The Cause of High Bad Cholesterol

The cause of high bad cholesterol has been the subject of great concern especially to the millions of people worldwide that have had a heart attack, stroke, or are suffer with atherosclerosis. If an individual can understand the cause of high bad cholesterol it becomes much easier to find ways of bringing these all important blood lipid levels back into a healthy range.

Bad cholesterol is split into two different categories. That of low density lipoproteins (LDL) and triglycerides. Both of these molecules are primarily fat with triglycerides being an early stage molecule and LDL being one occurring later in the cycle. Nevertheless, they both pose a great risk to heart health and must be controlled, keeping LDL under 120 for the average healthy adult and under 100 for those with a personal or family history of heart attack or stroke. Triglycerides should be maintained around the 150 mg/dl level.

In most people the cause of high bad cholesterol is not one singular cause rather multiple causes all working in unison. One cause is age. Aging of course is unavoidable and as a person grows older their lifestyle choices must change to prevent bad cholesterol levels from rising. This is difficult for many to do especially those in the business world who live a fast paced hectic life of travel and fast food.

Other factors that have a bearing on the cause of high cholesterol include close relatives who have or have had high cholesterol, being overweight, a diet high in artery clogging saturated fat, lack of physical activity, and consuming moderate to excessive amounts of alcohol. To be fair small amounts of red wine (one or two glasses daily) seem to lower bad cholesterol levels while raising good cholesterol (HDL). Most believe this is caused by the antioxidant resveratrol found in abundance in the skin of grapes.

Another often overlooked culprit when investigating the cause of high bad cholesterol is overeating. Eating large amounts of food at one setting have a particularly negative impact of triglyceride levels. So the lesson here is to eat smaller meals when managing high bad cholesterol.

High cholesterol can also be caused by heredity, smoking, diabetes, liver disease, kidney failure, underactive thyroid, and certain drugs such as oral estrogen replacement, oral contraceptives, corticosteroids, and diuretics.

So in summary, the cause of high bad cholesterol is not one single cause but in most cases a combination of different factors, some of which are avoidable, and others such as age are not.

Additionally, many natural health minded individuals have found success in controlling by cholesterol through a combination of diet modification, exercise, and lowered-cholesterol.com natural cholesterol reduction supplements. This three step approach can be used both as a way to reduce cholesterol levels or maintain levels in a healthy range. When implementing this natural treatment alternative be sure and discuss it with your doctor to isolate any problems and fine tune it to fit your particular situation.

Rob D. Hawkins is an enthusiastic advocate for the use of safe and effective high quality alternative health products and natural living, with over 10 years experience in the field. Learn more about natural remedies and natural health at purchaseremedies.com Purchase Remedies.com