Cholesterol, What Is It and Why Should I Care What My Levels Are

We often hear the term cholesterol on television, in magazines and from our doctor, but do we really know anything about it?

It is actually a fat-like waxy substance secreted by our liver within our body. It is an important part of every cell in our body and serves certain vital functions, like the following:

Generating hormones in our body

- Maintaining healthy cell walls

- Producing bile acids, that help in fat digestion

- Making Vitamin D.

Of course, it is very important for our body to function well, but at the same time excessive production of this sticky substance results in hardening of the artery walls, which in turn leads to several serious health complications like heart attacks, strokes, etc. This does not mean than having low levels is good for your health. Very low levels can indicate liver cancer, in the worst-case scenario. Therefore, in order to avoid such health complications it is very important to keep your levels under control. A healthy number to aim for is 140-200 milligrams per deciliter of blood.

What most don't understand, is that age is not necessarily an indication of whether you have a buildup in your artery walls. So, whether you are a young individual or a senior citizen, it is always pertinent that you keep a proper check on your cholesterol level, to ensure good health.

Causes of high cholesterol:

There may be several causes for an individual to develop a higher than normal profile. Some of these causes are avoidable while others are not, but whatever the reason may be, educating yourself about cause and effect gives you a better idea on how to deal with your situation in an appropriate way.

So, let us take a quick look at some of causes that may be a potential reason to throw your body out of balance:

- It may be the result of your aging

- It can be hereditary and passed down from our parents

- Wrong eating habits like consuming high fat foods and trans fats

- Unhealthy habits like consuming more than a moderation of alcohol and smoking cigarettes

Treatments for high cholesterol:

There are millions of people who have this health issue. However, the good news is that cholesterol disorders can be treated; all it takes is some dedication and will power on your part to overcome the situation. Let us take a quick look at how you and your doctor together can effectively increase your cardiovascular health:

- Follow a healthy diet plan. Your diet should include foods that are low on fat and high fiber.

- Exercise regularly. It is also important to follow a proper workout program. That best way to go about it is to consult a professional physical instructor who can design a proper exercise program for you. Doing so will help you get the best results in the most effective way possible.

- Quit unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking and not getting enough sleep.

- Try to reduce your stress if possible. There are many stress reduction courses that you can take or if you prefer you can pick up a book about stress.

- Your doctor may give you a prescription to help regulate and normalize your levels. A statin drug is the usual course of treatment but your doctor may also recommend a non-prescription product.

These are usually made of plant sterols and don't have the same side effects as statins do. However, it's best to talk it over with your health care provider and the two of you together can decide together on your best treatment.

In case you are diagnosed with high cholesterol level, make sure that you go to a doctor immediately and get yourself treated at the earliest to avoid future complications. Remember, a proper combination of healthy fat free or low fat diet, exercising and medication is likely to contribute significantly towards improving your health and lowering or raising your personal level.

Having a healthy cholesterol level is a necessity for all around good health and levels that are too high or too low can lead to serious health consequences. To find out more about how these levels negatively affect your body and how you can naturally regulate your levels please visit lower-my-cholesterol-naturally.com Lower My Cholesterol.