Reining your Cholesterol Levels

Keeping a check on your cholesterol levels can reduce your chances of heart attack. There are three types of cholesterol - the good cholesterol also known as High Density Lipoprotein ( HDL), the bad cholesterol known as (LDL) Low Density Lipoprotein and the ugly Triglycerides which are fats derived from food. All the three cholesterol markers must be tuned equally to reach a perfect balance for a healthy heart. If you have to lower down any one of them, the rest two must also undergo a makeover.

The optimal reading of LDL cholesterol should be 100 mg/dl. The bad cholesterol or LDL is responsible for formation of plaque in the arteries leading to narrowing, blockage and hardening of arteries and a consequent heart attack. On the contrary, HDL aka good cholesterol helps in cleaning the artery narrowing plaque and therefore must be 60 mg/dl in women and 40-50 mg/dl in men. The normal reading for Triglycerides is less than 150 mg/dl. High levels of triglycerides ( 200 to 499 mg/dl ) is an indicator of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, factors responsible for cardiovascular diseases.

Here’s a review of expert guidelines for reining your cholesterol levels:

High Fibre, low fat diet:

An AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) study reported that a low fat high fibre diet can bring down LDL by 20 percent and a zero-oil diet can be helpful in toppling LDL levels to about 30 percent. Many other studies reiterate that a combination of a healthy diet and exercise can lower bad cholesterol.

Exercise and Active Lifestyle:

Lifestyle modifications and regular exercise are recommended to people with LDL from 80 – 100 mg /dl. Medication must be avoided if your LDL levels aren’t above 100 mg/dl, suggest experts. However, a good combination of lifestyle management and medication can help keeping cholesterol levels in check if you have  family history of cardio vascular diseases and diabetes.

Medication:

Pills are not for everyone. There are markers that indicate it’s time to start medication to control bad cholesterol levels, suggest experts. Statin, a cholesterol-lowering drug, is widely recommended to people with LDL levels below 70 mg/dl but Cardiologists in India recommend statins for people with LDL over 100, suggesting alternative non-medicinal options to combat rising cholesterol levels. However, if you are at risk of developing heart disease, either because of family history or due to prior vascular problems, you must keep your LDL levels under 80 with medication along with lifestyle management.  

Cholesterol lowering drugs like Statins are expensive and have to be taken lifelong, so they should be prescribed only if lifestyle modifications don’t work, suggest experts. Also, these medications have severe side effects like muscle pain and weakness. But, reports show that patients under mediation have 25 percent lower risk of developing diabetes and osteoporosis and benefits can be noticed within a month.