Cholesterol And How To Control It
Most of us must have heard of the term cholesterol and the negative side effects it causes. However, though it is regularly mentioned by doctors and dieticians, hardly of us know what exactly cholesterol is. It is very important to know the facts related to cholesterol in order to ensure proper optimum care of your body. By understanding what cholesterol is and how our health is affected by it, we can accordingly prepare for our future health.
Cholesterol is nothing but a waxy, fat like substance, which is naturally produced by the body for body functioning. It is also known as lipid and is naturally found in all the membranes and cell walls of the body, including brain, muscles, nerves, skin, intestines, liver and heart. The body makes use of the cholesterol to produce bile acids, hormones and vitamin D. It only takes a small amount of cholesterol in the blood to meet the above mentioned body needs. Generally, the liver produces the maximum of the cholesterol required by the body, and the rest is absorbed from the different foods we eat. As the cholesterol is produced by the liver, it is transported to all the body cells. Excessive amount of cholesterol is not absorbed by the cells, and hence returned to the liver. However, many times extra cholesterol attaches itself to the walls of the arteries and increases the risk of various heart diseases. Though cholesterol is very vital for our essential body functions, excess of cholesterol is very bad for our health.
High level of blood cholesterol is very bad and can lead to various health problems, mental problems and high blood pressure. High cholesterol also affects the liver, kidney, and thyroid and gives encouragement to all sorts of heart diseases. High cholesterol can be caused due to a variety of reasons like lifestyle, diet and hereditary. However, it generally increases with age and is more common in women older than 55 and men younger than 55.
Almost all the doctors emphasize that all individuals above 20 years of age must pay proper attention to their cholesterol level and always ensure measures to keep their cholesterol level low. Here is a list of easy and basic measures, which can help you keep your cholesterol at an optimum level:
Food is one of the common causes of high cholesterol. One should limit the intake of food items, which are high in cholesterol like eggs yolks, cheese, bacon, whole milk and various calorie foods. Instead, one should have fiber rich meals like whole grain porridge, fruits, rice bran, oat meal, etc. Fruits and vegetables must be included in the daily diet.
One of the best ways to improve the overall heart health and lower cholesterol is by increasing the level of activity. One must incorporate regular exercises and activity in their daily routine.
One should also try consuming garlic supplements and look for food items enriched with plant sterols as they have a significant impact on the heart health.