How to prevent cholesterol from rising? Discover some healthy nutrition and health tips that will help you prevent high cholesterol levels, easily and with simple habits to follow.
The high cholesterol becomes one of the most obvious signs of accumulation of fat in the arteries, which maintained over time can cause increased coronary risk and lead to the emergence of different cardiovascular diseases and accidents.
The truth is that it is understood that there is high cholesterol (or hypercholesterolemia) when total cholesterol levels exceed 200 mg / dl, LDL cholesterol levels are higher than 130 mg / dl, and HDL cholesterol is lower than 35 mg./dl in men, and 40 mg./dl in women.
Taking into account that in most cases the symptoms of high cholesterol are practically imperceptible (that is, it does not cause symptoms as it accumulates in the arteries, until its accumulation is so excessive that it clogs them), it is always useful to prevent that cholesterol goes up . To avoid this, there are some helpful tips. But before knowing these tips, it is vitally important to discover why high cholesterol is not good for your health (we must not forget that cholesterol is NOT actually bad; in fact, it is essential for our body).
What is cholesterol and why does it rise?
We tend to confuse cholesterol itself with high cholesterol and its obvious – and known – health risks. Furthermore, we must bear in mind that cholesterol is a fundamental lipid in our body, since it serves for the formation of the membranes of the cells of our organs.
Cholesterol acts as a fundamental and essential element for the synthesis of adrenal hormones and sex hormones. In addition, it is a precursor of bile acids, which facilitate the proper digestion of fatty foods.
When cholesterol is at its normal levels, and there is no underlying pathology or condition that can affect it, most of the cholesterol present in our body is absorbed from the food that the liver produces by itself.
This cholesterol is transported by lipoproteins and passes into the bloodstream, to finally be distributed throughout our body.
However, when there is an excess of cholesterol in the blood, it tends to be deposited on the wall of the arteries, and that is precisely when it becomes a risk to our health, since it forms what is medically known as atheroma plaques.
This means that, when cholesterol is high, the atheroma plaques increase in size, causing a progressive obstruction in the wall of the arteries and also contribute to their greater rigidity.
In most cases, cholesterol increases mainly due to our diet, because we tend to eat an unhealthy diet rich in foods high in fat and sugar. In addition, our lifestyle also influences, so that if we maintain a sedentary lifestyle and do not practice physical exercise, we do not help our body to be able to eliminate all that excess cholesterol.
How to prevent high cholesterol:
Take care of your diet
A poor diet, rich in fat and calories and not very nutritious and varied is one of the main causes why cholesterol levels rise to dangerous values for our health.
Therefore, foods or products rich in empty calories should be avoided, since they do not provide any type of essential nutrient and do provide a lot of fat and calories. An example? Pastries and sweets, cookies, sugary sodas, gummies or fried snacks.
Therefore, the best foods for our daily diet are fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, lean meats, whole grains and legumes. Nuts are also tremendously positive, as they help lower cholesterol while increasing good cholesterol.
Avoid tobacco and alcohol
In the medium term, habitual tobacco consumption raises not only cholesterol levels, but also blood pressure levels, predisposing the person to suffer from coronary heart disease, a myocardial infarction or a stroke.
In the case of alcohol, in addition to being an enemy for the health of our liver and for our health in general (you can learn more about the effects of alcohol), they are also beverages rich in empty calories.
Out of sedentary lifestyle: exercise
A sedentary lifestyle has become in the last decade one of the biggest concerns for most doctors, nutritionists and health experts, because it causes weight gain and also favors the person having high levels of fat in the blood.
You should exercise regularly, which also helps reduce cholesterol in case we have it high. At least 30 minutes each day, although ideally it should last between 30 to 60 minutes.
