Control LDL Cholesterol To Control Heart Disease
Cholesterol is a vital element for our health and well-being. There are two basic types of cholesterol: HDL cholesterol is good for our health, LDL cholesterol is bad for our health.
The LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol levels are maintained within a normal range by the body’s natural regulatory mechanism. Sometimes this regulatory mechanism malfunctions, or maybe the body is flooded with cholesterol by ingestion. In any case the blood cholesterol level exceeds the normal range. This leads to a serious condition which can lead to severe health problems.
LDL means ‘fatty proteins of low density’. This in turn means that LDL cholesterol tends to be loose and thick. LDL cholesterol circulates with the blood and sticks to the inner walls of the blood vessels, forming plaque and gradually reducing the vascular passage. This condition is called arteriosclerosis which results in atherosclerosis, meaning degeneration of the blood vessels.
If this situation carries on for a long time, the blood flow is obstructed and the blood pressure increases leading to overloading of the heart. The plaque can accumulate to such an extent that it completely blocks the blood vessel, or it may get dislodged from one location and lodge itself in a narrower blood vessel, like a capillary, creating a blockage there. Blood supply is choked off at that point, and leads to blood starvation in the region beyond the blockage. If this blood starvation occurs in a critical area of the body, as for example in the brain, then we get a crisis. The affected area of the brain shuts down and this leads to a ‘stroke’ wherein the body experiences paralysis in those areas controlled by the area of the brain which has shut down. If the blood vessels of the heart are affected by blockage, then we get a critical situation known as a heart attack. All this is due to an excess of LDL cholesterol in the blood.
The best way to recover from this situation is to help the body to regulate the amounts of HDL and LDL cholesterol. We can do this by changing over to a low-fat diet, free of foods that are rich in LDL. Some fats, like the omega-3 fats found in fish, are actually helpful in reducing LDL cholesterol. So we should include fish in our diet. Drink a lot of water to increase blood circulation and excretion.
Stop using heavy cooking oil to cook food in. Switch to virgin olive oil which is highly recommended as a healthy cooking medium. Changing your cooking oil is a very effective way to reduce the risk of heart disease.
Quit smoking. We all know that smoking is bad for the lungs and is also a carcinogenic activity. What most of us don’t know is that smoking aggravates the high LDL cholesterol condition. The LDL cholesterol will drop almost immediately from the time you stop smoking, and it will drop further if you do as mentioned in this article.
Medical research shows that stress leads to LDL cholesterol buildup. Lowering your stress level will lower your blood LDL cholesterol too. The moral of the lesson is that you should relax more often, give up those activities that add to your stress, and pick up those activities that reduce your stress.
Say no to saturated fats, both as food and as a cooking medium. Say no to cigarette smoking. Say no to stress. Say no to inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle. Say yes to regular exercise. If you do all this, you’ll be saying: “Good riddance, LDL cholesterol! Hello, health!
