As men get older, they tend to face many new health problems in a short period of time, says HCMC’s Dr. Bryan Nelson. Dr. Nelson is a family medicine physician at HCMC’s Golden Valley Clinic, as well as the Medical Director for the BeWell Clinic downtown and the St. Anthony Village Clinic. In a Healthy Matters podcast, he discussed the types of issues men face around the time they hit “middle-age” and what can be done to prevent and treat these problems. One such problem he focused on in the podcast was cholesterol.

“Cholesterol is important for our bodies,” says Dr. Nelson. “The problem is our liver doesn’t usually discriminate on what type of cholesterol gets made. And it tends to be either a genetic issue—or sometimes an age issue—where our liver starts making different types of cholesterol.”

The “good” cholesterol is called high-density lipoprotein (HDL), while the “bad” cholesterol is known as low-density lipoprotein (LDL).

“When you get a cholesterol check, oftentimes you also get a level called a triglyceride,” Dr. Nelson explains. “Triglycerides are kind of a marker for how much fat is in your system. So, basically what happens is that your LDL cholesterol plus your triglycerides tend to form atherosclerotic plaques. And atherosclerotic plaques, as time goes on, can break off and cause heart attacks, blockages, memory issues, circulatory problems, and erectile dysfunction.”

So, what can we do about it? “There are medicines—and there are some other things you can do besides medicines—to really help change the balance from the good and bad cholesterol,” says Dr. Nelson.

Most cholesterol medications, called statins, work fairly well. However, according to Dr. Nelson, “they have a tendency to cause muscle aches and you have to watch liver enzymes.” Other types of cholesterol medicines are called resins, and there are some herbal remedies out there as well. Both carry similar risks of side effects, though, and herbal remedies are generally untested. Niacin has also been used in the past, but, according to Dr. Nelson, it is not as good as other treatments that are out there.

To hear the entire podcast from May 31, 2015 go to the podcast on WCCO Radio’s site. Healthy Matters with host Dr. David Hilden airs Sunday mornings at 7:30 a.m. on WCCO Radio 830 AM.