Archive for the ‘Cholesterol Health’ Category

High Cholesterol Prevention and Treatment Options

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

High cholesterol prevention and popular treatment options

The cause behind higt cholesterol  it can be improper diet, obesity or family history. Other diseases such as diabetes may also contribute to a high cholesterol levels.

Fortunately, though, there are many effective ways allow you to lower your cholesterol levels and reduce the possibilities of suffering from a stroke or heart disease. Any time is a good time to take appropriate steps for managing your cholesterol level.

There are many ways by which you can prevent and treat unhealthy cholesterol levels. You may either make simple lifestyle changes that can help you lead a healthy low cholesterol life or if your case is serious, the doctor may recommend medication.

In this article, we take a brief look at the many ways to prevent and treat unhealthy cholesterol levels. Taking the right steps now will help you lead a happy and healthy life.

Here below are two ways through which you can lower and maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

Lifestyle Changes:

It  is very important for you to follow a strict diet and eat healthy.

Avoid  fried and junk food as much as possible. Instead load your plate with   fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, fish, brown rice, cereals and whole  grains. You need to reduce the intake of fat and consume low fat, low  cholesterol food items.

Exercise  is very important. It not only helps energize you but keeps your mind   fresh as well. Regular exercise can help promote good physical and mental  health. So, do try to incorporate a few minutes of exercise into your busy  schedule to not only lower cholesterol but improve the overall quality of  your life as well.

Smoking can be very harmful. It combines with other factors and increases the risk  of high cholesterol in the body. Do your body a favor and kick this habit at the earliest.

Medication:

Some people cannot maintain healthy cholesterol level just by making lifestyle changes; they need additional help from prescription drugs. Various kinds of medication help lower high cholesterol.

The doctor may prescribe one or a combination of drugs depending on the specific case of the patient. It is very important for you to consult a doctor before you consume any medication.

The most common medication is Statins. These drugs work by stopping the natural cholesterol production in the liver, which forces the liver to pull the required cholesterol from the blood.

This aids in reducing total cholesterol thereby helping to maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Other medication shall work differently, some cholesterol drugs help lower cholesterol by blocking it from entering your blood while eating.

These were some of the ways, which you can implement to treat unhealthy cholesterol levels. In order to fight this medical condition, you should educate yourself properly about it and the various causes behind it.

It is not difficult to maintain good cholesterol levels, all you need is the right information and a little bit of effort on your part. Talk with your doctor and ask for tips from health-care professionals to set up a plan that shall help you lower your cholesterol to healthy level in no time.

Take the right step today for a brighter tomorrow. Remember the saying, ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ now is your time to make a difference and start your journey towards a healthier and happier you.

Does High Cholesterol Really Cause Heart Disease?

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

There has been controversy lately whether or not high cholesterol levels can contribute to heart disease.  Although there have not been studies with a large enough sampling size to really show proof one way or another there is an older study which does attribute a high cholesterol level to an increase of heart disease and is the study that remains the strongest for the argument.

In the Spring of 1958,a team of Harvard medical scientists furnished the final, incontrovertible proof that a surplus of cholesterol in the blood stream can, and does, cause coronary disease. Although this is quite a long time ago, the facts remain the same.

The scientists took little bits of blood vessel wall tissue, and kept them alive in a culture medium (which, in a real sense, means an artificial blood). They then began to add tiny drops of cholesterol to the feeding mixture—which, let us remind you again, corresponds to blood. In four or five days, fat deposits formed in the blood vessel cells.

By check-testing, they soon found that the size of the fat deposit in the blood vessel wall was directly proportional to the amount of cholesterol added. If the blood vessel cells were allowed to remain in the cholesterol-fed medium, the fat deposits soon increased to such size that the blood vessel cells finally withered and died.

Mind you, the doctors actually watched cholesterol produce blood vessel disease, but the experiments went much further. They found that satt-rich stearic acid, which occurs in certain animal fats, aided and abetted the formation of fatty deposits and caused them to increase rapidly and markedly in size.

Then the researchers did an even more astonishing thing. They added linolenic acid, a rich, primary source of polys, to the culture medium, and cholesterol as before; but the fat deposits didn’t form! Thus, they proved experimentally, with live human tissue, that the linolenic-acid polys could offset and counteract the effects of cholesterol, and keep it from forming deposits in the blood vessel walls.

The team continued the experiment. Was the action of the linolenic-acid polys more than protective and preventive? Would the polys actually decrease the size of the deposits which had been laid down in blood vessel cells? This is what they found.
Once a deposit of fat had been formed, the more linolenic acid added to the culture medium, the more the size of the deposit decreased. This can also be interpreted in another sense; viz., the more polys in a fat, the better it will work in preventing “The Grease Trap Disease,” and diminishing the size of fat deposits already formed.

However, don’t take this to mean that you can simply swallow linolenic acid, or any other rich source of polys, and magically cure yourself of coronary disease.

Your fat intake still has to be “balanced.” Remember that an excess of any kind of fat droplets in the blood stream can also cause trouble; and remember, too, that the blood becomes sticky and sludgy, and clots more readily, when you eat too much of any kind of fat. So, keep your total fat intake down.

Remember this, also: These experiments were done only with initial fat deposits, newly formed in the blood vessel cells. There had been no chance for the deposit to become “set,” or for secondary changes to occur.

Preventing and Treating High Cholesterol Levels

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

High Cholesterol is a very common medical condition that a large percentage of people across the globe suffer from. The cause behind it can be improper diet, obesity or family history. Other diseases such as diabetes may also contribute to a high cholesterol levels. Fortunately, though, many effective ways allow you to lower your cholesterol levels and reduce the possibilities of suffering from a stroke or heart disease. Any time is a good time to take appropriate steps for managing your cholesterol level.

There are many ways by which you can prevent and treat unhealthy cholesterol levels. You may either make simple lifestyle changes that can help you lead a healthy low cholesterol life or if your case is serious, the doctor may recommend medication. In this article, we take a brief look at the many ways to prevent and treat unhealthy cholesterol levels. Taking the right steps now will help you lead a happy and healthy life.

Here below are two ways through which you can maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

LIFESTYLE CHANGES:

•    It is very important for you to follow a strict diet and eat healthy. Avoid fried and junk food as much as possible. Instead load your plate with fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, fish, brown rice, cereals and whole grains. You need to reduce the intake of fat and consume low fat, low cholesterol food items.
•    Exercise is very important. It not only helps energize you but keeps your mind fresh as well. Regular exercise can help promote good physical and mental health. So, do try to incorporate a few minutes of exercise into your busy schedule to not only lower cholesterol but improve the overall quality of your life as well.
•    Smoking can be very harmful. It combines with other factors and increases the risk of high cholesterol in the body. Do your body a favor and kick this habit at the earliest.

MEDICATION:
Some people cannot maintain healthy cholesterol level just by making lifestyle changes; they need additional help from prescription drugs. Various kinds of medication help lower high cholesterol. The doctor may prescribe one or a combination of drugs depending on the specific case of the patient. It is very important for you to consult a doctor before you consume any medication.

The most common medication is Statins. These drugs work by stopping the natural cholesterol production in the liver, which forces the liver to pull the required cholesterol from the blood. This aids in reducing total cholesterol thereby helping to maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Other medication shall work differently, some cholesterol drugs help lower cholesterol by blocking it from entering your blood while eating.

These were some of the ways, which you can implement to treat unhealthy cholesterol levels. In order to fight this medical condition, you should educate yourself properly about it and the various causes behind it. It is not difficult to maintain good cholesterol levels, all you need is the right information and a little bit of effort on your part. Talk with your doctor and ask for tips from health-care professionals to set up a plan that shall help you lower your cholesterol to healthy level in no time.

Take the right step today for a brighter tomorrow. Remember the saying, ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ now is your time to make a difference and start your journey towards a healthier and happier you.

Cholesterol Quick Cholesterol Facts

Sunday, January 4th, 2009

What is cholesterol?

It is a fat-like waxy substance secreted by our liver within our body. It is an important part of every cell in our body and serves certain vital functions, like the following:

  • Generating hormones in our body
  • Maintaining healthy cell walls
  • Producing bile acids, that help in fat digestion
  • Making Vitamin D.

Of course, cholesterol is very important for our body to function well, but at the same time excessive production of cholesterol results in hardening of the artery walls which in turn leads to several serious health complications like heart attacks, strokes, etc.

This doesn’t mean than having low cholesterol is good for health. Very low cholesterol level indicates liver cancer, in the worst case scenario. Therefore, in order to avoid such health complications it is very important to keep your cholesterol level under control. A healthy cholesterol level means 140-200 milligrams of cholesterol per deciliter of blood.

It is usually seen that rising cholesterol problems are the consequence of aging; however it can happen to anyone and everyone irrespective of their age. So, whether you are a young individual or a senior person, it is always pertinent that you keep a proper check on your cholesterol level, to ensure good health.
Causes of high cholesterol:
There may be several causes for an individual developing high cholesterol level. Some of these causes are avoidable while others are not, but whatever the reason may be, educating yourself about the causes gives you a better idea on how to deal with your situation in an appropriate way.
So, let’s take a quick look at the causes that may be a potential reason to throw your cholesterol level out of balance:

  • It may be the result of your increasing age.
  • It may be hereditary
  • Wrong eating habits like consuming high fat foods.
  • Unhealthy habits like consuming alcohol, smoking cigarettes, etc.
  • Diabetes.
  • Sedentary lifestyle.
  • Under active thyroid gland.
  • Treatment for high cholesterol:

There are millions of people who have to live with cholesterol problems. But the good news is that cholesterol disorders can be treated, all it takes is some dedication and will power on your part to overcome the situation. Let’s take a quick look at how you can treat high blood cholesterol effectively:
Bring about healthy changes in your present lifestyle and follow a routine life.
Follow a healthy diet plan. Your diet should include foods that are low on fat and high on fiber.

Exercise regularly. It is also important to follow a proper workout program. That best way to go about it is to consult a profession physical instructor who can design a proper exercise program for you. Doing so will help you get the best results in the most effective way possible.
Quit unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking, etc.

In case you are diagnosed with high cholesterol level make sure that you go to a doctor immediately and get yourself treated at the earliest to avoid future complications. Remember, a proper combination of healthy fat free diet, exercising and medication is likely to contribute significantly towards improving your health and lowering your cholesterol level.


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