What are cholesterol symptoms and causes?
An optimal cholesterol level forms a good working base of our body in daily life. Here at The Health Fortune, we have discussed all you need to know to check the optimum cholesterol levels in your body and what are cholesterol symptoms that you must observe in your body.
Cholesterol is a waxy substance that helps our body build healthy blood cells. It contributes to many other functions in our body, including food digestion, hormone production, and vitamin D generation. But it must be present in a certain quantity, and a slight increase will affect our body adversely. That’s why it becomes vital to understand the high cholesterol symptoms on time.
There are two types of cholesterol, the good and bad cholesterol. Good cholesterol consists of a high-density lipoprotein that removes the excess cholesterol from our bloodstream. The bad cholesterol consists of low-density lipoprotein that lets the excess cholesterol accumulate in the blood vessels. So, it becomes essential to keep cholesterol levels in check as it has severe consequences.
What are cholesterol symptoms?
Suppose one has cholesterol symptoms indicating a higher percentage than required in the body. In that case, they get deposited in the blood vessels and start blocking the blood flow in the vessels. Therefore, observing changes that you might feel in your body daily that clearly indicate high cholesterol symptoms becomes necessary.
Xanthomas
This term might not sound very familiar. Xanthomas are a visible skin condition where you can see soft, yellowish growth on your skin. These painless deposits can be found under the eyes, palms of the hands, or back of your legs.
Blood Pressure
The flow of blood gets disrupted in the arteries with fat accumulation. High blood pressure is one of the visible symptoms that indicates that one must get their cholesterol level checked at the earliest.
Chest Pain
Chest pain could also be a symptom indicating a severe health problem like cardiovascular disease. Sudden rising pains in the left side of your chest can result from high cholesterol symptoms that make it essential to get your cholesterol levels checked.
Nausea
It is the uneasiness and discomfort in the stomach which gives an urge to vomit. People with abnormal cholesterol levels often suffer from this symptom. Though the reason behind feeling nausea might have a number of reasons, if there are frequent instances of nausea without any prominent reason, you must consult a doctor.
Fatigue
High cholesterol symptoms cause blockage in the arteries. This blockage, in turn, makes it difficult for the blood to flow freely to all parts of the body. As a result, this causes shortness of breath and creates fatigue in our bodies.
Headaches, Dizziness, and Loss of Balance
Headaches are a prominent symptom of abnormal cholesterol levels in the body. When you have abnormal cholesterol levels, the arteries that are responsible for carrying blood to the brain are blocked, which causes severe headaches frequently. Also, people feel dizziness and loss of balance that cause adverse health issues like stroke.
Many minor changes can be observed with the increased cholesterol levels in our bodies. These symptoms might be due to other reasons as well, but it’s best to get a regular check-up to know the root cause.
Cholesterol, when not monitored properly, can lead to severe health issues like
- Heart Attack
- Stroke
- Peripheral artery disease
- Coronary artery disease
Organic Ways to Control Cholesterol Problems
Many factors influence cholesterol levels in our body, like inactivity, high consumption of fats, lack of exercise, etc. To cure high cholesterol levels, it’s not compulsory to always go for medicines, but there are ample organic ways to control cholesterol problems.
All you need to do is instill the following steps in your daily routine to prevent yourself from abnormal cholesterol levels.
Flax Seeds
Flax seeds and flax seed oils contain omega-3 fatty acids that help lower the risk of heart diseases.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
You can also take omega-3 supplements or fish oils, which give you omega-3 nutrients. These combinations of nutrients protect your heart and lower the chances of a heart attack. Other food items that contain omega-3 are walnuts, canola oil, soybean, and tuna.
Garlic
Consumption of garlic reduces blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels. It’s best to consume garlic directly. Though you can also take it in a supplement form.
Exercises
A regular exercise of at least 30 minutes burns the extra fat in your body. High physical activities like riding a bicycle, taking a brisk walk, or hitting the gym can make a considerable contribution to your health.
Whey Protein
Consuming whey protein can lower the levels of low-density lipoproteins and control total cholesterol levels.
Reduce Saturated Fats
Consumption of saturated fats, which are present in food items like meat and full-fat dairy products, increases the overall cholesterol levels and weight.
Eliminate Trans Fat
If you have a sweet tooth and love to intake food items like cakes and bakery products, it’s time you put a stop to that. These food items have hydrogenated vegetable oils that create bad fat in your body and can be a reason behind abnormal cholesterol levels. These fats are harmful to our body when consumed regularly.
Smoking
One has to quit smoking to increase the levels of high-density lipoproteins in your body. Smoking puts pressure on your heart and increases blood pressure. Once you quit smoking, you will observe a significant improvement in the working of your heart and lungs.
Lose Weight
Increased weight brings a lot of health problems with it. Try maintaining your body weight according to your body mass index. The higher the body weight, the higher the pressure on your heart and other body parts.
Low Cholesterol Symptoms
Low cholesterol levels are usually considered better than high cholesterol conditions, which have adverse effects on our body, as discussed above. Still, it can be a concerning issue if the cholesterol levels drop without any reason. In case of pregnancy, women should monitor their low cholesterol levels as this might create a chance of delivering the baby prematurely.
Low cholesterol levels affect your mental health. There are chances of a person slipping into depression and extreme cases of anxiety. Changes that you can observe in your mental health that can be due to low cholesterol levels-
- Hopelessness
- Nervousness
- Agitation
- Confusion
- Difficulty in making decisions
- Mood swings
- Change in sleeping and eating pattern
