LDL cholesterol levels - Basics

There are various factors which affect your cholesterol levels. Its either your age, sex, hereditary or food intake. Whatever your reason might be, keeping your cholesterol level under control is very essential. You may have heard your physician asking you to reduce the bad cholesterol from your body. LDL cholesterol levels are supposed to be the bad ones amongst the other cholesterol moving in your blood stream.

Why you are usually asked to lower your bad cholesterol levels?

It might make you wonder how you can find a solution to lower your cholesterol levels. What exactly is this bad cholesterol? Does good cholesterol exist, too? What is the difference between the two cholesterols? These are the various questions which disturb your mind constantly. That,s because, your health and maybe even your life depends on it. Cholesterol is a form of lipid or fat which circulates along with your blood stream. A cholesterol unit constitutes two different elements, the lipids and the proteins, hence they are usually called lipoproteins.

There are three major types of lipoproteins moving along with your blood flow. LDL or low density lipoprotein, HDL or high density lipoprotein and VLDL or very low density lipoprotein. LDL and VLDL are categorised as bad cholesterols while HDL is categorised as good cholesterol. This categorization is due to their bodily functions or capabilities. Incredible HDL benefits the body while excess of LDL and VLDL harms your body drastically.

How to control your LDL cholesterol levels to control bodily damage?

Cholesterol is produced naturally by your liver to provide multiple benefits but excess of it through your dietary intake might cause extensive damage to your body. Cholesterol helps in producing vitamins and hormones, structuring of your body cells and providing energy to your body. As HDL performs the function of carrying cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, it is tagged as good cholesterol. LDL is tagged as bad cholesterol because it tends to gather the excess around the walls of the arteries.

LDL accumulation tends to form cholesterol plaques around the walls of the arteries, damaging the arterial walls and obstructing the natural blood flow. This gives rise to severe consequences such as extreme strain on heart muscles, elevated blood pressure, thickening and narrowing of the arteries and increased risk of cardio vascular diseases.

When cholesterol plaques are torn it forms blood clots which obstructs the smooth blood flow
Due to no blood supply to the heart, you might experience a heart attack and no blood supply to the brain can cause a stroke. High LDL cholesterol levels and cardio vascular diseases is more likely for a man over the age of 45 years and for a woman over the age of 55 years or who is experiencing menopause. For a child, the cholesterol levels can increase due to overweight or hereditary issues.

Understanding the readings of LDL levels and implementing safety measures

The total cholesterol reading should be less than 200 mg/dL; the borderline high is 200 mg/dL to 239 mg/dL and the dangerous reading would be more than 240 mg/dL. For LDL cholesterol levels readings below 100 mg/dL is ok, 100 mg/dL to 129 mg/dL is ideal, 130 mg/dL to 159 mg/dL is borderline high and the high risk would be at 160 mg/dL and above. To reduce your cholesterol levels you need to consult your physician and follow the line of treatment in accordance to your LDL cholesterol readings.

Line of treatment may vary from person to person

You need to give up smoking, adhere to moderate consumption of alcohol, change your dietary habits, exercise, control your weight, etc. Apart from this, your doctor might prescribe drugs such as statins or fibrates which are very effective in reducing cholesterol levels. If you experience side effects due to these drugs, non-statin treatment or natural remedies are advised. Herbs such as Cordyceps or ginger prove to be extremely effective in comparison to synthetic drugs.

LDL cholesterol levels reduction can gain you numerous benefits such as:

1. Reducing the risk of coronary diseases, heart attack or strokes
2. Cholesterol plaque formation is controlled
3. Existing cholesterol plaques are eliminated
4. Avoids blood clots and plaque raptures
5. Thickening or narrowing of arteries is reduced considerably
6. Allows you to lead a healthy and happy lifestyle

Controlling LDL cholesterol levels can decrease the risk of heart attack, stroke or any type of coronary diseases.