Cholesterol: Basics, Factors affecting its levels and Natural ways to lower cholesterol levels

 Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that’s found in all cells of the body. Your body needs some cholesterol to work properly. The cell walls need cholesterol to produce hormones, vitamin D, and the bile acids that help you digest fat. Your body produces all the cholesterol it needs.  However, cholesterol also is found in some of the foods you eat. But the body only needs a limited amount of cholesterol. When there’s too much of cholesterol in your body, health problems, such as heart disease, may develop. High blood cholesterol is a condition in which you have too much cholesterol in your blood. This condition usually has no signs or symptoms. People who have high blood cholesterol have a greater chance of getting coronary heart disease, also called coronary artery disease. Coronary heart disease is a condition in which plaque builds up inside the heart arteries. Plaque is made up of cholesterol, fat, calcium, and other substances found in the blood. When plaque builds up in the arteries, the condition is called atherosclerosis. Over time, plaque hardens and narrows your coronary arteries. This limits the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart and gradually it blocks the arteries in the heart. If the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your heart muscle is reduced or blocked, heart attack may occur.

 

Types of Cholesterol:

Cholesterol travels through your bloodstream in small packages called lipoproteins. These packages are made of fat (lipid) on the inside and proteins on the outside. There are three types of lipoproteins in your blood: high density, low density, and very low density. The specific type depends on how much protein there is in relation to fat.

• Low density lipoproteins (LDL) is also called "bad" cholesterol because it can cause plaque buildup on the walls of arteries. The more LDL there is in the blood, the greater the risk of heart disease.
• High density lipoproteins (HDL) is also called "good" cholesterol. It helps the body to get rid of LDL. Maintaining a higher level of  HDL is important. If your HDL level is low your risk of heart disease goes up.
• Very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) is similar to LDL in that it contains mostly fat and not much protein.
• Triglycerides, another type of fat, is carried in the blood by VLDL. Excess calories, alcohol, or sugar in your body is converted into triglycerides and stored in fat cells throughout your body.

Factors Affecting Cholesterol Levels

A variety of factors can affect your cholesterol levels. They include:

• Diet: Foods rich in cholesterol and fats like saturated fat and trans fat, increase your cholesterol levels. Saturated fats, like those in meat, full-fat dairy products and some oils, raise your total cholesterol. Trans fats, which are found in margarines and store-bought cookies, crackers and cakes, are particularly bad for your cholesterol levels. These fats raise low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad," cholesterol, and lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the "good," cholesterol.
• Exercise: Lack of physical exercise  increases your cholesterol levels. Physical inactiveness raises your LDL levels and lowers the HDL.
• Over weight: Being overweight increases the cholesterol levels. Gaining some extra pounds even just a few contributes to high cholesterol. Your eating habits and daily routines are mainly responsible for gaining extra weight.
• Diabetes: Poorly controlled diabetes increases cholesterol levels. Uncontrolled diabetes slowly raises your LDL and lowers your HDL.
• Stress: Stress and its companion emotions—tension, anxiety, anger, depression—trigger the release of chemicals that constrict arteries, reduce blood flow to the heart, raise blood pressure, and elevate your heart rate. These changes, in combination with uncontrolled cholesterol, can put you on course for a heart attack.
• Age and Gender: As you get older, cholesterol levels rise. Before menopause, women tend to have lower total cholesterol levels than men. After menopause  women's LDL levels tend to rise.
• Heredity and Other factors: Your genes partly determine how much cholesterol your body makes. High blood cholesterol can run in families. The other factors that contribute to high cholesterol can be medications. Certain medications and medical conditions can cause high cholesterol.

 Natural Ways To Lower Cholesterol Levels

Healthy Lifestyle can help reduce cholesterol, keep you off cholesterol-lowering medications. Here are some ways to reduce the cholesterol levels naturally:

1. Eat healthy foods

• Eliminate trans fat from your food. Trans fat is found in fried foods, bakery foods like cakes, cookies etc. Don't rely on packages that are labeled "trans fat-free." If a food contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, it can be labeled "trans fat-free." Even though those amounts seem small, they can add up quickly if you eat a lot of foods that have a small amount of trans fat in them. Read the ingredients list carefully. You can tell if a food has trans fat in it if it contains partially hydrogenated oil.
• Choose healthy fats like saturated fats in your diet. Saturated fats found in red meat and whole milk products raise your cholesterol levels. You should get less than 7 percent of your daily calories from saturated fat. Instead, choose leaner cuts of meat, low-fat dairy and monounsaturated fats found in olive, peanut and canola oils for a healthier option.
•  Eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids can help lower your LDL ("bad") cholesterol. Some types of fish — such as salmon, mackerel and herring — are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Other good sources of omega-3 fatty acids include walnuts, almonds and ground flax seeds.
• Include more fiber rich foods in your diet. Dietary fiber found in beans, fruits, and other foods binds to cholesterol, lowering LDL levels by about 5%. Soluble fiber can help lower cholesterol by acting like a sponge to absorb cholesterol" in the digestive tract. Good sources of soluble fiber include dried beans, oats, and barley, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets as well as fiber products containing psyllium.
• Whole grains foods are rich sources of heart healthy antioxidants that lowers the cholesterol level. Various nutrients found in whole grains promote heart health. Choose whole-grain breads, whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat flour and brown rice.
•  Dark green leafy vegetables and egg yolks contain lots of lutein, the sunshine-yellow pigment. Include lutein-rich foods daily in your diet, which guards against heart attacks by helping artery walls "shrug off" cholesterol invaders that cause clogging.  

    2. Exercise

• Exercise is a great way to raise HDL. People who have had a heart attack can reduce their death risk by 25% with exercise compared with usual care. Moderate physical activity can help raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the "good" cholesterol. With your doctor's OK, work up to at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. Physical activities like a brisk walk, swimming, yoga, running or any kind of activity would be helpful.

    3. Lose weight

• Carrying some extra pounds — even just a few — contributes to high cholesterol. Losing as little as 5 to 10 percent of your body weight can help significantly reduce cholesterol levels. You should be careful about your eating habits and daily routines. Don't eat when you're bored or frustrated, take a walk instead. Avoid fast foods for lunch every day, pack something healthier from home. If you're sitting in front of the television, try munching on carrot sticks instead of potato chips as you watch. Don't eat mindlessly.   

    4. Quit smoking and drink alcohol only in moderation

• If you smoke, stop. Quitting may improve your HDL cholesterol level. Just 20 minutes after quitting, your blood pressure decreases. Within 24 hours, your risk of a heart attack decreases. Within one year, your risk of heart disease is half that of a smoker. Within 15 years, your risk of heart disease is similar to someone who never smoked.
• Moderate use of alcohol has been linked with higher levels of HDL cholesterol, but the benefits aren't strong enough to recommend alcohol for anyone who doesn't already drink. If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation. Drinking too much alcohol can lead to serious health problems, including high blood pressure, heart failure and stroke.

    5. Find ways to short-circuit stress

• Stress in combination with uncontrolled cholesterol, can put you on course for a heart attack. To block your body's stress response, simply removing yourself from the stressful situation can help. Go for a short walk, practice deep breathing, perform a few simple stretches, meditate whatever enables you to relax. You'll feel better, you'll think more clearly, and you'll spare your heart from harm.

    6. Drink green tea

• Green tea is a healthier alternative to sodas and sugary beverages. Green tea contains compounds that can help lower LDL cholesterol. In a small study conducted in Brazil, people who took capsules containing a green tea extract were able to reduce their total cholesterol.

Conclusion

 

Sometimes healthy lifestyle changes aren't enough to lower cholesterol levels. Make sure the changes you choose to make are ones that you can continue, and don't be disappointed if you don't see results immediately. If your doctor recommends medication to help lower your cholesterol, take it as prescribed, but continue your lifestyle changes.