Understanding Cholesterol: Causes, Effects, and Prevention Tips for a Healthy Heart

Nowadays, it’s quite common to hear about young people dying from heart attacks in their 30s and 40s. Don’t you ever wonder? what’s going on around us. Everywhere, news flashes are showing the sudden death of young adults aged between 30- 45 due to cardiac failure. There was a time when people in old age or with certain health issues used to face such a fate. But presently, age or health issues don’t reflect that much on the fatality rate in comparison with healthy adults suffering from sudden & untimely death especially due to heart attacks and causes always remain overlooked. The most common factor triggering this and oblivious one is high cholesterol. People trying to live modernized lifestyle & expect a high standard of living on the stake of their own health. Indulging in less physical activity, keeping up with the technology, eating for the taste & so-called fake social culture, and reducing the quality of food over the star rating of Food brands all rewarding us with depraved health. We keep on neglecting or overlooking our health & the early signs. This blog will walk you through all the important details about knowing Cholesterol better.

What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is old enough to need any introduction. But the facts regarding cholesterol are still unknown & bizarre to many. Cholesterol is judged by its consequences and has a bad rap because of it. In fact, its presence isn’t inherently bad as our bodies need this molecule to build cells and make hormones. “Cholesterol is a fatty substance in the blood that is produced naturally by the liver & other cells in our bodies. Though some of it is obtained through your diet.” It’s vital for the production of hormones, vitamin D, & fat-digesting bile acids. In today’s fast-paced life, cholesterol itself leads to distress for any human. But we definitely need to revamp our view on Cholesterol. Cholesterol initially not a villain is a waxy set of organic molecules called lipids. The liver is the primary source of Cholesterol and the remaining portion comes from external food items. Types of lipoproteins that piggybacks cholesterol level are HDL & LDL. As per health standards normal Cholesterol levels should be less than 200mg/dL, comprising HDL being higher than 60 and LDL being lesser than 100. In a nutshell, intake should be minimal. Or else, it can be established as very hazardous. The condition is no small problem: Ninety-five million American adults, or about two in five, have high total cholesterol. Yet, we are merely ignorant of the fact of keeping our cholesterol levels in check.

Types of Cholesterol:

LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and HDL (high-density lipoprotein) are two types of Cholesterol in our bodies, the primary being bad and the latter being a good contributor. They are a combination of fat (lipid) and protein. The lipids need to be attached to the proteins so they can move through the blood.
HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein. It is sometimes called “good” cholesterol because it carries cholesterol from other parts of your body back to your liver. Your liver then removes the cholesterol from your body.
LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein. It is sometimes called “bad” cholesterol because a high LDL level leads to the buildup of plaque in your arteries.
Just a fact, that nobody bothers to check their cholesterol level until the symptoms are visible and the irony is, it doesn’t always show up till the very end.
In simple language, these two are the factors affecting our cholesterol levels and decide whether they are normal or not. One should be aware of cholesterol just like any other health hazard. Nowadays, as it can be said age is just a number because mainly 20s & 30s suffer a lot from abnormal cholesterol levels and are unfettered. In the battle between good cholesterol & bad cholesterol, only the damaged heart succeeds. Yes, you read right. The dominant body organ, influenced by cholesterol is the heart.

Overview on Causes of Abnormal cholesterol levels:

The basic factors & causes are the same. And every one of us knows it by our heart. We just don’t want to accept the fact that due to our ignorance, our health is deprived day by day. Routine dentist checkups, physician, and body tests are just what we do when we are in bed not before. Yes, I’m fine !! The blunt reply we give when somebody asks are you doing alright? Why are you breathing heavily? Why can’t you walk for more than a minute? Why are you suffering from uncommon chest pain on a regular basis.? We simply Mind our own business, refusing to acknowledge all the questions that indeed we should ask ourselves. We won’t budge our activities, eating habits, or addictions and that’s when we are moving toward deteriorating our health. The most concerning fact about high cholesterol is that having it does not always result in detectable symptoms.  Elaborating how:-

1. Addictions,  are the basic factor that harms the cholesterol level. Smoking  & drinking are the traditional old-school phenomenon to destroy your modern age and health is constant. Addictions increase the bad cholesterol level in your body producing more such hormones.

2. Eating habits, considered to be another kind of addiction also deprives you of good health. Overindulgence in sugary or junk food or simply excess eating destroys the very good. The consequence of this is Obesity, and diabetes, further, which affects the good and bad cholesterol in our body causing severe heart problems. 

3. Chronic stress, understandable that today’s Era is all about competition but still can’t get over the reality being in stress doesn’t help you. So it’s better to avoid it at any cost. Don’t avoid health, avoid unnecessary stress. It will just produce hormones that will keep on depositing needlessly, hence changing the levels of Cholesterol.

4. Tech people need to be aware, there is a whole brand new world changing around you every moment while you are stuck to your phone, laptops & other gadgets. Morning- evening walks, physical activities, gym, yoga anything is better for your own mental and health peace. It will build up your relationships also and will result in a boon for your health too. Lack of physical exercise turns into a high level of cholesterol leading to sudden cardiac strokes.

5. Anger/Bad temper, very less considerate topic but factually the base of the trigger point. Not many are aware that people do overeat & stress because of anger issues. They try to shift their anger and return to harming themselves. Anger misguides you always. It directly affects the rhythm of your heart.

6. Good & bad cholesterol confusion often leads to misdirection. The intake is essential but sometimes we exceed the need due to many above reasons resulting in high cholesterol levels. One should be aware of the low-carb diet benefits for controlling the risk of high-level cholesterol.

7. Age can also be a risk factor. Because our livers become less efficient at removing LDL cholesterol from our blood as we grow older, most people are diagnosed with high cholesterol in their 40s or 50s (however 7 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 19 have high cholesterol) Also the women due to menopause suffer more often. 

8. Finally, genetics can play a role, which is why knowing your family history is important. If your parents or grandparents had high cholesterol, you are at greater risk.

What health problems can high cholesterol cause?

If you have large deposits of plaque in your arteries, an area of plaque can rupture (break open). This can cause a blood clot to form on the surface of the plaque. If the clot becomes large enough, it can mostly or completely block blood flow in a coronary artery.

If the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your heart muscle is reduced or blocked, it can cause angina (chest pain) or a heart attack.

Plaque also can build up in other arteries in your body, including the arteries that bring oxygen-rich blood to your brain and limbs. This can lead to problems such as carotid artery disease, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease.

Prevention better than cure:

Better to state in simple and subtle words that prevention is always better than cure because sometimes we don’t get much time to cure. Hence, this may prove beneficial that when to say NO ;

1. Affirm NO to any kind of addiction is the biggest victory in achieving normal Cholesterol levels.

• Oxidants in smoke weaken the antioxidant enzymes in HDL. In addition to being one of the main reasons for high cholesterol,
• Drinking more than what is considered moderate, however, has the opposite effect, because it can raise both cholesterol 

2. Strict NO to high carb diets, sugary food, junk food, and oily food can help you in controlling the high cholesterol

• A low carbohydrate diet or vegan food can positively influence the cholesterol levels in your body. It suppresses the appetite and aids in weight loss. You can take losing weight gummies will help lower your LDL,
• Instead of trans fats and saturated fats, include healthy fats in your diet such as monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. These can help lower LDL cholesterol levels while increasing HDL
• The nutrients for the prevention of high cholesterol can be obtained from nuts, seeds, and fatty fish or fish oil supplements
• Excess weight tends to increase your LDL and lower your HDL

3. Big NO to stress & gadgets all the time. But a big YES to exercises & healthy workouts of any type such as jogging, walking or yoga. As Exercise helps boost HDL, while also lowering LDL.

4. Hell!! NO to paying not any heed to early signs of cholesterol. Consult the doctor right away if any discomfort you feel regarding your body & heart. This could help you from bitter consequences. Keep an eye on your health & take necessary blood tests to check cholesterol levels after every 6 months at least. Share every single detail about your family (if someone has abnormal cholesterol levels or heart issues) and talk about rectifying the causes.

YOU are important. YOUR HEALTH should be the priority. Nothing more should matter.

General overview of facts:

People often consider that only age can affect your cholesterol levels, HDL, and LDL due to the weakening of liver functions. Or the high-carb diets evolving in obesity/diabetes are the reasons behind high-risk levels of cholesterol. Some topics such as hereditary, genetics & race are untouched or at least known facts. We just go through many articles and read a bunch of stuff without full acknowledgment of the root cause of the high levels of Cholesterol. Cholesterol is the main and worrying cause of sudden cardiac arrests. Unmonitored & uncontrolled cholesterol levels gradually deprive the functioning of the heart. However, it’s all upfront and visible we keep on neglecting the causes under the name of the new fancy word “procrastination” Determining the causes and strategizing how to prevent it from happening can lower the risk of high cholesterol in the initial phase. Later, certain medications and a healthy diet can prove beneficial. The nutrients in a high rich diet and fruits are a must too. But our motto here should be to steer clear of the fate decided by our cholesterol with caution.
So next time you visit your doctor or you make a to-do list, make sure you say!