Cholesterol is a vital element for our health and well-being. There are two basic types of cholesterol: HDL cholesterol is good for our health, LDL cholesterol is bad for our health.
HDL cholesterol is beneficial to the body and must be transported to all parts of the body by the bloodstream, whereas LDL cholesterol must be eliminated from the body via the very same bloodstream. The body has a mechanism to regulate the levels of LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol in the blood. Bad eating and lifestyle habits cause the cholesterol levels to exceed the normal healthy bounds thus overloading the regulatory mechanism. If this condition continues for a long time our health is jeopardized.
LDL cholesterol tends to stick to the inner walls of the blood vessels it moves through. The coating reduces the blood flow through the affected vessels. This means poor circulation which translates to poor health. The coating may increase to an extent where the blood vessel is severely constricted. This condition is known as arteriosclerosis.
Arteriosclerosis leads to high blood pressure which strains the heart and damages the walls of the blood vessels, a condition known as atherosclerosis. Clumps of LDL cholesterol can move down the blood vessels and block the minute capillary networks supplying blood to the brain and heart. If the capillary networks in these critical organs are blocked, the blood supply to these vital organs is cut off, stopped, and the organs experience a massive failure. Capillary blockage in the brain causes strokes, and capillary blockage in the heart cause heart attack. I don't need to tell you the implications of these two conditions.
Heart disease can be prevented, or the risk of getting it can be reduced, if we follow some very simple health guidelines. The first is to counterattack the invasion of LDL cholesterol into the body. LDL cholesterol gains entry into the body with the food we eat. So you should mount a watch on the kind of food you eat. Saturated fats are heavy with LDL cholesterol and must be shunned. You can and should include the healthy fats into your diet (e.g. omega-3 fats found in fish) because they actively help to reduce the bad LDL cholesterol. Copious draughts of plain water helps the circulatory and excretory functions of the body, which at once improves health and eliminates the bad LDL cholesterol.
Stop using heavy cooking oil to cook food in. Switch to virgin olive oil which is highly recommended as a healthy cooking medium. Changing your cooking oil is a very effective way to reduce the risk of heart disease.
Smoking actually helps to elevate the LDL cholesterol level in the blood. Give up smoking and see the LDL cholesterol beat a hasty retreat. Follow the other steps in this article to ensure your freedom from a dangerous heart condition.
A stressful lifestyle adds fuel to fire if you have an excessive LDL cholesterol level. Tension adds to the high LDL cholesterol situation, whereas a tension free lifestyle actually goes a long way to decreasing the LDL cholesterol level.
To sum up, LDL cholesterol can be controlled by eating foods which are free of saturated fats, exercising, quitting smoking and ridding yourself of stress. The worst thing you can do is to panic about high LDL cholesterol levels. This article is meant to educate you about the cause and prevention of heart disease, not scare you. Use what you have learnt in this article to control the LDL cholesterol situation. Once that is under control, you can say that the risk of heart disease is under control.
HDL cholesterol is beneficial to the body and must be transported to all parts of the body by the bloodstream, whereas LDL cholesterol must be eliminated from the body via the very same bloodstream. The body has a mechanism to regulate the levels of LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol in the blood. Bad eating and lifestyle habits cause the cholesterol levels to exceed the normal healthy bounds thus overloading the regulatory mechanism. If this condition continues for a long time our health is jeopardized.
LDL cholesterol tends to stick to the inner walls of the blood vessels it moves through. The coating reduces the blood flow through the affected vessels. This means poor circulation which translates to poor health. The coating may increase to an extent where the blood vessel is severely constricted. This condition is known as arteriosclerosis.
Arteriosclerosis leads to high blood pressure which strains the heart and damages the walls of the blood vessels, a condition known as atherosclerosis. Clumps of LDL cholesterol can move down the blood vessels and block the minute capillary networks supplying blood to the brain and heart. If the capillary networks in these critical organs are blocked, the blood supply to these vital organs is cut off, stopped, and the organs experience a massive failure. Capillary blockage in the brain causes strokes, and capillary blockage in the heart cause heart attack. I don't need to tell you the implications of these two conditions.
Heart disease can be prevented, or the risk of getting it can be reduced, if we follow some very simple health guidelines. The first is to counterattack the invasion of LDL cholesterol into the body. LDL cholesterol gains entry into the body with the food we eat. So you should mount a watch on the kind of food you eat. Saturated fats are heavy with LDL cholesterol and must be shunned. You can and should include the healthy fats into your diet (e.g. omega-3 fats found in fish) because they actively help to reduce the bad LDL cholesterol. Copious draughts of plain water helps the circulatory and excretory functions of the body, which at once improves health and eliminates the bad LDL cholesterol.
Stop using heavy cooking oil to cook food in. Switch to virgin olive oil which is highly recommended as a healthy cooking medium. Changing your cooking oil is a very effective way to reduce the risk of heart disease.
Smoking actually helps to elevate the LDL cholesterol level in the blood. Give up smoking and see the LDL cholesterol beat a hasty retreat. Follow the other steps in this article to ensure your freedom from a dangerous heart condition.
A stressful lifestyle adds fuel to fire if you have an excessive LDL cholesterol level. Tension adds to the high LDL cholesterol situation, whereas a tension free lifestyle actually goes a long way to decreasing the LDL cholesterol level.
To sum up, LDL cholesterol can be controlled by eating foods which are free of saturated fats, exercising, quitting smoking and ridding yourself of stress. The worst thing you can do is to panic about high LDL cholesterol levels. This article is meant to educate you about the cause and prevention of heart disease, not scare you. Use what you have learnt in this article to control the LDL cholesterol situation. Once that is under control, you can say that the risk of heart disease is under control.
About the Author:
To get great advice on a diet for lowering high cholesterol visit www.Reduce-High-Cholesterol.com. You'll not only find out what foods you should eat and what you should avoid, you'll also discover how to get a great deal on a cholesterol monitor to help you stay on top of your levels.
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