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High cholesterol is becoming a very common health issue these days. A sizeable number of the population in India has high cholesterol levels. The most dangerous thing about cholesterol is that high cholesterol symptoms are very hard to detect without medical intervention. Read on if you need to know how to reduce cholesterol or would like to know how to keep yourself and your family safe from this silent disease.
What is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a type of lipid. It is produced naturally by your liver and is a waxy, fat-like substance. Cholesterol is essential for the proper functioning of your body and helps form cell membranes, vitamin D and certain hormones within your body.
As cholesterol is not soluble in water and cannot move through your blood by itself, lipoproteins are created by your body to help in the transportation of cholesterol. Lipoproteins, made up of fat and protein, are tasked with carrying cholesterol and triglycerides through your blood. Triglycerides are another type of lipid. Lipoproteins in your body have two major forms: low–density lipoproteins (LDL) and high–density lipoproteins (HDL).
You will have heard of LDL cholesterol, which is nothing but any cholesterol carried by these low–density lipoproteins.
Symptoms of High Cholesterol
High cholesterol is known as a ‘silent disease’ as your rising cholesterol levels do not, have any external symptoms. Many people are not even aware that they are suffering from high cholesterol until they suffer from serious complications like a heart attack or a stroke.
You need to undergo regular tests for cholesterol screening. A cholesterol test should be done from the age of 20. Sadly, you may even inherit high cholesterol. This condition is called familial hypercholesterolemia and is a genetic disease which is globally under-diagnosed and under-treated.
Causes of High Cholesterol
One of the most prominent reasons for high cholesterol is your diet. High cholesterol foods, or foods that cause high cholesterol are those that have a high content of saturated fats and trans fats. Obesity, or carrying extra weight, also acts to increase your risk. Certain lifestyle factors such as smoking and abstaining from physical exercise also cause high cholesterol.
You have already read about familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic disorder causing high cholesterol levels. High cholesterol is also hereditary and may be passed along with the genes from parents to their children.
Other health conditions like diabetes and hypothyroidism too may lead to high cholesterol in you.
LDL Cholesterol
LDL cholesterol is also commonly known as “bad cholesterol”. When the level of LDL cholesterol in your body increases, it results in the building up of cholesterol plaque on the walls of your arteries.Cholesterol plaque narrows your arteries causing atherosclerosis, reduces your blood flow and increases the risk of you getting blood clots. If such a blood clot unfortunately blocks an artery in either your heart or brain, it may lead to a heart attack or a stroke.
HDL Cholesterol
HDL cholesterol is often called the ;good cholesterol’. Its function is to help take LDL cholesterol back to the liver so it may be removed from the body. This lowers the incidence of cholesterol plaque, thereby helping to decrease the risk of suffering from blood clots, heart attacks and strokes.
Risks from High Cholesterol Levels
If you allow your cholesterol level to increase unabated, it will result in the build up of cholesterol plaque in your arteries, leading to atherosclerosis and eventually a heart attack or a stroke. High cholesterol levels are also responsible for causing the imbalance of bile in your body leading to the development of stones in your gall bladder.
How to Reduce Cholesterol Levels?
Your doctor will recommend certain changes in your lifestyle to lower the cholesterol levels in your blood. You will need to adhere to an obesity diet plan if you are obese, increase physical exercise and definitely quit smoking.
You will need to follow a high cholesterol diet as below:
- Your diet will have to decrease or even cut down on foods high in cholesterol, trans fats and saturated fats such as red meat and organ meats, high-fat dairy products, egg yolks, foods processed with palm oil or cocoa butter, deep-fried foods like fried chicken, onion rings, potato chips, and certain baked foods.
- You will need to get your supply of proteins from lean sources such as fish,chicken and legumes.
- Increase your intake of foods containing omega-3 fatty acids such as fishes like mackerel, salmon and herring and other foods like avocados, almonds, walnuts and ground flaxseeds.
- Eat a lot of food rich in fibre such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
- Avoid fried food and instead opt for roasted, grilled, steamed, broiled and baked food.
- Avoid fast food and pre-packed food full of sugars.
Your doctor may prescribe high cholesterol medication. Statins are the medicines most commonly prescribed to reduce your cholesterol levels.
What is Obesity?
While on the topic of high cholesterol, you need to understand obesity too as it is one of the major factors causing it. The World Health Organisation (WHO) calls obesity a condition of deposits of excess fat in the body. Causes of obesity are the lack of balance between intake of energy in the form of your diet with the expending of your energy in the form of physical activities. The deposits of excessive fats in your body lead to obesity.
When your intake of calories is more than what your body can immediately process, these calories are converted into triglycerides and stored in your fat cells. High triglycerides are an indicator that your body is storing more fat than it requires and this may lead to obesity.
Obesity is measured by Body Mass Index or BMI. So what is BMI? Body Mass Index is calculated by the relation between your weight and height.
BMI = Weight (in Kgs) / Square of your height in meters (m2)
As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), a person with a BMI of greater than or equal to 25 is overweight and a person with a BMI of greater than or equal to 30 is classified as obese.
There are three types of obesity with respect to your Body Mass Index (BMI):
- BMI is between 30.0 and 34.9 – Class! (low risk) obesity
- BMI is between 35.0 and 39.9 – Class 2 (moderate risk) obesity
- BMI is equal to or above 40 – Class 3 (high risk) obesity
As you can make out from the classification above, obesity is not only a cosmetic problem. The effects of obesity may have a serious impact on your health. Carrying extra fat in the form of obesity may lead to the following health consequences:
- Cardiovascular diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Disorders of the musculoskeletal type such as osteoarthritis
- Certain types of cancers
Obesity leads to your body producing more triglycerides, which in turn leads to an increase in the level of lipoproteins, causing high cholesterol. That’s why it is essential to keep a check on your BMI level and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
In Conclusion
As you have just read, high cholesterol rarely has any symptoms but has a deadly effect. You need to test your cholesterol levels around the age of twenty. Even if you are diagnosed with high cholesterol, you may eat healthy, exercise regularly and stay away from smoking to reduce complications. Also, if your doctor prescribes you medicines, you need to be regular in taking them.
Additionally, you should also consider buying a health insurance plan that covers the health conditions arising out of a complication causing buy obesity or high cholesterol level. With Care Health Insurance you get multiple plan options catering to the various needs of different people. You can choose from family health insurance, senior citizen plan, heart mediclaim and heart insurance, critical illness plan and so on. For detailed information kindly connect with our experts who may help you in the buying process.
>> Also Read: Causes of Obesity and Ways to Control it
Disclaimers: The above information is for reference purposes only. Kindly consult your general physician for verified medical advice. The health insurance benefits are subject to policy terms and conditions. Refer to your policy documents for more information.
