Monday 25 November 2013

Cholesterol - A Different Viewpoint

A Lipid Profile and consequent detection of cholesterol above safe range is often pressing the panic button for many  and the people start taking anti-cholesterol medicines to avoid heart related diseases. Now-a-days doctors are also prescribing statins (anti-cholesterol medicines) without fully and periodically checking liver and muscle problems of patients.

But experts in the field are suggesting heart-healthy diet, limiting alcohol intake, avoid smoking and regular body-sweating physical exercises instead of statins in cases of moderate increase of LDL (low density lipoprotein - a bad cholesterol ). A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that even in critical situations of heart disease, Omega-3 more increased the chances of being alive than statins.

Cholesterol and Medicine

Experts say that despite the effectiveness of statins to restrain the bad cholesterol, its' side effects including muscle ache, abdominal cramping, bloating, diarrhea, rash, constipation and, above all, kidney damage cannot be ignored. Recently, a trial over 1000 people in Canada has established  that kidneys are damaged when trying to eliminate large amount of muscle breakdown caused by prolong use of statins above 10 mg.

It is well known that 95% of cholesterol in human body is produced by the liver irrespective of what we consume. It is produced in the human body because cholesterol plays a vital role for development and functions of the brain along with preparing different important hormones,vitamin D etc. Again, paucity of cholesterol may lead to diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Osteoporosis,  liver and eye related diseases etc.

Since either very high or very low level of cholesterol  is not welcome for good health and  high level of bad cholesterol is a symptom and not a disease itself, it should be controlled by changing the life style and food habit, experts say. 

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