Prevention and Treatment of High Cholesterol
We all had been in that phase when there were some obstructions in the main pipeline of our waterpipe and we did not use to get water for a long period of time. All our house members had so much trouble in performing simple daily life activities then. Because, we know that without water, we cannot perform a single task in our daily life. Have you ever imagined your blood in place of water, blood vessels in the place of waterpipes and different organs in place of house members? Sounds SCARY, right? Let’s not be scared and dip deep into the facts associated with one of the most recent adverse health events- High Cholesterol.
At first, let’s get familiar with Low-Density Lipoprotein or LDL and High-Density Lipoprotein or HDL. Cholesterol is a lipid substance in our body that serves as a building block to produce vitamin D, hormones and various kinds of digestive juices that break down fats in our diets. Both HDL and LDL are two forms of lipoproteins that carry cholesterol to and from our body’s cells into the blood. Having less LDL means one is less prone to develop heart diseases from narrowing up of his blood vessels due to fat deposits. This is just the case of the obstruction of the water pipe as mentioned earlier. With the improper supply of blood, one’s heart and brain are more likely to get damaged. Now, if one has high HDL, that implies that he has a lower risk to develop severe heart diseases as HDL takes LDL out of our blood, preventing fat buildup in the arteries.
Obesity, heart diseases, and high cholesterol are significant health outcomes that have left many people in utter distress and these are indeed serious global health concerns. Some people even after knowing their health conditions, remain ignorant and allow the same to aggravate further while some, with proper education and guidelines, can easily reduce triglyceride or fats from their blood to control cholesterol and lead a much better and quality life. So, how to prevent High Cholesterol? Well, the remedies are pretty simple to follow and it all depends on people regarding how accurately and adequately they are following the same and embedding these as important activities in their everyday life. Here are some of the best and the most natural prevention strategies to give a tough fight to your high cholesterol-
1. A heart-healthy diet to save your life
Adding fresh vegetables, fruits, roughages and lots of greens will not only prevent your cholesterol from getting absorbed into the blood but will increase the “bulk feeling” in your diet due to which you will not be hungry often. Reducing the overall fat content of the diet can further help your body mitigating risks from LDL. These include choosing skimmed low-fat milk, avoiding red meat and oily foods. Citrus fruits must be included in the diet. According to the American Heart Association, one should not have more than 5%-6% of the daily calories from saturated fats.
2. To exercise is to melt your body fats and to keep yourself in a healthy weight
Physical activity is utmost importance in this case. The more one will be physically active, the more he will be less likely to allow fat buildups in his body. Doing moderate aerobic exercises for about 150 minutes a day can change your health outcomes to complete positivity. One can consider joining a Zumba class or a Yoga class or hitting a Gym as well.
3. Quitting smoking and alcoholism
An obese person with high cholesterol will meet his own end if he continues to smoke and drink alcohol at high levels. Both are intensely associated with increasing triglyceride in blood and narrowing up of blood vessels. It is ardent to quit both of these if one wants to resume a healthier lifestyle.
Apart from these prevention strategies, there are treatment procedures that doctors follow to reduce cholesterol in the blood. These include-
Statins- this is one of the most common procedures to remove cholesterol from the blood. It helps in reabsorbing cholesterol from the arterial build-up and thus, reverses the condition of coronary heart disease.
Cholesterol absorption inhibitors- A drug named Zetia is prescribed by the doctors to limit absorbing dietary cholesterol by the intestine and thus, potentially helping in reducing blood cholesterol.
Bile acid-binding resins- our liver uses cholesterol to bind bile acids. Medications like colesevelam, cholestyramine and colestipol directly bind cholesterol to bile acids. This induces the liver to use excess cholesterol to enhance bile acid formation, reducing overall blood cholesterol.
In the concluding note, we will say, that Precaution is better than Cure. So, taking measures early will not only save you from adverse health outcomes, but will also save your money in the costly treatment procedures and medications. “HEALTH IS WEALTH”- this is what we need to remember whenever we think of doing any bad to our health. For high cholesterol, you can use organic supplements for high cholesterol
