What is cholesterol?
What are its normal levels?
What are its measurements that increase a person's risk of a heart attack or stroke?
How can it be reduced naturally?
The answers are in this comprehensive report.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a waxy type of fat that travels in the blood throughout the body, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Cholesterol is produced by the body, but it can also be obtained from foods. Cholesterol is only found in animal foods.
What is the function of cholesterol in the body?
Every cell in the body needs cholesterol, which helps cell membranes form layers that protect the contents of the cell by acting as a gatekeeper that determines what substances enter or leave the cell.
The liver makes cholesterol and also uses it to produce bile, which is important in digestion.
Cholesterol is necessary for the production of certain hormones and for the production of vitamin D.
The liver produces enough cholesterol to meet the body's needs for these important functions.
What are the types of cholesterol?
Cholesterol is moved throughout the body by lipoproteins in the blood, including:
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) called bad cholesterol
Low-density lipoprotein can build up on the walls of the arteries and make them narrow, and then the fatty deposits form plaques that line the arteries and may cause a blockage, and this buildup is called atherosclerosis.
The fats associated with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels that you should reduce in your diet are called saturated fats and trans fats.
Saturated fats are solid or wax-like when at room temperature.
You mostly find saturated fats in products that come from animals, such as meat, milk, cheese and butter.
Trans fats are produced when liquid fats are processed during the hydrogenation process to become solid.
Trans fats are found in fast foods and fried foods and are used to extend the shelf life of processed foods such as crackers and baked goods.
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is called the good cholesterol
This protein is good because it carries other types of cholesterol, including low-density lipoprotein, away from the arteries.
HDL also transports other types of cholesterol in the liver to be removed from the body.
It is believed that higher levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) reduce the risk of heart disease.
Non-HDL cholesterol
This represents total cholesterol minus high-density lipoprotein.
The body contains other types of cholesterol such as very low density lipoproteins (VLDL).
What are the normal levels of cholesterol?
Anyone 19 years of age or younger, according to the US National Library of Medicine:
Total cholesterol (it measures the total amount of cholesterol in the blood. It includes low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein) less than 170 mg/dL
Non-HDL cholesterol: less than 120 mg/dL.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) less than 100 mg/dL
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) more than 45 mg/dL
Men 20 years of age or older:
Total cholesterol 125 to 200 mg/dL
Non-HDL cholesterol less than 130 mg/dL
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) less than 100 mg/dL
High-density lipoprotein (HDL): 40 mg/dL or higher
Women age 20 or older:
Total cholesterol 125 to 200 mg/dL
Non-HDL cholesterol: less than 130 mg/dL
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) less than 100 mg/dL
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) 50 mg/dL or higher
Triglyceride
A normal triglyceride level is less than 150 mg/dL.
Triglycerides are important because most of the fat in your body is in the form of triglycerides.
These levels are often higher in people who have diabetes or are obese.
High cholesterol from the previous normal levels increases the risk of some serious diseases and complications, such as:
coronary heart disease
If the cholesterol level is too high, it builds up on the walls of the arteries, which leads to atherosclerosis.
This condition causes narrowed arteries and narrowed blood vessels to reduce blood flow to the heart.
This can lead to angina (chest pain) due to insufficient blood flow to the heart, or a heart attack in cases where the blood vessels are completely blocked and the heart muscle begins to die, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
brain attack
A stroke occurs when the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to the brain become blocked or burst.
A stroke can occur if blood flow to the brain is reduced.
When a stroke occurs, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so it begins to die.
Peripheral arterial disease
High cholesterol has also been linked to peripheral arterial disease (PAD), which refers to diseases of the blood vessels located outside the heart and brain.
In PAD, fatty deposits build up along artery walls and affect circulation, especially in the arteries leading to the legs and feet.
Kidney arteries can also be affected.
Hypertension
High blood pressure is associated with high cholesterol.
When the arteries harden and narrow due to cholesterol deposits, the heart has to work harder to pump blood through them.
As a result, blood pressure rises abnormally.
The following foods can help lower cholesterol in the blood:
Olives, olive oil, canola oil, almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, cashews, avocado, salmon, mackerel, herring, tuna, beans, peas, lentils, fruits, whole grains.
What factors affect cholesterol levels?
1- diet
The saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol in the food you eat increase your cholesterol levels.
2- Weight
In addition to being a risk factor for heart disease, being overweight can also increase triglycerides.
Losing weight may help lower triglyceride levels and raise HDL cholesterol.
3- exercises
Regular exercise can lower your total cholesterol levels.
4- Age and gender
With age, cholesterol levels rise.
Before menopause, women tend to have lower total cholesterol levels than men of the same age.
After menopause, women's bad cholesterol levels tend to rise and good cholesterol can drop.
5- Genetics
Genes play a role in how much cholesterol the body makes.
High cholesterol can run in families.
What non-drug ways to lower cholesterol?
Avoid tobacco
Limit the amount of trans fats and saturated fats
Eat heart-healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, poultry, fish and whole grains
Reduce your intake of red meat, sugary products, and dairy products made with whole milk
Get more exercise.
Try to get about 150 minutes of physical activity each week, or about 30 minutes a day for most days of the week
Maintain a healthy weight
Control your blood sugar and blood pressure if you have diabetes or high blood pressure
What are the most prominent drugs available to lower cholesterol?
Statins, which work by reducing the amount of cholesterol produced by the liver, lower blood cholesterol and may help lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Bile acid sequestrants. These medicines, also called resins, bind to bile and so cannot be used in digestion. In response, the liver produces more bile by consuming more cholesterol.
Fibrates, also called fibric acid derivatives, are more effective at lowering triglyceride levels than lowering LDL cholesterol, and may also help increase HDL levels.