Cholesterol is essential for life - but elevated levels can be dangerous for your health.
With simple tricks, you can quickly lower the values again.
Bremen – High cholesterol levels have long since become a widespread disease: almost 59 out of 100 adults in Germany suffer from elevated levels, as reported by the
Health Care Foundation
.
It is obvious that this is not healthy, but it is more than that: Elevated cholesterol can even promote cardiovascular diseases.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a dietary fat and is essential for body and health.
Cholesterol, which is important for the formation of hormones, bile acids and vitamin D, for example, or for stabilizing the cell membrane and nerve functions, is mainly produced in the liver.
Cholesterol is almost exclusively formed by the body itself, only a small part comes from food.
The body controls the regulation in a targeted manner: if little cholesterol is ingested through nutrition, the formation in the cell increases.
On the other hand, the body cell produces less cholesterol when more is supplied from the outside.
If the intake through food is too high, at some point the body can no longer keep up - and the cholesterol value rises.
High cholesterol is bad for your health
Cholesterol has long had a negative connotation - but cholesterol is not just cholesterol: A distinction is made here between low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL).
The classification is based on the density of the lipoproteins.
While HDL cholesterol helps to remove excess LDL cholesterol and is therefore also known as the "good" cholesterol, LDL cholesterol in particular is harmful to health.
The reason for this: If the proportion of LDL cholesterol is too high, the cholesterol is deposited in the blood vessels and, in the worst case, can block them completely.
One speaks of vascular calcification (arteriosclerosis) - the correct blood flow to the organs is no longer guaranteed.
Like the
MSD manual
reports, the risk of heart attacks, circulatory disorders and strokes, which require quick action, increases.
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Cholesterol levels too high?
A healthy diet may be the solution
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These symptoms may indicate high cholesterol...
The signs are insidious - or often not present at all, so that those affected often do not even notice it.
There are a few symptoms though:
Skin lesions:
yellowish, pimple-like deposits, particularly found on arms, legs, buttocks and eyelids.
shortness of breath
dizziness
disturbances in consciousness or vision
tightness in the chest
aching legs
If you want to be on the safe side, you can also have your doctor check your cholesterol levels with a blood test.
Elevated cholesterol levels?
With these measures you will be healthy again
As a rule, a hereditary predisposition in connection with an unhealthy lifestyle is responsible for high cholesterol levels, according to the
Health Knowledge Foundation
.
This means that those who have a hereditary disposition are more susceptible - but in the end, lifestyle is the decisive factor.
Common triggers are poor diet, obesity or lack of exercise.
To lower high cholesterol - or to counteract it in the first place - the
MSD manual
recommends a healthy lifestyle: avoid fatty and high-cholesterol foods and exercise more (at least 30 minutes - five times a week).
Anyone who smokes should give up and only drink alcohol in moderation.
There are also medications that lower cholesterol levels.
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Dietary changes can keep cholesterol in check
A change in diet in particular can help bring cholesterol levels into the normal range in the long term.
In addition to low-fat and low-cholesterol foods, products with unsaturated fatty acids and omega-3 should be preferred:
Fruit and vegetables:
Whether fresh, frozen or dried - some varieties are better eaten raw
Breads and Cereals:
Choose from whole grains, oats, roe, or similar
Low-fat dairy:
Consume low-fat milk, yogurt, or cheese, or switch to plant-based alternatives
Lean Meats:
Such as chicken, turkey, or lean beef, pork, and lamb
Legumes:
beans, peas, lentils
Unsaturated fats:
Nuts, seeds, vegetable oils (like olive, canola, sesame, etc.)
Omega-3 suppliers:
fish, flaxseed, walnuts, seaweed
Since saturated fatty acids should be avoided as far as possible, animal products are only recommended in moderation - because foods such as cheese, cream, butter, meat and sausage are particularly rich in saturated fatty acids.
Ideally, animal foods should even be replaced entirely by plant-based foods, but again: not all substitute products are healthy.
You should also avoid baked goods such as strudel, cakes and pastries.
In general, it is advisable to focus on a healthy and balanced diet and only rarely resort to finished products, fast food and products rich in sugar.
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