How to lower my cholesterol?

When excess cholesterol can harm?

Cholesterol itself is not dangerous for the heart and blood vessels, but the excess. Cholesterol is essential to many physiological processes in the organism - cell membranes, steroid hormone production, the immune system to work efficiently. 80% of our body produces cholesterol, and only the remaining 20% of the food supply.

Note! The problem arises when we are genetically prone to excessive absorption of cholesterol. Then it is deposited in the arteries, causing narrowing of the diameter of blood flow and worse. We call it hypercholesterolemia and is a disease.

Often accompanied by a rise in blood pressure and blood sugar levels. As well as their standards are significantly exceeded, then we are dealing with life-threatening metabolic syndrome.

Cholesterol fractions

If your doctor will refer you to the study of cholesterol, it is necessary to make sure that also marked its fractions.

Note! Important here is the ratio of good HDL cholesterol to bad cholesterol. The concentration of the good must be at least 50 mg / dl, and the bad below 130 mg / dl.

On the test must go on an empty stomach, and the previous day to use a light, non-greasy diet.

If tests show that you have too high overall cholesterol, but not exceeding the standard is high (eg, is 220-240 mg / dl), then it's worth a try to lower it without medication - home remedies.

How to lower cholesterol?

Eat smaller portions more often, give up pork, offal, pies, sauces, butter, cream, yellow and mold cheeses. With dairy choose lean cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt. Eat more vegetables, drink juices without sugar. Allow candy, cola.

To minimize alcohol (you can only drink dry red wine).

Plant sterols lower cholesterol

These are substances of plant cell walls forming the structurally related to cholesterol. When you provide them with food, take his place, preventing absorption by the body. Thanks to lower serum total cholesterol and bad LDL cholesterol.

The effect of sterols supports the use of other strategies, such as reducing fat in the diet or the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs (eg statins). The source of sterols are vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, sprouts, lentils, vegetable oils. Enriched in not today some foods, such as margarine.

Which favors the accumulation of cholesterol in arteries?

First of all, a diet rich in fats of animal origin (meat, butter, dairy products). Threatening are also called. trans fats, which are formed in the process of baking and deep-frying. The ranking harmful to cardiovascular foods occupy a high place sugar and salt.

Note! Physical inactivity and being overweight increases the risk of excessive absorption of cholesterol, and if you smoke more than half a pack of cigarettes a day, the threat of heart attack or stroke due to carotid occlusion increased by several hundred percent.