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Cholesterol has been considered negative. Many people avoid cholesterol foods, can cause heart disease, he said. This may be true but it may not be. But, do you know what cholesterol is really? Is it really as bad as you imagine? Find out all about this substance here.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is like a candle, like fat, which is found in all cells in the body. This substance may often be viewed negatively during this time. Almost everyone assumes high cholesterol foods should be avoided. But, did you know cholesterol is actually needed by the body?
Yes, the body needs this substance to make hormones (such as the hormone testosterone, cortisol, and estrogen), vitamin D, and bile acids to help digest fats from food. The body itself can actually make all of these substances as needed, but this may be only in small quantities.
Most cholesterol in the body you may get from food consumption. The liver will produce more of these substances if you consume lots of foods that contain saturated fats and trans fats. This can then cause the cholesterol in your blood to be high.
What is the difference between LDL and HDL?
Cholesterol moves through the bloodstream in the form of lipoproteins. Lipoproteins are made from the fat on the inside and the proteins on the outside. Well, there are two types of lipoproteins that carry cholesterol throughout your body, namely:
Low density lipoprotein (LDL) is also known as bad cholesterol. High HDL buildup in the body can cause arterial blood vessels (which carry blood from the heart to the rest of the body) clogged. This can then lead to heart disease or stroke.
High density lipoprotein (HDL) is also known as good cholesterol. HDL carries cholesterol from other parts of the body back to the liver. Then by the liver, this substance will be broken down and removed from the body. Higher amounts of HDL than LDL in the body is a good thing for health and can help prevent you from chronic illness.
What are the dangers if high cholesterol is not treated?
High cholesterol can cause atherosclerosis, where plaque buildup occurs in the walls of the arteries. This can clog the blood stream partially or completely and cause coronary heart disease. If atherosclerosis occurs in the arteries that supply blood to the heart (coronary artery), you may feel chest pain (angina) and other symptoms of coronary heart disease.
Over time, plaque can rupture and cause blood clots to form on the surface of the plaque. If the blood clot is large enough, it can block blood flow to the heart and make the heart muscle deprived of oxygen. If the blood flow does not recover quickly, the heart muscle part begins to die and a heart attack can occur.
Plaque can also form in arteries in other parts of the body, other than the heart, such as arterial blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to the brain and limbs. This can lead to blocked blood flow and lead to problems, such as carotid artery disease, peripheral artery disease, and stroke.
How to lower high cholesterol?
Do not worry, if you are one of those people who have this condition, there are still many things you can do to lower LDL and increase HDL so you avoid the risk of chronic illness. Some ways to lower high cholesterol are:
1. Change your eating habits
One of the things that affect the levels of HDL and LDL in the body is the food you eat. For that, you need to control the intake of foods you eat so that levels of HDL and LDL are maintained. Should avoid foods containing saturated fats or high trans fats. Both types of these fats can increase LDL in the blood.
Examples of foods to avoid or limit their consumption are offal, fatty meats, butter, cream, oily or fried foods, high fat milk, and more.
2. Lose weight
People with excess body weight tend to have higher LDL than HDL. This is because usually fat people often overeat and rarely exercise. In order to avoid high cholesterol, it is recommended that you lose weight if you have excess body weight.
No need to lose weight to thin. Simply lose your weight until it reaches normal weight. This weight loss effect is very positive against your LDL and HDL levels. Weight loss of 5 kg alone is able to reduce cholesterol levels to 8%.
Perform this weight loss in a healthy way, so not only the weight of water is reduced but also the weight of fat. You simply target your weight loss by 0.5-1 kg per week.
3. Do regular exercise
High LDL and low HDL are closely related to excess weight. Therefore, you need to burn body fat by doing regular exercise. Regular exercise can help increase HDL levels as well as lower LDL and triglyceride levels.
Do exercise for at least 30 minutes per day or 150 minutes per week for this benefit you can feel.
4. Stop smoking
Smoking can lower HDL in the body, so that LDL levels can continue to increase. In addition, smoking can also injure the walls of your blood vessels. For that, you should stop smoking if you want to avoid the disease due to high cholesterol.
5. Avoid stress
During stress, LDL levels may increase. For that, you should avoid stress. Find fun activities that can make yourself calm, so avoid stress. In addition, you also need to meet your sleep needs. Lack of sleep can make the body stress.
