High cholesterol. Have you ever been visiting and someone starts talking about cholesterol numbers? You think why do I care about these numbers. I eat well, I don’t over indulge, that must, mean that my numbers are good.
While we think that we do not need to know, those numbers. It is very important, to know those numbers. When you have high cholesterol, this means there is a higher chance of plaque in the blood vessels. Let’s think about those old water pipes the ones that get rust built up in them. Those pipes work, for a while. Eventually, we start tasting the rust in the water. As time goes on, we might see some rust particles in the water. If nothing is done, they will start getting clogged as the rust builds up, then one might crack.
That is what it is like with the plagues in our vessels. Over time they clog, when they clog it is not normal for the vessel to crack, but the clog stops blood flow. We have oxygen in our blood, so no oxygen either. When tissues do not have oxygen, they die. This can be the cause of a heart attack or stroke. Other ways that plaques can cause heart attack or stroke is that the plague can flake off, flow through the vessels until, they get to one that is to small. It will block off the blood flow.
So, when your provider says your cholesterol numbers are high, listen. There are many treatments that can include exercise, diet, medications to help with decreasing these numbers.
Hyperlipemia or high cholesterol can be hereditary. There are those folks who cannot change their genes. Mom or Dad, grand parent, great grand parent who have high cholesterol no matter what they do, is rare but happens. Do your best still to try to keep these numbers in a good range.
EXERCISE
Exercise: We tend to believe that exercise is hard. I can’t lift my arm, little alone weights. I can’t walk, my yard is all up hill. It is to hot or to cold. We can come up with half a million excuses to not get up and do something. Did you know that 30 minutes a day is beneficial. Simply get up and move. You can walk around your home. Even if it is small. You can walk in place; you can go up and down stairs in your home, if you have them and you’re physically able. Do something, here is a link to my week 1 blog on exercise for those who have difficulties with exercises. Also, check out week 2, 3, and 4.
EATING RIGHT
Diet: low cholesterol diet include:
*Choose healthier fats
*Limit food with cholesterol
*Eat plenty o soluble fiber
*Eat losts of fruits and vegetables
*Eat fish that are high in Omega-3 fatty acids
*limit salt
*Limit alcohol
According to health.harvard.edu
*Oats
*Barley and other whole grains
*Beans
*Eggplant , okra, Avocados
*Nuts
*Vegetable oils, Olive oil
*Apples, grapes, strawberries, citrus fruits
*Foods fortified with sterols and stanols: sterols and stanols help block your bodies absorption of cholesterol.
*Soy
*Fatty fish
*Fiber supplements
www.mayoclinic.org/disease-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/cholesterol/art-20045192
MEDICATIONS:
The most common medications are statins. These medications are able to make the plaque pliable. When the plague is pliable it is less likely to scale or flake off. It also helps to lower the cholesterol in the body. You should avoid taking with fiber, oat bran, pectin this may decrease the absorption of the medications. Also, it is noted widely that if taking a statin medication to avoid grapefruit juice as it can increase the bioavailability of medication increasing the risk of muscle pain(myopathy) and rhabdomyolysis. If your primary care provider suggest for you to start a statin medication and you start to have leg pain please contact their office and let them know.
We discussed three ways to help keep your cholesterol numbers in a good range. This can help prevent other health conditions. Please contact your primary care provider before starting any exercise program. This is not medical advice. This is for informational purposes only. Please contact your primary care provider with additional questions about any of this information.