Spotting the Signs of High Cholesterol and How to Prevent It

It can be almost impossible to tell if you have high cholesterol levels. Even if you live a fairly healthy lifestyle, you may be in a high risk candidate for this potentially deadly problem.

There are certain indicators however that should be taken into account to help you decide if you need to get your cholesterol levels checked out.

Although no obvious symptoms are displayed, the type of lifestyle you lead will provide pointers towards you possibly having high cholesterol.

How physically active are you? If you do little to no exercise, you should be concerned. The flow of blood will not be as efficient in removing damaging waste products from your blood vessels due to your level of inactivity.

Smoking, a diet lacking in vital nutrients and vitamins and being overweight should also be a red flag warning to you.

Unfortunately you are automatically at risk if you have a family history of high cholesterol problems. Find out if this is the case and make an appointment with your doctor if need be for a cholesterol level check.

The same applies if any of the other signs relate to you. Your doctor or a pharmacist will carry out a simple blood test to check your levels. You'll have the results back in a day or 2, or even a couple of hours.

Good and Bad Cholesterol

There are 2 types of cholesterol - Low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL). In a nutshell, LDL is bad for you and HDL is good for you.

If you have too much LDL in your blood system, it can narrow your arteries and form clots, which potentially can cause a heart attack.

Increased levels of HDL on the other hand, will help keep your arteries clear and lower the chances of clots forming which is obviously good for the heart.

The Solution

What you need to do is reduce the levels of LDL and increase the levels of HDL. Obvious right? You can achieve this by taking regular exercise and reducing the amount of saturated and trans fats in your diet and replacing them with heart loving monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.

Try to incorporate cardio training into your exercise like swimming, rowing and biking. These types of exercises are low impact and will get the heart pumping fresh, oxygenated blood around your body.

Fast Remedies

Naturally you should be aiming to eat a healthy balanced diet, incorporating at least 5 - 8 portions of fruit and veg a day. Vitamins A and D are your friends and will protect your blood vessels from damage. Find them in eggs, fish (especially salmon), dark green and yellow veg.

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Try to steer clear and avoid the following:

Air pollution - It can be just as bad as smoking

Stress - It will increase your cholesterol levels. Exercise will reduce stress - fact.

Sugar - The white death! It's simply fat in disguise and turns into cholesterol.

Not eating any fat - This won't effect your cholesterol levels. Instead eat healthy, unsaturated fats found in olive oil, nuts and avocados.

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