Daisuke Okazaki writes:
Both patient A and patient B need
to change their diets. They should decrease the blood cholesterol level,
altogether. Patient A's LDL-cholesterol level is 165 which is over the
superior LDL limit 130, and over 160 means he has a high risk for heart
disease, as well as having narrowing of the arteries. In contrast, patient
B's total cholesterol level is not over the superior limit of 200. However,
in her family there is a history of diabetes, which is a risk factor for
coronary heart disease. So she needs to decrease cholesterol levels, too.
Patient A should refrain from his favorite foods, ice cream, eggs and fatty
meats which are high cholesterol foods, so he should eat lower cholesterol
foods such as fish, dried beans and peas, vegetables and fruits, and so
on. In addition, he should do exercise, because exercise may increase his
HDL (good cholesterol) level.
On the other hand, patient B should change to whole-grain breads and cereals
containing high fiber rather than eating white bread which is low fiber
food. Fiber prevents heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancer.
And she should refrain from cheese, too. Cheese contains rich, saturated
fats which raise cholesterol levels, so should not eat so much cheese.
And similarly, she should not eat foods containing rich saturated fats,
but should take foods containing polyunsaturated fat, such as coconut oil
and palm kernel oil. And she must stop smoking which is one of the most
important risk factors for heart disease. In addition, she should continue
riding her bicycle on weekends and needs to measure her blood cholesterol
level at least once every 5 years.
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