What is cholesterol?

• Cholesterol is a wax-like substance which is required by the body to build cells. Cholesterol in itself is not bad, but too much of anything cannot be good for the body. The two main sources of cholesterol are your liver and foods which you consume as part of your diet.
• Much of the needed cholesterol is produced by the liver, with additional supplements that you get from foods like meat, poultry, full-fat dairy products amongst high saturated and trans-fat foods.
• These foods inherently cause the liver to produce more than the required amount of cholesterol for the body and thus increases the level of cholesterol overall which is not good for your body.

Cholesterol is mainly divided into two categories, good cholesterol, and bad cholesterol. Low-Density Cholesterol (LDL) is known as bad cholesterol, and High-Density Cholesterol (HDL) is known as good cholesterol. The good and bad distinction is mainly because of the functions these two cholesterol levels carry out in our body.

• LDL- bad cholesterol: LDL mainly contributes to fatty buildups in the walls of vital arteries that carry blood to organs in your body. This raises the risk of heart attacks, stroke, peripheral heart disease amongst other ailments. The LDL flows within the body carrying high amounts of bad cholesterol inside the system which is not good for blood circulation.
• HDL- good cholesterol: HDL mainly acts as a cleanup measure which carries all the fat and bad cholesterol away from the body. HDL also helps carry away the LDL from vital arteries and blood flow to major organs in your body to ensure smooth flow and clear passageways for the blood.

So it is necessary to maintain high levels of HDL and control LDL, to ensure proper functions of the most vital organs in our body. But not all the cause for cholesterol are natural, in fact, some reasons for unhealthy cholesterol levels are humanmade.

The natural cholesterol levels as and when required by the body are produced by the liver, but any addition to outside diet sources is because of your diet and intake. Some of the common causes of high cholesterol levels are:

• An unhealthy lifestyle apart from improper diet and no exercise include smoking or second-hand exposure to smoke, which means people are smoking around you.
• Obesity is one of the number one causes of high levels of cholesterol. Excess weight in itself will limit your movements and thus your motivation to work out on a daily basis. Limited movements will automatically result in high levels of LDL cholesterol.
• Being physically inactive or not getting much-needed exercise to burn off those fats.
• Genetic condition may also affect your cholesterol levels charts. It is not always necessary that you are the one responsible for high levels of bad cholesterol.
• If your parents or grandparents were suffering from cholesterol levels, then chances are you might have inherited their genes which will increase your chances of having cholesterol.

Major lifestyle changes are required to maintain a healthy level of good cholesterol to promote normal bodily functions. There are some homemade remedies which can be used keep your cholesterol levels charts in check and can incorporate easily into your day to day diet plan. These namely include:

Coriander seeds drink: just add a couple of spoons of coriander seed powder in water and boil it, after which the mixture should be strained to remove any residue. Drink this simple drink twice a day to lower bad cholesterol levels. Coriander seeds can control your LDL levels with regular intake.

Nuts: A variety of nuts which can be easily purchased in the market and don’t necessarily need to be incorporated in any recipe and can also be consumed regularly can help keep your cholesterol levels charts in check. Walnuts, almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, pecans, amongst many others are rich in plant sterols and fiber which are good to curb the bad cholesterol levels.

Oatmeal: Nothing like a nice hot bowl of oatmeal which will help with your LDL levels. Oatmeal is full of soluble fiber and can reduce the absorption of cholesterol in your bloodstream and help control bad cholesterol.

Gooseberry: Gooseberry has a natural hypolipidemic agent which promotes the reduction of lipid concentrations. One spoon of gooseberry powder should be mixed in a glass of warm water and can be consumed daily regularly.

Other homemade recipes can be searched for online. Cholesterol levels are not that difficult to keep in check and monitor the same. This can be done with a well-balanced lifestyle with a proper diet, regular exercise and sticking to a proper cholesterol level chart to monitor balanced levels on a regular basis. A cholesterol level chart acts as a reference point for managing levels by yourself.