Blue Dreamer

Cholesterol, per se, is not bad for the body. It is a component of the membrane of all cells. It is also important in the synthesis  of many important substances like vitamin D, bile, and some steroid hormones.

Cholesterol is bad only if present in excess amoung in blood because high blood level of cholesterol is a major risk factor for astherosclerosis- a condition characterized by deposition of cholesterol plaques in the walls of blood vessels, which harden, weaken, and clog blood the vessels which can cause heart attack or stroke.

The cholesterol in our body comes directly form the food we eat or produced by the liver and intestines from raw materials derived from food. The liver and the intestines can produced all the cholesterol the body needs hence, no dietary intake of the substance is necessary.

A high bloog cholesterol level is, veryu often, simply the result of eating food that is rich in cholesterol and saturated fat. Consequently, high cholesterol blood level can frequenlty be brought down to normal by diet.

However, High Blood is not simply a dietary problem. There are other factors associated with the condition including advancing age, genetc make-up, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, excessive alcohol consumption, certain diseases like Diabetes, hypothyroidism, liver diseases, and some drugs such as birth control pills. Thus, sometimes, High Blood cannot be control by diet alone, other lifestyle modifications and drugs maybe employed.

There are drugs available that can lower blood cholesterol. The most widely-used among those drugs are the statins, which includes atorvastin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, and simvastatin. The Statins block the syntesis or production of the cholesterol and facilitate the removal of bad cholesterol from the blood stream.

Statins are routinely prescribed for people who have known heart and blood vessel disease secondary to atherosclerosis because scientific research has already established that regular intake of statins reduces the mortality and cardiovascular morbidity rates in these patients.

Statins are now also increasingly being given to people with high blood cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease even if these people do not have heart disease. This is because more recent studies have shown that statins improve survival and reduce the risk of major cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events in these people. By the way the risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease include hypertension, diabetes, smoking, obesityor overweight, highblood cholesterol, physical inactivity or sedentary lifestyle.

I guess the best thing here is we initially try to lower our cholesterol by adopting a low-fat diet, maintaining a normal weight, engaging in a regular exercise program, and refraining from alcohol. Only if this measure  do not work should we consider  taking cholesterol-lowering drugs. In any case, intake of Statins should  always be under  the supervision of a physician.