LDL Cholesterol: The Hidden Hand Behind Heart Disease

LDL Cholesterol and Heart Disease

Medical research proves beyond doubt that there is an unholy nexus between LDL cholesterol and heart disease. The long and the short of it is: LDL cholesterol is bad for the heart!

What then is LDL cholesterol, and what can we do to control it? The answer to that question is the burden of this article. Please do take the time to read it; it can mean the difference between robust good health and a lifetime of illness.

HDL cholesterol is beneficial to the body and must be transported to all body parts by the bloodstream. In contrast, LDL cholesterol must be eliminated from the body via the very same bloodstream.

The body has a mechanism to regulate the levels of LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol in the blood. Bad eating and lifestyle habits cause the cholesterol levels to exceed the normal healthy bounds, thus overloading the regulatory mechanism. If this condition continues for a long time, our health is jeopardized.

What LDL Cholesterol Does

LDL cholesterol tends to stick to the inner walls of the blood vessels it moves through. The coating reduces the blood flow through the affected vessels. This means poor circulation, which translates to poor health.

The layer may increase to an extent where the blood vessel is severely constricted. This condition is known as arteriosclerosis.

Blood backs up from this point leading to high blood pressure, which severely stresses the heart. Worse, tiny bits of the LDL cholesterol blockage can get dislodged and flow down with the blood. If these bits of LDL cholesterol enter a capillary, an excellent blood vessel, the vein gets blocked, starving the areas served by the capillary network of vital blood.

If this happens in the brain, then areas of the brain just shut down, leading to a form of paralysis called a ‘stroke.’ If the blood flow to the heart itself is cut off, a heart attack occurs, possibly leading to a fatality.

These are just two situations that can happen when LDL cholesterol exceeds the standard limit. There are many similar cases, collectively called cardiovascular disease, which is directly linked to the excessive LDL cholesterol level.

What Can Be Done to Fight it

There is just one thing we can do to guard against heart disease caused by excessive LDL cholesterol: assist the body in regulating the blood cholesterol level. The most effective way is by controlling what we eat.

Medical researchers tell us that the most common reason for excessive LDL cholesterol is our over-indulgence in saturated fats, both directly and indirectly. We can have fatty foods which are suitable for health, like the omega-3 group of fats.

The omega-3 fats work to reduce the LDL cholesterol in the blood, so we should have a lot of tuna and salmon because they are rich sources of omega-3 fats. Studies show that drinking a lot of water helps to increase blood circulation, which goes a long way in reducing LDL cholesterol.

Check the medium your food is cooked in. Stop using polyunsaturated vegetable oils because they change to trans-fats on heating, and trans-fats are harmful to health. Use olive oil instead because it is a suitable cooking medium. Just this much is good enough to bring about a drastic reduction of LDL cholesterol.

Cigarette smoking is bad for health. It harms the body in more than just one way. Smoking increases the level of LDL cholesterol. So quit now, and your LDL cholesterol will be gone tomorrow! The steps outlined in this article are straightforward to implement. You will avoid the risk of heart disease if you follow them.

A stressful lifestyle adds fuel to the fire if you have an excessive LDL cholesterol level. Tension adds to the high LDL cholesterol situation, whereas a tension-free lifestyle goes a long way to decreasing the LDL cholesterol level.

To sum up, LDL cholesterol can be controlled by eating foods free of saturated fats, exercising, quitting smoking, and ridding yourself of stress. The worst thing you can do is panic about high LDL cholesterol levels.(https://www.cascadehealthcaresolutions.com/diabetes-supplies/)

This article is meant to educate you about the cause and prevention of heart disease, not scare you. Use what you have learned in this article to control the LDL cholesterol situation. Once that is under control, you can say that the risk of heart disease is under control.