Cholesterol is the waxy lipid type substance that is generated by lungs naturally. It doesn’t have the ability to dissolve in your blood. It plays an exceptional role in the making of some hormones, cell membrane, and vitamin D – Eating saturated food and too much-processed food causes high cholesterol. They contain saturated fats and trans fats that can increase the normal cholesterol of the body. Our other life activities and overall health are also affected by the increased cholesterol of the body.
The blood fat which we called “Triglyceride” produces waxy and thick layer of fat that plaque the arteries. It also hinders the blood and increases the cholesterol level in the blood.
Research shows that drinking alcohol at a moderate level can affect the high cholesterol. It has bad effects on the lungs and increase the waxy layer of fats in the blood.
Poor diet: – it is one of the major causes of high cholesterol. Saturated layer of fats found in animals cause high cholesterol. The food like baked cookies, popcorns and crackers found commercially raise the cholesterol level. Cholesterol and related diseases also have some genetic links. If you have the history of cholesterol in your parents or ancestors. You are at the risk of high cholesterol through genes.
A condition known as familial hypercholesterolemia is also caused by changes in some genes(1). This is basically a genetic disorder that causes the receptors of LDL to fall down in number and as a result more LDL stays in the blood.
There are many other factors that cause high cholesterol in the body like diabetes and hypothyroidism. Patients which are suffering from these diseases have an increased risk of cholesterol levels in the body. If we eat animals products daily and unhealthy food without doing exercise regularly then it can also increase the risk of high cholesterol in the body.
If the cholesterol of the body increases from a certain level it causes the narrowing of arteries and plaque development. This causes a serious disease called atherosclerosis. This is a very harmful disease that can limit the flow of blood through arteries. It might also lead to blood clots and ultimately heart attacks or stroke.
Chart: –
Total cholesterol | HDL cholesterol | LDL cholesterol | |
Acceptable | Lower than 170 | Higher than 45 | Lower than 110 |
Borderline | 170 – 199 | 40-45 | 110-129 |
High | 200 or higher | n/a | Higher than 130 |
Low | n/a | Lower than 40 | n/a |
High cholesterol foods are fatty cuts of red meat, liver and organ meat, eggs most importantly yolk, dairy products such as fat cheese, milk, ice cream and butter etc. these are the dietary things that can increase the risk of cholesterol in the body.
Symptoms: – As the research proves that cholesterol is the silent attacker worldwide. It doesn’t have any symptoms. The most dangerous thing is that people that are suffering from high cholesterol are not genuinely aware of it until they have developed any serious or dangerous disease like heart attack or stroke. Chest pain is another symptom of a heart attack. If the arteries contain any blockage or the blood flow is affected by it, this can cause serious chest pain or cause heavy stress on the chest.
Heart attack: – If the artery is completely blocked and plaqued by any other reason. It can block the flow of blood to the heart and a result can cause a heart attack.
Stroke: – Like a heart attack, stroke is another dangerous condition that is caused by poor flow of blood and oxygen to the brain.
Risk factors: – These are the basic risk factors that can cause high cholesterol:
- Poor diet.
- Smoking
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Drinking
- Alcohol consumption
- Lack of exercise.
- Old age
Signs: – High cholesterol doesn’t have any obvious symptoms or signs. It can be distinguished when the risk of some conditions becomes severe like heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke, chest pain or angina etc.
According to the research there are various types of cholesterol found in our body. They are basically based on lipoprotein. There are LDL and HDL. LDL’s full form is low density lipoprotein.
It is a bad cholesterol that causes the narrowing of arteries and carries blood clots throughout the body. They make the arteries very hard and narrow. On the other hand HDL (High density lipoprotein) is a good cholesterol that carry cholesterol and take it to the liver.
Diagnosis(2): – To measure cholesterol, doctors will suggest a simple blood test. They can take a blood sample from the body and will send this to the laboratory for analysis. This test is simply called a lipid profile test. In this test total level of LDL, HDL, triglyceride is measured. After seeing the results, the doctor will suggest a diet plan and medications according to the severity and physical need.
Treatment(3): – According to the blood results doctor will suggest some exercise, a diet plan, or other daily routine changes overcome the disease. If someone smokes or their consumption of alcohol is higher then the doctor will suggest avoiding that. The doctor might also suggest limiting the intake of processed food and high cholesterol products like saturated fats, and trans fats. They will advise you to take light food like fruits, vegetables, high fiber food and whole grains.
They will advise you to avoid fast and junk food. They might also suggest eating more fish to control the LDL level in the body. As the research proves that salmons, mackerel and herring are quite good sources of omega 3S cholesterol is very much controlled by diet but otherwise, according to the doctor’s recommendations, some medications might also help such as statins. This might help in overcoming LDL levels in body.
Medications: – If the condition reaches to the certain level that it can’t be controlled by diet only. Then the specialist will suggest some medicines to control the disease as well like Niacin, Welchol, Zetia, Colestid, Lipitor, Lescol, Cresta, Zacos. These are the medicines that are highly prescribed by the doctors worldwide.
References.
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/a_to_z/high-cholesterol-hypercholesterolemia-a-to-z
- https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cholesterol/about-cholesterol
- https://www.healthline.com/health/high-cholesterol