Cholesterol - Important And Dangerous!

How to lower cholesterol
is always in the news, constantly debated and doctors tell us to check it. But why has this cholesterol debate risen to such a high place on the western agenda?Interestingly, our grandparents had never heard of it, although it was originally identified in the 1700s. It has only been seen as an important issue in the last 30 years or so. Important, because high cholesterol of the lipid fat type of cholesterol has been attributed to more than a quarter of male deaths in men under the age of 75 in the UK. The figure is only slightly less alarming in women.
The problem is the effect that lipid fats have on certain parts of the body. It doesn't take a medic to understand that if arteries are narrowed, then blood flow is restricted. Clearly if this is in the area of the heart, then heart failure in one form or another will become inevitable if the narrowing continues unabated. And lipid fats, if overdosed, certainly causes arteries to fur up.
Too much of the wrong kind of cholesterol also causes blood clots. Get one on the brain and there's the classic stroke, leaving the body in semi or total paralysis or, worse, death. But lipids are also vital to the good working of the human frame. Without the correct quantities racing round the body, our energy levels would be depleted. They also contribute to the make up of every single cell together with providing essential building blocks for hormones. Then there's the nervous system. Cholesterol provides an important ingredient inputting to how the nervous system works and performs. So, how is a good balance attained?
In simple terms, it comes down to how we live. Too much dairy products and fatty foods will put an unkind burden on the body and almost everyone agrees that cutting back - or, better still, cutting out - these foods is a desirable thing to do. The body simply cannot dispose of excessive quantities of lipids very easily. Absence of any energy-burning exercise will also leave fatty tissues in place rather than burning them up.
Making a start, then. Firstly check with your GP if there's a problem. The family doctor will almost certainly rattle off a string of items for an action plan; cutting out fats that the body doesn't handle well will be top of the list, together with an exercise regime to suit you. But there should never be anything to fear. Cholesterol can always be managed. Medication can also be employed if absolutely necessary and the correct levels of this body chemistry can soon be sorted out

Posted in: Heart Disease