Cholesterol is a vital element for our health and well-being. There are two basic types of cholesterol: HDL cholesterol is good for our health, LDL cholesterol is bad for our health.
The LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol levels are maintained within a normal range by the body's natural regulatory mechanism. Sometimes this regulatory mechanism malfunctions, or maybe the body is flooded with cholesterol by ingestion. In any case the blood cholesterol level exceeds the normal range. This leads to a serious condition which can lead to severe health problems.
LDL cholesterol tends to stick to the inner walls of the blood vessels it moves through. The coating reduces the blood flow through the affected vessels. This means poor circulation which translates to poor health. The coating may increase to an extent where the blood vessel is severely constricted. This condition is known as arteriosclerosis.
If this situation carries on for a long time, the blood flow is obstructed and the blood pressure increases leading to overloading of the heart. The plaque can accumulate to such an extent that it completely blocks the blood vessel, or it may get dislodged from one location and lodge itself in a narrower blood vessel, like a capillary, creating a blockage there. Blood supply is choked off at that point, and leads to blood starvation in the region beyond the blockage. If this blood starvation occurs in a critical area of the body, as for example in the brain, then we get a crisis. The affected area of the brain shuts down and this leads to a 'stroke' wherein the body experiences paralysis in those areas controlled by the area of the brain which has shut down. If the blood vessels of the heart are affected by blockage, then we get a critical situation known as a heart attack. All this is due to an excess of LDL cholesterol in the blood.
Heart disease can be prevented, or the risk of getting it can be reduced, if we follow some very simple health guidelines. The first is to counterattack the invasion of LDL cholesterol into the body. LDL cholesterol gains entry into the body with the food we eat. So you should mount a watch on the kind of food you eat. Saturated fats are heavy with LDL cholesterol and must be shunned. You can and should include the healthy fats into your diet (e.g. omega-3 fats found in fish) because they actively help to reduce the bad LDL cholesterol. Copious draughts of plain water helps the circulatory and excretory functions of the body, which at once improves health and eliminates the bad LDL cholesterol.
Change your cooking medium from heavy saturated fats to unsaturated fats and oils. Virgin olive oil is good for your heart. These dietary changes will be very beneficial in your battle against heart disease.
Quit smoking. We all know that smoking is bad for the lungs and is also a carcinogenic activity. What most of us don't know is that smoking aggravates the high LDL cholesterol condition. The LDL cholesterol will drop almost immediately from the time you stop smoking, and it will drop further if you do as mentioned in this article.
Medical research shows that stress leads to LDL cholesterol buildup. Lowering your stress level will lower your blood LDL cholesterol too. The moral of the lesson is that you should relax more often, give up those activities that add to your stress, and pick up those activities that reduce your stress.
To sum up, LDL cholesterol can be controlled by eating foods which are free of saturated fats, exercising, quitting smoking and ridding yourself of stress. The worst thing you can do is to panic about high LDL cholesterol levels. This article is meant to educate you about the cause and prevention of heart disease, not scare you. Use what you have learnt in this article to control the LDL cholesterol situation. Once that is under control, you can say that the risk of heart disease is under control.
The LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol levels are maintained within a normal range by the body's natural regulatory mechanism. Sometimes this regulatory mechanism malfunctions, or maybe the body is flooded with cholesterol by ingestion. In any case the blood cholesterol level exceeds the normal range. This leads to a serious condition which can lead to severe health problems.
LDL cholesterol tends to stick to the inner walls of the blood vessels it moves through. The coating reduces the blood flow through the affected vessels. This means poor circulation which translates to poor health. The coating may increase to an extent where the blood vessel is severely constricted. This condition is known as arteriosclerosis.
If this situation carries on for a long time, the blood flow is obstructed and the blood pressure increases leading to overloading of the heart. The plaque can accumulate to such an extent that it completely blocks the blood vessel, or it may get dislodged from one location and lodge itself in a narrower blood vessel, like a capillary, creating a blockage there. Blood supply is choked off at that point, and leads to blood starvation in the region beyond the blockage. If this blood starvation occurs in a critical area of the body, as for example in the brain, then we get a crisis. The affected area of the brain shuts down and this leads to a 'stroke' wherein the body experiences paralysis in those areas controlled by the area of the brain which has shut down. If the blood vessels of the heart are affected by blockage, then we get a critical situation known as a heart attack. All this is due to an excess of LDL cholesterol in the blood.
Heart disease can be prevented, or the risk of getting it can be reduced, if we follow some very simple health guidelines. The first is to counterattack the invasion of LDL cholesterol into the body. LDL cholesterol gains entry into the body with the food we eat. So you should mount a watch on the kind of food you eat. Saturated fats are heavy with LDL cholesterol and must be shunned. You can and should include the healthy fats into your diet (e.g. omega-3 fats found in fish) because they actively help to reduce the bad LDL cholesterol. Copious draughts of plain water helps the circulatory and excretory functions of the body, which at once improves health and eliminates the bad LDL cholesterol.
Change your cooking medium from heavy saturated fats to unsaturated fats and oils. Virgin olive oil is good for your heart. These dietary changes will be very beneficial in your battle against heart disease.
Quit smoking. We all know that smoking is bad for the lungs and is also a carcinogenic activity. What most of us don't know is that smoking aggravates the high LDL cholesterol condition. The LDL cholesterol will drop almost immediately from the time you stop smoking, and it will drop further if you do as mentioned in this article.
Medical research shows that stress leads to LDL cholesterol buildup. Lowering your stress level will lower your blood LDL cholesterol too. The moral of the lesson is that you should relax more often, give up those activities that add to your stress, and pick up those activities that reduce your stress.
To sum up, LDL cholesterol can be controlled by eating foods which are free of saturated fats, exercising, quitting smoking and ridding yourself of stress. The worst thing you can do is to panic about high LDL cholesterol levels. This article is meant to educate you about the cause and prevention of heart disease, not scare you. Use what you have learnt in this article to control the LDL cholesterol situation. Once that is under control, you can say that the risk of heart disease is under control.
About the Author:
To get great advice on a diet for lowering high cholesterol visit www.Reduce-High-Cholesterol.com. You'll not only read about what foods you should eat and what you should avoid, you'll also learn how to get a bargain price on a cholesterol monitor to help you keep track of your levels.
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