All You Need To Know About Cholesterol

Produced by the liver, cholesterol is a waxy substance that is essential to every cell in your body. Cholesterol also enters the body through the saturated fats we consume in certain foods. Basically, there are two known types of cholesterol. One considered to be "good" and one considered to be "bad" based on their interaction with the human body.

The good cholesterol is the High Density Lipoprotein cholesterol or simply known as HDL cholesterol. It is considered to be the "good" one because it works to cleanse the blood vessels of any excess LDL cholesterol, so it is desirable to have a higher number, practically anything above 40 mg/dL. The bad cholesterol is called Low Density Lipoprotein or simply LDL cholesterol. A good blood test reveals bad cholesterol below 130 milligrams per deciliter.

The importance of lowering cholesterol

In order to live a long and healthy life that is free from heart disease or strokes, it is important to lower cholesterol. Coming with elevated levels of cholesterol there are several risk factors which are recommended to be avoided. When there is too much total cholesterol in the blood, the health problems start arising because the blood can no longer move freely through the arteries. Narrowing the space through which blood flows, over time excess cholesterol builds up against the artery walls. Atherosclerosis is the condition where the arteries are narrowed as shown above. Heart attacks or strokes generally occur when the passage becomes too small and it closes off blood flow completely. If you have high blood pressure, you are overweight or you have diabetes, the risk of this happening is even greater.

Naturally lowering your cholesterol

Commonly prescribed to lower cholesterol, prescription drugs can sometimes be rather dangerous to your health. Still, statin drugs are a class of drugs that are both effective and popular. Even though they carry with them a number of serious side effects, these medications do work to lower overall cholesterol. Diarrhea, vomiting, headache, and nausea are some of the negative side effects. There is also the risk of possible kidney failure that can be indicated through muscle weakness or soreness.

Diet and exercise are imperative to lower cholesterol naturally. You can significantly lower LDL cholesterol through a low fat, happinesslifetime.com low cholesterol diet that contains specific vitamins and minerals. This is true whether your cholesterol is the result of a hereditary condition or the result of poor diet choices. In order to remove excess LDL cholesterol, you can perform at least 30 minutes of medium physical activity. Exercise will also raise your HDL cholesterol levels.

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