Heart disease is not new. Yet more and more persons are falling prey to heart disease, and it has reached epidemic proportions all over the world. Heart disease is a group of related diseases or conditions all affecting the cardiovascular system. Researchers say that the immediate biological cause of this disease is an excessive level of cholesterol in the blood over a long period. Heart attack, strokes, coronary thrombosis, and many similar episodes can occur due to heart disease if not attended to in time. Heart disease can be prevented by keeping your blood cholesterol in check. Let’s see how…
We have prepared a simple checklist of do’s and don’ts and put them in three categories. Follow the checklist to reduce your blood cholesterol, and retain or regain your health.
Eat Healthy
The blood cholesterol level is directly and immediately affected by the food you eat. So the first thing on our checklist is to watch what you eat. Avoid, as completely as possible, foods that are known to be blood cholesterol villains. These are mostly animal products like red meats, eggs, butter, cream, and cheese. Starchy vegetables are just as bad. Saturated oils and fats used as food or as cooking media round off the list of villains. Maximize your intake of vegetarian food items. Fruits are good for you. Drink copious draughts of water throughout the day. So put away that helping of potato chips, push away that side helping of bacon, and help yourself to fresh vegetables and fruit.
Use Prescribed Medications
Keeping a careful watch on your diet is a very natural and effective way to beating high cholesterol levels. However, in case of severe blood cholesterol situations, dietary control is too slow to control the immediate crisis. In these cases medication and drugs are indicated. The doctor handling your case will be the best person to prescribe a course of action to help you get back to normal. Take the medicines he prescribes for you in the manner and dosage that he recommends. Refer to him often so that he can review your condition and change the medications or their dosage. Prolonged medication is inadvisable. Do not self-prescribe medications. Lovastatin, Zicor, Lescol and Lipitor are some medications which are prescribed to counter excessive blood cholesterol levels.
Regular Exercise
Dietary control is fruitless if you do not exercise regularly. The watchword for exercise to be effective is ‘Consistency’. If you exercise off and on, the effect of exercise is totally nullified. Cardiovascular exercise is very important to bring down your blood cholesterol to manageable levels. Exercise increases the circulation of blood and this helps to sweep away the excessive cholesterol in the body. Cardiovascular exercises like walking, jogging, running, and swimming are highly recommended for people who have a cholesterol problem. Include these exercises in your everyday schedule.
These are the simple but effective basics of cholesterol control. Use the tips described in this article to maintain your blood cholesterol at a healthy level. If you follow them sincerely you will soon see an appreciable drop in your blood cholesterol. Remember the steps: diet, medicine, and exercise - make that your mantra for good health!
