Lower Cholesterol Now

September means fall, football, and, if you’re lucky, slightly cooler temperatures.

But it marks something else, too, and you might not be aware of it: September is National Cholesterol Education Month.

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute division of the National Institutes of Health recommends that you use that designation as a good excuse to get your blood cholesterol checked.

Because high blood cholesterol increases your risk of heart disease, the sooner you take measures to lower it, the better.

More than 65 million Americans have high blood cholesterol, and many of them may not even know it or understand the seriousness of the condition. Awareness is the first step toward making changes that will decrease your risks.

Advise your employees to follow the nation’s directive and have their cholesterol levels checked this month.

Once they’re brought up to speed on the condition and how to combat it, you can step up your efforts to encourage certain health practices and lifestyle changes geared specifically to lowering cholesterol.

Therapeutic lifestyle changes (what the National Cholesterol Education Program refers to as TLC), can make the difference between life and death.

These changes include a low-saturated fat, low-cholesterol diet; losing excess pounds and maintaining a healthy weight; and getting regular exercise.

Come to think of it, those are pretty good guidelines for anyone, no matter what their cholesterol level.

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