Let’s start off this article with a critical piece of information that people often do not get right – What is cholesterol? It is an essential element that your body requires to build and replace cells. Seems an important function right? Then the question is why it is conceived to be bad for your health. Well, the fact of the matter is that there are two types of cholesterol Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and HDL (High-density lipoprotein) or we can just put it as a bad cholesterol and a good one respectively.

So now let’s discuss how this cholesterol affects your body when in excess or deficit. Though high cholesterol may not have any symptoms by itself, it may lead to very critical problems affecting the blood circulation and heart like a stroke, repeated chest pains and a fatal heart attack, which may also lead to death.

Again here one more misconception that needs to be cleared is a difference between a heart attack and a stroke. A stroke is caused when the blood flow is blocked to any part of your brain through a blood clot, on the other hand, a heart attack occurs when blood flow to any part of your heart is blocked through a clot.

So if you have a cholesterol problem, what cholesterol treatment options do you have? The answer lies in the mix of things that cause the imbalance of cholesterol levels in your system, focus on them, and you can bring it down to your natural recommended levels. Let’s look at some of the issues what cause cholesterol imbalance and how to control them –

• Exercise – Lack of proper exercise in your daily routine increases the chances of a cholesterol imbalance in your body. A good and regular workout session ensures that you have the required boost to increase your body’s good cholesterol and making the bad cholesterol less harmful by increasing the size of the matter that makes it up. It also helps in reducing the risk of obesity, another cause of cholesterol imbalances. It’s considered that a body mass index of 35 or more puts you at a high risk of cholesterol issues. So exercise is one of the natural cholesterol treatment options you can have.
• Smoking – It is one of the most commonly known factors that may lead up to a cardiovascular event. When you smoke, not only does it affect your lungs and stamina, but lowers your HDL which is the good cholesterol. It also harms the walls of the blood vessels in your body and makes them more susceptible to the accumulation of fatty deposits which is very harmful and may lead to blood clots. So you need to quit the bad habit and start leading a healthy lifestyle.
• Diet – Speaking of a healthy lifestyle and how can we leave the diet behind; you must maintain a balanced diet. Animal products like beef and pork/ham, etc. have a high concentration of saturated fats, which are the cause of the increase in the total level of blood cholesterol in the body. It is advised to cut down on the cold cuts and processed meats and also include a side of greens/ salads with your meats. The trans fats are present in cream filled candies, cookies, pies, fried fast food, cakes, microwave popcorn, biscuits, crackers, doughnuts, and frozen pizza. Didn’t expect to see all your cravings on this list right but sadly they are, and if you need a better life, cholesterol issue free, then you got to get these guilty pleasures under check.
• Diabetes – another lifestyle disease which is a contributor to the issue of cholesterol imbalance in your system is diabetes. It is generally considered that a higher level of blood sugar leads to a higher level of bad cholesterol and low levels of the good one. High levels may also damage the inner linings of your arteries and lead to major health issues. So as mentioned above control your guilty pleasures and sugar cravings to lead a better life free from cholesterol issues.

Though the above list gives us the core causes and cholesterol treatment options, to get rid of the cholesterol issues, it’s highly recommended that you visit your medical practitioner regularly and get your blood cholesterol levels tested. The most common type of drug that the doctor would prescribe you that will decrease your LDL and slightly increase your HDL is called Statins: Rosuvastatin (Crestor), Pitavastatin (Livalo), Fluvastatin (Lescol), Fluvastatin (Lescol), Lovastatin, and last but the most common Atorvastatin (Lipitor). These help to decrease the chances of any cardiovascular such as a heart attack.

always keep your food intake in check, follow aregular exercise regime and be aware of all the cholesterol treatment options.