In this digital era, people try to treat everything at home. This is how normal problems become health issues later.
Suppose a person is having a medical condition and needs to follow his dietician. But he is following the diet suggested by friends. You have no idea about the consequences.
What if this diet is good for others and not for your body?
Every body is different and so are its requirements. Your doctor or a diet recommended by a well-qualified doctor can help you to choose the best diet according to your body needs.
It is almost every day that we read about the deteriorating health conditions of children and adults. It can all be blamed on the sedentary lifestyle and eating habits. One of the most commonly affected health disorders is high cholesterol levels in youngsters and adults. The increased consumption of fried and processed food, along with the lack of physical activity, has led to such situations. High cholesterol diseases can significantly affect our lifestyle and can be fatal.
Let us delve deeper into the concept of cholesterol and how a high level of cholesterol affects our daily lives.
What is high cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a substance that is required by the body to build new and healthy cells. This waxy, fat substance is categorized into two types: LDL (Low-density Lipoprotein) and HDL(high-density Lipoprotein)
It is the LDL that can cause serious health issues if its level keeps rising and remains unchecked. The LDL carries cholesterol to the arteries, and high levels of LDL lead to a buildup of this fatty substance in the arteries.
Whereas the HDL, also known as the “good cholesterol,” is responsible for collecting the excess cholesterol and carrying it to the liver for its removal. High levels of HDL are considered to be normal.
The main problem arises when there is a high level of LDL in your body. The LDL mixes with the other substances in the blood, forming a plaque, which blocks the artery walls and can lead to high cholesterol diseases.
The buildup of plaque in the blood is called atherosclerosis. This plaque narrows the arteries, making them stiff. The blood flow is interrupted, and the organs do not receive sufficient blood.
How do high cholesterol diseases happen?
Now you must be wondering that even without eating anything extra, how can your body have these diseases?
Well, many factors contribute to making your body sick and weak.
The plaque built up due to high levels of LDL in the blood can cause serious health issues. The plaque sticks to the arteries, thus narrowing them. This reduces blood flow and can lead to a heart attack if the plaque completely blocks an artery.
The blood clot formed in the artery can also lead to brain damage, which can cause a permanent disability.
High cholesterol levels can also affect the limbs by narrowing the arteries, which can lead to numbness and infection in the leg.
These are a few high cholesterol diseases that not only affect your health but also significantly impact your lifestyle by causing physical limitations and chronic pain.
Reasons that can increase cholesterol levels:
- As mentioned earlier, our lifestyle choices are a major factor responsible for our poor health. We love to blame our busy lives and hectic job schedules for our poor food and health choices. Youngsters and adults both survive on junk food, which is loaded with saturated fats. Processed food contains a large amount of trans fat, which leads to a buildup of LDL in the body.
- People think that these diseases can attack your body only in your late 50s. So, you can live your life happily and carelessly before that. It’s not true. You need to take care of your body to protect it from anything. Lack of physical exercise and zero movement throughout the day are major reasons why so many people are overweight. Excess weight and obesity are major factors that lead to high cholesterol.
- Habits like smoking and alcohol consumption are factors that lead to plaque buildup in the arteries and lower HDL cholesterol in the body. These problems don’t show symptoms immediately but deep down, it keeps on affecting your body and internal organs.
If left untreated, it can lead to atherosclerosis which is a life-threatening disease. It is a silent process of blood vessels narrowing that restricts the oxygen flow to vital organs and can lead to strokes or heart attack. So, you should always keep a sharp eye on your blood pressure and cholesterol levels to keep your body safe from serious illness.
Read More: Women’s Health Services
How to prevent high cholesterol diseases?
There are many ways to keep your body protected from high cholesterol diseases. We have mentioned some major ways to keep you healthy:
- Adopt a healthy lifestyle:- Make the right choices by choosing the correct diet. Add more fiber-rich food options to your diet, along with fish, which are rich in Omega-3. This is a great way to remove cholesterol from your body and keep your heart healthy.
- Physical Activity:- Dedicate at least 40 minutes of your time towards physical movement. Cardio and brisk walking also help remove excess cholesterol from the body. Remember, every step counts. During winters, when lifestyle changes, you should never compromise with your physical activities.
Conclusion: A human body needs only a limited lipids and too many lipids can affect your body function. These extra lipids in arteries can combine with blood to form plaque which is life-threatening. Remember, not only diet, but stress factors also trigger hormonal changes to produce cholesterol in the body. Lipids are known as a silent death for a reason. You could have many lipids without your knowledge. So, go for blood check-ups regularly.
So, a healthy lifestyle is the key to every life problem. High cholesterol diseases are caused by unhealthy lifestyle choices. Therefore, now is the time to rethink and adopt new and healthy choices that can bring about a great change in our health.
Book With Zocdoc