The older we get, the more we understand that the body we live our day to day life in is temporary and in need of constant maintenance. Still, we know what we like. Good home cooked comfort food and a lazy day fishing by the lake is Heaven on earth to the majority of us.
However, there is a such thing as too much of a good thing. (Insert tears here.) When it all boils down to it, we have to learn to relax in moderation. Otherwise our cholesterol suffers and we set ourselves up for heart disease and an early grave. Here is some information you should know about the magic cholesterol number.
What Is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is kinda like the ear wax of your veins and arteries. It is essential for creating vitamin D and other hormones in your body. It’s natural. Matter-of-fact, your body makes all of it you will ever need. However, knowing that it is a waxy substance, image if you had too much of it in your system.
That kind of build up is not easily transversed by your blood. So, a buildup of cholesterol in your veins or arteries can cause a lot of trouble, including high blood pressure, strokes, and heart attacks.
Which Foods Contain It?
There’s nothing like sitting down to a 10oz medium well rib eye steak, baked potato all the way, and a nice, crisp garden salad with some Italian dressing. Is your mouth watering, yet? Sounds like a winner, right?
Well, when speaking about cholesterol, you would be mostly correct. Remember we said that your body creates all that it will ever need. So, any source of cholesterol you take in from outside your body just adds to the build up. Cholesterol is found in anything that has feet. Meat, milk, butter, cheese, etc. all contain cholesterol.
Plants simply do not. Let’s go back to our dinner. The steak is obviously going to add a little, but the ones we don’t consider sometimes are the cheese and the butter or sour cream we may have used to decorate our baked potato. Make sure you keep track.
Some Ways To Fight It
For those of us already fighting this battle and for those who have recently been warned of an impending battle, don’t fret. There is hope. Most doctors will tell you there is no better way to reduce your cholesterol than to exercise and pay attention to what you eat and how much you eat.
They would be correct. Knowing that your body already has all it needs and that animal products of any kind contain cholesterol, you should be able to keep track of and reduce the amount of extra cholesterol your body consumes. This will also contribute to weight loss, which almost always helps lower your cholesterol, as well.
If you get to a point where you need medication, consider a natural alternative such as amla, an Indian gooseberry, before you try prescription medication. In scientific trials, it was proven to reduce each and every number associated with high cholesterol.
Cholesterol can be a silent killer if you are not aware of its presence and how it works. Refer here as often as needed to keep this heart disease culprit at bay.
