Content
- Causes of High Total Cholesterol
- Signs and symptoms of the disease
- How to lower blood cholesterol?
- Proper nutrition and diet
- Drug use
- Folk remedies
- Why pregnancy control is needed?
Cholesterol is an organic compound made up of fats and steroids. This substance is very important for the body, since it consists of cell membranes and many hormones. Excess cholesterol contributes to the development of serious diseases, such as atherosclerosis or myocardial infarction. In order not to ask the question: “What is high cholesterol to do?”, You need to take care of your health in advance. But what if this problem has already touched you?
Causes of High Total Cholesterol
An increase in the concentration of cholesterol in the blood is primarily affected by lifestyle. If you eat improperly, move a little, are overweight, smoke and drink alcohol, then there is a high risk of increasing cholesterol in your blood. Another reason for the increase in the concentration of this substance can be various diseases:
- thyroid dysfunction
- diabetes
- kidney disease
- high blood pressure
- liver disease
All of the above diseases are treatable or controlled. If you monitor your health, then the complications caused by high cholesterol do not threaten you. Unfortunately, there are factors that are not amenable to the effects of drugs, operations. Consulting a doctor does not help in such cases. For example, small changes in the genome can provide congenital elevated cholesterol. Predisposition to increase the concentration of this substance in the blood determines gender, age, belonging to certain ethnic groups, and earlier onset of menopause.
Signs and symptoms of the disease
Elevated cholesterol is correctly called hypercholesterolemia. This disease has no obvious symptoms, it is impossible to determine them visually without analysis. But hypercholesterolemia causes a number of more serious diseases, for example, atherosclerosis. It just has extremely bright symptoms, according to which the doctor will make the correct diagnosis.
Symptoms may include:
- Angina pectoris caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries of the heart.
- Pain in the lower extremities, which may be due to narrowing of the lumen of the arteries that supply the body tissue.
- The presence of clots in the blood or rupture of a vessel may cause an ischemic attack or stroke..
- Plaque rupture that leads to coronary thrombosis or heart failure.
- The spots on the skin are yellow (xanthoma). Usually formed around the eyes. This is a clear sign of deposition of cholesterol in the body..
How to lower blood cholesterol?
Anyone who has been diagnosed with hypercholesterolemia is wondering: “I have high cholesterol, what should I do?” There are many ways to reduce the concentration of this substance in the blood to normal. The most affordable and easiest is diet. Its main rule is to limit the use of too fatty and sweet foods. In addition, you should refuse food a few hours before bedtime..
A positive effect on the state of health and the normalization of cholesterol will also be caused by quitting smoking, excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages. Another factor that lowers cholesterol is physical activity. Try to move more during the day, combining this with diet and medicines, you will certainly achieve positive results.
The arsenal of medicine is growing every year. If in the middle of the last century, in addition to diet and physical activity, the doctor could no longer give any recommendations for lowering cholesterol, now there are a lot of drugs that normalize the concentration of this substance. Some drugs can even destroy plaques that have already formed. Do not forget about alternative medicine, because there are many recipes that can help with hypercholesterolemia.
Proper nutrition and diet
Dietary nutrition for lowering cholesterol is based on eating foods that are low in fat. Cooking in vegetable or butter is unacceptable, because even vegetables with such a treatment are saturated with insoluble lipids. Foods are best consumed stewed or boiled than fried. If the rejection of foods rich in cholesterol is realized, then it is recommended to use an additional amount of plant food. Fiber in vegetables prevents the absorption of a third of the fat that is ingested..
With high cholesterol, it is important to maintain a balance of vitamins and minerals. Eat more fruits, vegetables. Nuts will provide an additional influx of minerals. It is permissible to eat red fish in limited quantities. Although this product contains a high concentration of cholesterol, it is also rich in essential body vitamin D and iodine, which have a positive effect on the metabolism..
It is important to include in the diet products that do not contain cholesterol, while contributing to its removal from the body:
- grape
- avocado
- beet
- pumpkin
Cholesterol lowering foods
Green tea is great for lowering cholesterol. The only problem is that continued use of this drink causes kidney problems. An infusion on olive leaves fights worse with cholesterol. It is a great antioxidant, but getting it is a little harder than green tea. Actively contribute to the removal of excess cholesterol nuts:
- pistachios
- hazelnut
- almond
- Walnut
From the video below you will find interesting information on whether it is possible to normalize cholesterol levels only with the help of food and how to do it..
Drug use
In especially severe cases, the doctor will immediately prescribe a number of medications that will need to be taken during the diet for a complex effect on the concentration of cholesterol in the blood. Perhaps you will be prescribed medications that cleanse the body, affecting the functioning of the body’s systems (for example, “Ziflan”). The following groups of drugs may also be recommended:
- antihypertensive agents
- statins
- triglyceride-lowering drugs
- aspirin
- niacin
Folk remedies
Alternative medicine also successfully copes with lowering blood cholesterol. One of the most affordable and easiest ways is juice therapy. The course of treatment with juices is designed for 5 days, and it must be repeated once a month. The principle of treatment is simple – every morning you need to drink several types of freshly squeezed juice from the following vegetables, fruits and herbs:
- carrots
- celery
- cucumber
- orange
- apples
- beets
- cabbage
Flaxseed, which is easy to purchase at any pharmacy, copes with the problem of high cholesterol. It must be consumed daily during a therapeutic diet. Pre-seed is to grind in a coffee grinder. The tool helps to stabilize the pressure, improve the digestive system and reduces the concentration of cholesterol in the blood..
Another recipe that helps in the fight against hypercholesterolemia is linden flowers. They are usually harvested in the spring, or bought at a pharmacy. The course of treatment with this tool is 1 month. Before use, the flowers need to be crushed to a powder state and taken one teaspoon 3 times a day. The product successfully removes excess cholesterol and allows you to lose weight without effort..
Why pregnancy control is needed?
Pregnant women experience a slight increase in cholesterol. This is absolutely normal. But you need to carefully monitor the concentration of this substance in the blood. Excessively high cholesterol can harm both the fetus and the mother. Try to take tests regularly and follow all the doctor’s recommendations. Otherwise, an increased concentration of lipids in the body will increase the viscosity of the blood and make the vessels less durable, which will increase the risk of heart or vascular disease in the child.
Hypercholesterolemia is a disease without symptoms, but it can lead to more serious illnesses. If you are healthy, try periodically taking a blood test for biochemistry. If you have high cholesterol, ask your doctor what to do. Do not self-medicate, regardless of friends’ recommendations for a drug or folk remedy.
