Cholesterol

Simply no, having a high level of cholesterol is not an ailment in itself. Instead, it is the precursor of one, and more often than not, it generally leads to coronary heart disease, more commonly known as heart failure. A lot of studies and surveys have already been done and they all lead to the conclusion that lifestyle and diet determine the likelihood of developing the disease. However, we cannot ignore the role that heredity plays in the development of this disease.

Lifestyle and diet are major factors one can control in order to prevent the increase in cholesterol levels. However, one cannot overcome one factor – genetic makeup. Since it is predetermined in the genes, prevention alone will not be enough to ward off the disease. Modern science, however, is currently researching into the nature of this predetermined gene. In the next few years, we can expect to hear of a drug or a supplement that would counter the influence of genes in the development of disease.

Prevention, so they say, is better than a cure; but in some cases, prevention is not possible. Hence, health awareness is really a must nowadays, most especially when today’s generation is strongly influenced by ‘express’ deals that aim to help us save time spent eating, so we can have more time to meet all the demands in one day. Here is where ‘fast food’ comes in. Instead of eating healthy food every day, one would choose an express meal to deal with the demands of the day, thereby increasing the daily intake of bad cholesterol from these ‘express meals’. And what about exercise? Since time immemorial, it has been established that exercise lowers our cholesterol levels, thus also lowering the chances of acquiring heart disease.

Unfortunately, due to the growing demands of jobs or from other distractions, such as watching television and playing computer games, who has the time to exercise nowadays?

Our body already creates the amount of cholesterol that it needs. Now, our task is to maintain the right levels or enhance the levels of cholesterol, if needed. Anything in excess will be considered a threat to the system. And how are we to know what our current cholesterol level is? A blood test is necessary. Heart diseases are asymptomatic; they do not exhibit any signs until you feel chest pain, dizziness, or shortness of breath. Do not wait for the next major health problem to happen – visit your nearest physician today.