Healthy Life

The high cholesterol level means too much cholesterol in the blood and the unused cholesterol can builds up in the artery walls, leading to the hardening and narrowing of the arteries, which cause cardiovascular diseases even leads to heart stokes or hear attacks. Therefore we should realize that cutting down on cholesterol level is extremely important for our health. Luckily, by the current medical research and techniques, high cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia) is largely preventable and treatable. Good cholesterol management can lead to a healthier and longer life.

What causes high cholesterol level?

Various factors cause high cholesterol levels. Some of them are within our control, such as inactivity, obesity and an unhealthy diet. These factors contribute to high LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and low HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol). In addition, there are some factors beyond our control such as age, gender and genetic factors, which may keep our body cells from removing LDL cholesterol from our blood efficiently or cause our liver to produce too much cholesterol, and in this situation it is usually because the body does not cope well with normal amounts of cholesterol being eaten, and causes high cholesterol levels.

Best ways to prevent high cholesterol levels

A healthy diet and regular exercise can help us toward reducing high cholesterol levels. There are many natural and herbal medications available in the market which has proved very effective in reducing the cholesterol levels as well.

Get your blood tested and know your numbers
Get your cholesterol levels checked by a simple blood test, and results are generally available within a week. Understand the numbers and confirm yours are in the normal zone.

Watch your diet
Usually too much saturated fat in the diet is the most common cause of high cholesterol. Saturated fat encourages the body to make more cholesterol than it needs or can get rid of. Therefore, to limit saturated fat in your diet is a way to prevent high blood cholesterol levels. In addition, because cholesterol in food sources is important, reducing theses dietary sources of cholesterol can help to lower your blood cholesterol levels.

Certain healthy foods can help with cholesterol management. It is recommended to increase your intake of soy products such as tofu, soy milk, fish, vegetables and fruits etc.

Keep a healthy weight
Another risk factor for heart disease, as well as a contributing factor on high cholesterol levels is being overweight. If you are overweight, your risk for heart disease and high blood cholesterol is greatly increased. By losing weight and keeping a healthy weight, you can lower your LDL and total cholesterol levels and help to increase your HDL cholesterol levels and reduce your triglyceride levels as well. Therefore, it helps your cholesterol levels fall into healthy zone.

Exercise regularly
Physical activity can greatly affect your cholesterol levels as well. By exercising, you can raise your metabolism and burn calories, and then lose fat weight. In addition, it helps you to lower total cholesterol, increases the good HDL cholesterol. In fact, regular exercise can benefit us mentally and physically.

Manage stress
By research, fatigue, anger and distress can raise our body’s adrenaline levels, and cause cholesterol to rise. Take healthy foods and sufficient sleep, and then practice relaxation and stress-reduction techniques such as breathing exercises, Yoga and meditation help us control stress.

Consider Medication
Sometimes diet, exercise and stress reduction just are not enough to get cholesterol into the safe zone. Consult your physician to see if medication is right for you.

Controlling our diet, weight, and amount of physical activity are even more important because other factors such as age, gender, and heredity are things we cannot control. We also have to face the fact that the older we get the higher blood cholesterol levels will be. Women are particularly sensitive to the age factor since before menopause total cholesterol levels are lower than men of the same age; however, post menopausal women often see an increase in LDL levels. For those who have high blood cholesterol levels caused genetically, learn how to manage your cholesterol levels and prevent high cholesterol levels even more crucial.

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