What is cholesterol?

High cholesterol is a common disease in modern society. So what is cholesterol and how is it effective?

What is cholesterol?

The origin of cholesterol is mostly from food.

Cholesterol is a fat present in the cell membrane of the vast majority of tissues held in the body and they are transported in the plasma of the human body. The origin of cholesterol is largely from food synthesized by the liver from saturated fats, and a small portion of cholesterol is absorbed directly from food such as milk, eggs, brain, red meat, pig's heart, heart cow, animal fat, shrimp .

Characteristics of Cholesterol

Cholesterol cannot dissolve in blood when moving to cells, thanks to lipoproteins (lipoproteins are substances synthesized by the liver, dissolved in water carrying cholesterol).

Cholesterol is synthesized through 2 sources: exogenous source (an external source ), endogenous source (a source of liver, self-made cells in the body).

Science has proven that our bodies need Cholesterol to help maintain healthy cells, increase metabolism in the body, create vitamin D, create green bile, . However, we Attention should be paid to controlling the amount of cholesterol we absorb into the body because Cholesterol has two types: Good and Bad. If we let the bad cholesterol increase too high (exceeding the permitted level), it will adversely affect our health. Complications can cause blood vessel congestion or many other dangerous diseases.

Cholesterol disease is also known as excess cholesterol or high cholesterol.

When too much cholesterol in the blood is left over, they will build up into fatty deposits in the blood vessel walls and interfere with blood flow in the arteries. Then the amount of oxygen in the blood will not provide enough for the heart and thus the risk of heart attack will increase. When blood runs to the brain, it can cause a stroke.

Hypercholesterolemia (hypercholesterolemia) has no signs of manifestations of the disease, only detected when a blood test.

But fortunately, this preventive disease is not complicated. We just need to incorporate healthy eating, regular exercise and a proper lifestyle change that can help with high cholesterol.

LDL Cholesterol and HDL Cholesterol Index

• The HDL Cholesterol index, also known as Choleterol Good , is a thick , heavy, high-density protein, especially capable of taking excess cholesterol in the vascular wall to the liver for metabolism, reducing the risk of complications. , heart attack.
• High LDL Cholesterol Index, also called Cholesterol , is a type of lipoprotein that carries cholesterol in the blood, which is not beneficial because it causes excess cholesterol to enter the blood vessel walls causing atherosclerosis complications or arteriosclerosis, myocardial infarction .

By testing blood, we can tell if our level of cholesterol is within the permissible threshold. From there we will have appropriate treatment and prevention measures.

How to prevent and reduce Cholesterol effectively

For people with high cholesterol, the majority of their diets have levels that exceed normal levels. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust diets more rationally and scientifically by combining diets: less fat, less protein, less meat with increased intake of fish, more vegetables, fiber .

Eat nutritious foods for the heart

• Remove trans fat This type of fat is found in fried foods, cookies, snack cakes, crackers . Products labeled 'trans fat free' (without trans fat) are not on the packaging. It is completely without trans fat because in the United States a food that contains less than 0.5gram trans fat for each export is considered trans fat free. Although it is small, it will quickly accumulate if you eat too many of these foods.
• Choose healthier fats: Saturated fat in red meats and dairy products increases total cholesterol, bad cholesterol called LDL cholesterol. In short, you should not use more than 10% of calories a day from saturated fat. Eat lean cuts, low-fat dairy products, unsaturated monounsaturated fats in peanuts, olives and canola oils.
• Limit cholesterol intake: Do not top cholesterol over 300mg / day or less than 200mg for people with heart disease. Foods high in cholesterol are: animal organs, egg yolk and whole milk. You should choose lean meat and skimmed milk - Eat foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce bad cholesterol (LDL). Some types of salmon, goby, and mackerel contain Omega-3 fatty acids. Other sources of Omega-3 include walnut, walnut and almond.

Reserve fruits and vegetables

Foods of this type are very good at reducing cholesterol. If you like dried fruits, you should only eat a handful of fists every day because calories in dried fruits are more in fresh fruit.

Choose whole grains

In whole grains there are many nutrients that benefit the heart. You should eat whole-grain bread, whole wheat flour and brown rice.

Weight loss

Weight more than a few pounds also increases cholesterol. Therefore, reducing 5 to 10 pounds (2.3 to 6kg) is enough to lower the cholesterol level.

If you usually eat fast food at noon, the amount of cholesterol in the blood will increase rapidly. When watching TV, you should eat fruit instead of watching and eating fried food. In addition, you should be more active in your daily work such as taking the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

Exercise every day

Moderate physical activity can reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol is also called Cholesterol HDL. And you should remember that any activity is helpful and healthy.

Moderate alcohol consumption

Moderate alcohol consumption is closely related to high HDL (good) cholesterol levels but should only be drunk in moderation. Moderate amount of alcohol is not more than one drink per day for women, one to two glasses for men. Drinking too much alcohol can lead to serious health problems such as high blood pressure and stroke

Quitting smoking

Quitting smoking will help improve HDL cholesterol levels. After quitting 20 minutes, the boss will decrease. The risk of having a heart attack also decreases within 24 hours. After a year of risk, heart disease is reduced by half compared to a drug addict. After 15 years, the risk will return to the same level as non-smokers.

Note:

Sometimes a healthy lifestyle is not enough to lower cholesterol levels. Maybe you will feel uncomfortable when you change your lifestyle, not familiar with your style, you can not effectively reduce cholesterol. If your doctor recommends taking medicine to lower your high cholesterol, follow the instructions.