The Good, The Bad and the Low Down on Cholesterol

Many people think that cholesterol is always a bad thing. Cholesterol has been always paired with many ailments like heart disease and stroke. For some concerned people, getting their cholesterol levels checked are a must. Having an idea on how much bad and good cholesterol you have in your body would help you determine how well you body is using the fat and how healthy you are.

But first let’s clear up some misconceptions. In general, cholesterol is very important in the body. It helps create cell structures. It also aid in the production of hormones like estrogen and testosterone. It also provides insulation to the cells in the nervous system. Cholesterol has plenty of important functions in our body. It becomes a problem when we take too much of it and that is the real problem.

In our body there are two types of cholesterol that roam around the good cholesterol or HDL and the so called bad cholesterol or LDL. The LDL cholesterol or low density lipoprotein carries around cholesterol to the body but it can sometimes get stuck in the inner linings of the artery. So the high density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol plays the important role of cleaning the artery lining from the stuck cholesterol. So if you want to know healthy your body gets rid of excess cholesterol, check out the balance of your HDL and LDL.

There are plenty of ways for you to maintain good HDL cholesterol levels while lowering your LDL cholesterol to an acceptable level. First you have to do is to live a healthy lifestyle. Get yourself regular exercise. You also have to change your eating habits like eating more fruits and vegetables and lessening fast food in your diet. You also have to take vitamin supplements since normal dieting won’t give you all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Fiber should also be taken as this can also help increase HDL. Most of all eat some fat. That’s right. You need to get some fat in and this time I am talking about the healthy kind like omega-3.

Some may also resort to pharmacologic therapy. With the help of your doctor, you can also take certain medications that can lower cholesterol like statins, which are the mainstream anti-cholesterol medicine used by many practitioners. But for those who are in tuned with nature, there are herbs that can be used to lower cholesterol like garlic, chilies, ginseng, Echinacea root and even the humble green tea.

Living healthily and with the aid of herbs and drugs, you can significantly lower your LDL levels and increase your HDL levels because having such a balance in necessary in the prevention of disease which can result to a better life in the future.

You can visit us at HDL Cholesterol Levels to get more information and broaden your mind about Cholesterol Levels.