What is the Cause of High Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a fatty, wax like substance that is present in our cells and blood steam. Cholesterol plays an important part in our body by producing cell membrane and contributing to a number of hormones as well.
Why are we then cautioned about high levels of cholesterol and what causes it; let us find out together.
The Types of Cholesterol
There are two types of cholesterol, one is good (HDL or high density cholesterol) and the other is bad (LDL or low density cholesterol); the good cholesterol should be in levels of minimum 40md/dL or more and the bad cholesterol should be less than 200mg/dL.
The bad cholesterol is responsible for causing clogged arteries and thus provoking a coronary heart disease.
The Cause of High Cholesterol
The cause of high cholesterol is primarily due to that of food products which contain trans fat and saturated fats as well as cholesterol, and this is what is the major cause of heightening levels in the blood stream. There is more than one cause of high cholesterol however, such as: excess weight, genes, gender and age. Let us discuss them individually.
Obesity plays a big role in the cause of high cholesterol as it occurs when the body mass of mostly made up of fat, which in turn contain cholesterol. Therefore, it is important to keep your weight under control at all times and should you have some pre existing conditions which lead you to obesity, consult a doctor for alternate options in order to control your cholesterol levels.
Your family’s health history is transmitted to you in the genes, therefore if anyone in your family was suffering from high cholesterol you may have a predisposition to the same. This situation can be controlled through medication as well but only under a doctor’s supervision.
Men have been found to be prone to high levels of cholesterol in their teens and women after menopause. Both men and women in the mentioned cases can control and maintain a normal level of cholesterol should they act in time and with the right medication.
Preventing High Cholesterol
Mostly the cause of high cholesterol is caused by our own negligence and therefore, if we pay more attention to what we eat as well as to how much exercise we actually do everyday we can prevent and improve the levels of bad cholesterol as well as maintain it at the right level. Therefore you should make sure to start taking charge of your cholesterol levels today, eat right, exercise and check the cholesterol levels regularly.
