Cholesterol Levels, Treatment And Medication

Cholesterol Levels, Treatment And Medication

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Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that is made in the body by the liver. Cholesterol forms part of every cell in the body and serves many vital functions. Our bodies need cholesterol to:
Maintain healthy cell walls
Make hormones (the body's chemical messengers)
Make vitamin D
Make bile acids, which aid in fat digestion
Cholesterol comes from
Cholesterol comes from the food we eat, but it also a by-product of our metabolism. High cholesterol is caused in two ways. One factor, genetics, is out of our control. The other cause of elevated cholesterol has to do with lifestyle factors, which can be modified.
What factors affect the blood level of cholesterol
In most people, your cholesterol level reflects the amount of fat that you eat. This is not the full story as different people who eat the same amount of fat can make different amounts of cholesterol. However, in general, if you eat less fat your cholesterol level is likely to go down.
Risk factor
Smoking.
Lack of physical activity (a sedentary lifestyle).
Obesity.
An unhealthy diet - including eating too much salt.
Excess alcohol
How to Test Your Cholesterol
Experts recommend that you screen your cholesterol more often if it is elevated and you have already been prescribed a diet and/or drugs. Testing will determine if these measures are succeeding in lowering your cholesterol and in turn decreasing your risk of developing heart disease.
Test your cholesterol when you are healthy. Blood cholesterol is low during an illness, after a heart attack and during stress caused by surgery or an accident. Wait at least 6 weeks after any illness to have your cholesterol tested.
Symptoms And Health Risks

There are few if any visible symptoms of raised cholesterol levels in the bloodstream (hypercholesterolemia), although in some patients with genetically inherited high cholesterol (familial hypercholesterolemia), it is possible to see deposits of cholesterol in the skin, eyelids (xanthelasma palpabrum), cornea (arcus senilis) and tendons (xanthoma)
The dark-side of cholesterol
When the body is under assault (from chronic exposure to fungi like Candida bacteria, viruses, heavy metals, and environmental contaminants), blood vessels may become damaged. Cholesterol helps repair arterial damage by sealing up the damage.


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