Cholesterol is like a utility compound that can be used at different levels in the body but if it exceeds the normal limit it can become a problem for the body. In other words, our body needs cholesterol to keep sales healthy and functioning but as the cholesterol level increases It can develop several heart problems. These problems are often led by high cholesterol levels which usually block your heart arteries. However, these fatty deposits could also block your blood vessels. Finally, these fatty acids get deposited in the blood vessels causing severe heart problems. On the other hand, it also prevents blood flow causing cardiovascular problems in the body.
Cholesterol could be beneficial or harmful to the body
The proper cholesterol usage simply depends upon its quality over quantity because it doesn’t cause any symptoms but high cholesterol levels continue to negatively affect your heart health. However, it’s a fat-like substance that our liver produces for the formation of cell membranes and certain body hormones which are essential for the body. The biggest issue is that it doesn’t dissolve in the water, so it can’t travel in the body all by itself. Lipoproteins help to transport the cholesterol throughout the body.
Cholesterol types and functions
Cholesterol can be divided into two parts on the basis of proteins carrying what type of cholesterol. This carrying system is often divided by the cholesterol types which are often referred to as good or bad depending on the quality. Listed below are two types of cholesterol lipoproteins that have been described:-
- LDL(Low-Density Lipoprotein)- it is also known as bad cholesterol for a reason because it transports cholesterol particles from all over the body and builds up wall-like structure in the heart arteries which makes them narrow and thin restricting blood flow and elevates blood pressure in the artery causing severe heart problems.
- HDL(High-Density Lipoprotein)– it is often considered as a good cholesterol because it picks up excess cholesterol for the body and takes it back to the liver. Fortunately, it basically helps to utilize the cholesterol levels which are scattered or around the body without depositing in any blood vessels or heart arteries.
Discuss the causes of high cholesterol levels
While discussing the risk factors associated with high cholesterol levels people often talk about their poor dietary choices as well as sedentary lifestyle which collectively affects our physical as well as mental state compromising our healthy needs which are essential for a long life. Therefore, listed below a some of the most common self-made decisions that affect our cholesterol level in the negative cells and make us suffer in no time:-
- Poor dietary choices are the primary cause of high cholesterol levels because saturated fat is considered the worst type of cholesterol that you can fill in your body. Saturated fat is often found in meat cuts, and dairy products and transferred as a by-product of packaged food or snacking. This can truly lead to high cholesterol levels resulting in several heart-related problems.
- Obesity has become a common problem for everyone because everyone is obese as well as overweight, struggling with their physical hand and compromising their mental stability to meet social standards. People have truly forgotten the importance of having a healthy body and following a healthy lifestyle which can help them to flourish in their lifespan. Therefore, if your BMI body mass index is above 30 then you are most likely obese and have high cholesterol issues.
- Lack of exercise is considered an additional reason why the body doesn’t improve HDL(High-Density Lipoprotein) levels. As we all know exercise is good for our body and health to keep the body fit. But despite knowing everything about leading a healthy lifestyle we continue to spoil our help by ourselves because we simply don’t care or we often take everything for granted. This is a gentle reminder that people should care about their physical health to live long enough to see themselves getting old.
- Alcohol and smoking extremely affect our HDL levels because smoking addiction accelerates the LDL process by clogging the arteries through cholesterol and making the body dehydrated to a great extent. On the other hand, drinking too much alcohol could lead to high cholesterol levels making our liver pay the price by producing more than necessary cholesterol and end up clogging the arteries.
- Aging is unprecedented which makes our health as restricted as our diet because younger people are also struggling with high cholesterol and end up in the hospital for heart operations. Therefore those who are above 40 years naturally lose their HDL levels making them a victim to severe hard problems or cardiovascular issues.
Common diseases caused by high cholesterol levels
High cholesterol levels could easily result in (atherosclerosis) by making high cholesterol deposits (Plague) in the heart arteries. However, these blocked heart arteries for blood vessels could make blood circulation a time-consuming task which means our heart can’t be able to pump blood properly resulting in severe cardiovascular problems. In other words, these blocked arteries can cause severe complications leading to deadly diseases such as:-
- Coronary artery (heart) disease (CAD)- mainly occurs when plaque starts building in the heart arteries and continues to block or narrow down the blood flow causing severe discomfort in the chest. However, listed below are some of the specific symptoms that you should know regarding CAD.
- Angina, chest pain
- Nausea
- Extreme fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Pain in your neck, jaw, upper abdomen, or back
- Strokes- High cholesterol levels could easily affect the personality of blood vessels carrying blood flow so out the body if the functionality of blood vessels is being interrupted then several internal organs could stop functioning e.g. brain, heart etc. This is the same scenario when a stroke happens in your body. A stroke is considered a medical emergency where a person should experience the listed symptoms and requires immediate medical attention in order to survive:-
- Loss of balance and coordination
- Sudden dizziness
- facial asymmetry (drooping eyelid and mouth on just one side)
- One could not easily move the body part where the blood flow is interrupted due to plague deposition.
- Confusion
- Stammering words
- Numbness in your face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of your body
- Blurred vision, blackened vision, or double vision
- Sudden severe headache
- Heart attack- The heart arteries supplying blood to the heart start narrowing down or hard due to the slow plague build up. It is specially caused by atherosclerosis and doesn’t particularly show any symptoms because it happens over time. What truly happens is that a small piece of the plague gets broken and it starts covering the blood clots, restricting the heart arteries from receiving proper blood flow and oxygen. It is certainly painful as anyone who experienced these symptoms could relate to:-
- Tightness, squeezing, fullness, pain, or aching the chest
- difficulty breathing
- anxiety or a feeling of anxiety
- dizziness
- nausea, indigestion, or heartburn
- excessive fatigue
- Peripheral arterial disease (PAD)- mainly occurs when plaque starts building in the arteries where it prohibits the proper blood flow required for pumping which results in vasoconstriction causing severe nerve problems. It will simply cause low blood circulation in different body parts. Listed below as some of the most common symptoms of PAD:-
- cramping
- achiness
- fatigue
- Pain in your legs during strenuous activities called intermittent claudication
- Pain in your legs and feet
High cholesterol treatments suitable for everyone
In reality, you have to only take some precautions in your dietary intake and follow a suitable heart-healthy lifestyle that helps to keep your cholesterol levels in check without adding any pharmaceutical medicines. This could be literally life-changing because things that truly matter need to be done precisely. So if you truly want to change your lifestyle and keep your cholesterol levels in the proper state then follow some of the activities given below:-
- You need to keep your sodium intake in check as well as salt level should be low enough to keep your body at healthy cholesterol levels
- You need to limit the animal fat intake and start taking good fat in moderation.
- To resolve obesity or overweight problems you need to lose a few extra pounds to maintain a healthy body weight.
- You need to quit smoking and start managing your stress by meditation.
- Start doing regular workouts to be healthy and act accordingly.
Final view on cholesterol management
Cholesterol levels can be easily managed if you take the right steps at the right time because if you don’t take your cholesterol level seriously then Sonal or later you will find out that you are suffering from every possible disease concerned about your heart and body weight. Therefore it could be beneficial to understand the importance of cholesterol management to live a healthy life for a longer period.