The presence of high amounts of cholesterol in the blood is an extremely common health condition. There are more than 10 million cases every year. High cholesterol is a condition that can be treated by making lifestyle changes and taking the right medication.
1. What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is an organic molecule called sterol, which is a type of lipid. It is a molecule that is biosynthesized by all animal cells as it is an important part of the structure. In simpler terms, it can be referred to as the fat that is found in the blood.
2. Where does cholesterol come from?
The liver is the organ that makes cholesterol in the body. Besides the liver, we receive more cholesterol through the foods we eat. When there is excess cholesterol in the blood, it becomes thicker due to fatty deposits and so, the risks of heart diseases increase. The deposits can also cause a block and lead to a heart attack or stroke.
3. What are the symptoms of high cholesterol?
In most cases, there are no symptoms of high cholesterol. A blood test is the only way it can be detected. You need to consult your doctor and take a cholesterol test from time to time. This should be done especially if you have a history of heart disease and other risk factors like diabetes, smoking, obesity and high blood pressure.
4. What are the risk factors for high cholesterol?
One of the main risk factors that leads to high cholesterol is a poor diet. Most of the bad cholesterol comes from the trans fats we consume. Having a BMI of over 30 also puts you at risk for cholesterol. Besides these risk factors, diabetes and smoking can also lead to high cholesterol.
5. What are the lifestyle changes needed to improve your cholesterol levels?
Heart-healthy snacks to prevent high cholesterol that have less of the saturated fats can reduce bad cholesterol levels.
6. Which snacks can lower high cholesterol?
Some certain sweets and snacks can be consumed on rare occasions when you have high cholesterol:
7. Which drinks are helpful in lowering high cholesterol?
There are certain drinks that you can incorporate in your daily diet to lower your cholesterol levels. Here are a few that you can consider:
8. Which foods can lower your cholesterol levels?
Here are some snacks that can reduce your high cholesterol levels if they are consumed regularly: