What Is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a soft wax-like substance in your bloodstream and in your cells. When you have too much of the wrong kind of cholesterol, you could increase your risk for developing heart disease,heart attacks and other heart disease complications. Everyone has cholesterol. Your body needs cholesterol to produce cell membranes and some hormones and gets this cholesterol in two ways: some of it is made in the body and the rest comes from your diet. Eating too much of foods with high cholesterol can hurt you. These foods are animal products such as meats, poultry, fish, eggs, butter and whole milk. Plant foods such as fruit, vegetables and cereal don't have cholesterol. But beware. Some foods that don't have animal products may have trans fats, which cause your body to create more cholesterol. Also, getting too much saturated fat found in foods such as some vegetable oils and items made with them can cause the body to make too much cholesterol
Good and bad
Cholesterol can't dissolve in the blood and is carried from cell to cell by lipoproteins. You have two types of these lipoproteins. Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, is known as the "bad" cholesterol. Too much can cause your arteries to clog.
High-density lipoprotein, or HDL, is known as the "good" cholesterol. You want to have this in your body because it protects you by carrying cholesterol away from your arteries and may even help reduce your risk of heart attack.
Your triglyceride level is also important in your cholesterol picture. Triglycerides are the chemical form in which most fat exists in food and in the body. They come from fats found in foods and are also made in the body. Calories not used right away are changed to triglycerides and stored in fat cells. Between meals, your hormones regulate the release of triglycerides to give you energy.
High levels of triglycerides are associated with a high risk of heart attack and stroke. People who have high triglyceride levels also have high total cholesterol and low HDL. People with diabetes or who are obese tend to have a high triglyceride level as well.
Your total blood cholesterol level
Blood cholesterol is measured in milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL). Your total blood cholesterol generally falls into these categories:
* Desirable - Less than 200 mg/dL.
* Borderline high risk - 200 to 239 mg/dL.
* High risk - 240 mg/dL and higher.
What Causes High Blood Cholesterol?
Many factors can contribute to high blood cholesterol levels or cholesterol levels that are out of balance. Some of these factors are within your control, and some are not.
To some extent, your genetic make-up determines your cholesterol level.
- Some people inherit a condition called familial hypercholesterolemia, which means that very high cholesterol levels run in the family.
- Some people may simply be more likely than others to react to lifestyle factors (such as lack of exercise or a high-fat diet) that push up cholesterol levels.
- Other people, especially people for whom diabetes runs in the family, inherit high triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are another type of blood fat that can also push up cholesterol levels.
Besides your genetic make-up, many lifestyle factors affect cholesterol levels and cholesterol balance:
- What you eat. Eating too much saturated fat (the kind found in high-fat meats and dairy products) and cholesterol can cause your body to make more cholesterol, raising your blood cholesterol levels. You can lower your cholesterol level by cutting down on animal fat and other fats and eating foods rich in starch and fiber, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
- How active you are. Regular exercise not only reduces total blood cholesterol A fat-like substance that can deposit on the artery wall, narrowing or blocking blood flow., but it lowers the bad kind of cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) while raising the good kind of cholesterol (HDL cholesterol).
- What you weigh. Being overweight contributes to rising blood cholesterol levels. Fortunately, changes to lower cholesterol levels also help you control your weight, a double benefit.
- Your hormones Chemicals produced by an organ or part of the body and carried in the bloodstream to another organ or body part to affect its function; different hormones have difference effects on the body.. Women get a natural boost in their HDL cholesterol (the good kind of cholesterol) from their hormones until they reach menopause. After menopause, taking estrogen can help maintain higher HDL cholesterol levels.
Treatment of Cholesterol?
If you have been diagnosed with high cholesterol, the first method of treatment will usually involve making some changes to your diet (adopting a low fat diet), and ensuring that you take plenty of regular exercise. After a few months, if your cholesterol level has not dropped, you will usually be advised to take cholesterol lowering medication.
Diet
Ensuring that you have a healthy diet by changing to one that is low in saturated fats can reduce your level of LDL or bad cholesterol. If you are in a high risk category of getting cardiovascular disease, altering your diet will not lower your risk. However, eating a healthy, balanced diet has many other health-related benefits as well as reducing your cholesterol level.
A healthy diet includes foods from all of the different food groups carbohydrates (cereals, wholegrain bread, potato, rice, pasta), proteins (for example, from lean meat, such as chicken and oily fish, like mackerel or sardines), and fats (varieties that unsaturated, such as low fat mono- or poly-unsaturated spreads, and vegetable or sunflower oil). You should also eat at least five portions of different fruit and vegetables each day.
Cholesterol lowering medication
There are several different types of cholesterol lowering medication which work in different ways. Your GP will be able to advise you about the type of treatment that is most suitable for you.
Commonly prescribed medication includes:
1-Statins (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors). Statins, such as simvastatin and atorvastatin, work by blocking the enzyme (chemical) in your liver that is needed for making cholesterol. Statins are used to reduce your cholesterol to less than 4 mmol/l and your LDL cholesterol to less than 2 mmol/l. They are therefore useful in preventing and treating atherosclerosis which can cause chest pain, heart attacks, and strokes. Statins sometimes have mild side effects which can include constipation, diarrhoea, headaches, and abdominal pain.
2- Aspirin may be recommended, depending on your age and a number of other factors. A low daily dose of aspirin can prevent blood clots from forming. Children under 16 years of age should not take aspirin.
3- Niacin is a B vitamin that is found in foods and in multi-vitamin supplements. In high doses, available by prescription, niacin lowers LDL cholesterol and raises HDL cholesterol. Minor side effects include flushing or tingling skin, itching, and headaches.
4- Other medications, such as cholesterol absorption inhibitors (ezetimibe), and bile-acid sequestrants, are also sometimes used to treat high cholesterol. However, they may be less effective than other forms of treatment and have more side effects.