods especially french fries for kids.  

5. Healthy heart habits: exercise your heart muscle. It helps keep it strong and needs a frequent workout to do that.

6. Let’s dive in to understanding what all of the numbers mean that we are always talking about.
   2 major kinds of cholesterol:

   1. LDL - bad or LOUSY  - WE want this number to be Low - this is Little and can clog arteries over time. 

   2. HDL-  High and Healthy. We want this one high as it acts like a Hoover vacuum cleaner to clean up the little LDL.  We make more of this with the healthy fats and exercise and low cholesterol diet: less fried foods, choosing low fat dairy and more whole grains. Limit sugar 

Lifestyle Changes usually improve these numbers. We rarely give cholesterol meds to kids but need to monitor closely and make sure the numbers improve. If not improving with diet alone then a specialist may be needed for further evaluation.

Hope that helps you understand why we recommend the things that we do when we are monitoring your kids cholesterol and take these considerations into account when dealing with your own.

Be well- Dr. B