In any incomprehensible situation, one thing remains the same - you should always take care of your health.
Cholesterol has recently been written about and that everyone should know their level. We hope you already know
It is important to measure not only total blood cholesterol, but also its fractions.
What if you get your score and your cholesterol is high? There are two main ways to reduce it:
- Diet + high physical activity
- Drugs, mainly statins, are drugs that affect cholesterol synthesis. 85-90% of cholesterol in our body, we do not consume with food, it is formed by the liver.
Statins should be started as prescribed by a physician. They are taken daily. If you miss an appointment, you do not need to compensate for the next day with two tablets.
These drugs are taken for a long time (years), and stopped only on the advice of a doctor. The need for statin therapy may disappear if you can get closer to a healthy lifestyle - quit smoking or alcohol abuse, improve diet, normalize weight and significantly increase physical activity.
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Your doctor may prescribe statins:
- If the risk of cardiovascular accidents (heart attack, stroke, death from vascular disease) in the next 10 years exceeds 7.5%.
- This risk is assessed on the basis of age, sex, race, treatment, diabetes or bad habits (smoking), blood pressure and cholesterol. You can take the test here
- If you have very high levels of low-density lipoprotein ("bad" cholesterol) - 4.9 mmol / l or higher. Its optimal level is less than 2.6 mmol / l.
- If you already have diseases associated with atherosclerosis (coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, narrowing of the arteries of the legs, etc.).
- If you have risk factors - smoking, diabetes, the level of "bad" cholesterol - 1.8-4.9 mmol / l, vasoconstriction, hypertension, age 40-75 years.
- Statins are safe, and side effects are very rare. In rare cases, nausea or diarrhea, muscle aches, confusion, memory loss, liver problems or high blood sugar may occur.
Some of the side effects go away when you switch to another statin, and some aren't sure if it's a statin effect. Your doctor may replace statins with other cholesterol-lowering drugs.
So if you have not yet had time to do a test to determine cholesterol - be sure to do it! Adults should do this every 4-6 years. You should check this rate much more often if you are at risk (for example, you have a family history of cardiovascular disease, overweight or diabetes).
What will help your cholesterol stay normal?
- Healthy body mass index (up to 25) and adequate waist circumference (up to 80 cm for women, up to 94 cm for men).
Daily physical activity. Walk, run, squat, push up and pull up, dance, go to the gym and pool.
Healthy food based on:
- whole grains, vegetables, fruits, vegetable oils, legumes and nuts
- useful fats: nuts, seeds, olive and rapeseed oil, mackerel, herring.
- fiber, fiber, fiber. It lowers cholesterol and blood sugar and even cures our eating habits. Apples, pumpkin, celery root, oatmeal, chickpeas, lentils.
- Sweets, sausages, harmful fats, smoked products and alcohol - very little and not every day.
- Quitting smoking and alcohol
If cholesterol is not normal, the doctor should first advise lifestyle changes. Statins may be recommended if these measures do not help. It is best to monitor your cholesterol levels regularly so that it does not control your life later.
