Proven Ways to Lower Cholesterol

High cholesterol has long been known to be a major factor in heart disease and premature death as a consequence, so lowering it is clearly a smart idea. There are 2 mains ways to lower cholesterol that have been established to work: 1) adopt a healthier lifestyle and 2) take cholesterol lowering drugs.

Hyper-cholesterolemia (as high cholesterol is termed medically) is becoming widespread particularly in the Western world and is almost certainly due to features of the modern lifestyle. For most people whose cholesterol is too high, relatively minor modifications to their diet and exercise regime will restore normal cholesterol levels.

Some people however are either already beyond what can be usefully achieved with lifestyle modifications or carry an inherited genetic disorder (familial hyper-cholesterolemia) that limits the benefits of diet and exercise. Such individuals will normally be prescribed drugs called statins whose potency can be altered to suit the individual both initially and over time.

Before looking further at these 2 strategies (lifestyle and medication), it's worth bearing in mind that when medical professionals discuss cholesterol in people they are referring to 2 specific kinds which are: LDL (often called "bad cholesterol") and HDL (labeled "good cholesterol").

LDL cholesterol (Low Density Lipoprotein) is a type of body fat (a lipid) that is produced as a result of the liver processing food. It is distributed via the bloodstream to supply energy to virtually every cell in the body and is therefore rather important. However, when more LDL than is necessary gets produced it tends to become deposited in arteries and veins, eventually clogging the system up with all too predictable consequences.

HDL cholesterol (High Density Lipoprotein, which means there is more protein than lipid) is able to soak up excess LDL and return it to the liver for recycling or waste. The human body however contains a much larger amount of LDL than HDL so it's an unequal struggle, but it has been shown that increasing the amount of exercise taken leads to an increase of HDL levels in the bloodstream.

Lifestyle modifications to lower LDL cholesterol are based on medical observations that excess weight, certain kinds of food, smoking, drinking and insufficient exercise are contribute significantly to high LDL cholesterol and that avoiding these things will therefore have the reverse effect and lower cholesterol levels.

Where dietary changes are concerned, the foodstuffs to cut down (or cut out) are those that contain high levels of saturated fat. Examples include hard cheese, butter, red meat, pastries, cakes and biscuits. At the same time also aim to increase the amount of fruit, vegetables, oat and beans present in the diet since these actively (and naturally) help lower cholesterol. So switching from butter to a plant sterol based spread (so-called "cholesterol lowering" spreads) ticks the boxes in both columns.

If lifestyle modifications alone prove insufficient to lower cholesterol below medically recommended limits then medical advice should be sought. The most common treatment for high cholesterol is a class of drugs called statins. These pills are not however to be regarded as an alternative to adopting a healthier lifestyle; they are supplemental to lifestyle changes.

The most commonly prescribed statins are (in ascending order of strength and using both clinical and brand names):

- Pravastatin (Lipostat)

- Simvastatin (Zocor)

- Atorvastatin (Lipitor)

- Rosuvastatin (Crestor)

Most people who are prescribed statins tolerate them easily and suffer no side-effects at all, but it should be noted that they can in some circumstances cause very serious damage to both muscle tissue and the liver, particularly when taken in high doses and accordingly it is common for patients to have reasonably regular blood tests to both monitor the effect of statins on cholesterol levels and to check for early signs of such internal damage.

So there it is - 2 proven, effective and medically approved cholesteroltestkitguide.com/lower-cholesterol/how-to-lower-cholesterol.html ways to lower cholesterol. The difference between them is largely a matter of degree - taking prescription drugs is an extra measure over and above adopting a healthier lifestyle, which in most cases gets to the root of the problem. For more on this subject visit the cholesteroltestkitguide.com Cholesterol Test Kit Guide.

Megan's alter-ego KuleKat is interested in examining many of the characteristic features of our times and looking at the various measured adopted to address them.