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.

LDL stands for low density lipoprotein, with the ‘lipo’ prefix indicating ‘fatty’. Similarly HDL stands for high density lipoprotein. The liver produces HDL cholesterol. This HDL cholesterol is used to repair damaged tissue and even to replace the dead tissue. The byproduct of this repairative work is LDL cholesterol. The LDL cholesterol is flushed out of the system by our circulatory and excretory systems. The body has regulatory mechanisms to ensure the proper balance of HDL and LDL cholesterols. However, at times, the level of LDL cholesterol exceeds the normal range and we end up with high LDL cholesterol levels in the blood. This is bad for our health.

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.

Arteriosclerosis leads to high blood pressure which strains the heart and damages the walls of the blood vessels, a condition known as atherosclerosis. Clumps of LDL cholesterol can move down the blood vessels and block the minute capillary networks supplying blood to the brain and heart. If the capillary networks in these critical organs are blocked, the blood supply to these vital organs is cut off, stopped, and the organs experience a massive failure. Capillary blockage in the brain causes strokes, and capillary blockage in the heart cause heart attack. I don’t need to tell you the implications of these two conditions.

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 good for health, like the omega-3 group of fats. The omega-3 fats actually 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 the blood circulation which goes a long way in reducing LDL cholesterol.

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.

To sum up, LDL cholesterol can be controlled by eating foods which are free of saturated fats, exercising, quitting smoking and ridding yourself of stress. The worst thing you can do is to panic about high LDL cholesterol levels. This article is meant to educate you about the cause and prevention of heart disease, not scare you. Use what you have learnt 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.

Tags: Cholesterol

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