Cholesterol Management and Products

Many people, especially, after 40, start worrying about the cholesterol level in their blood. Some neglect this issue as they regard themselves as too young for that. What is cholesterol? Why should people get their blood tested for the cholesterol level? How should one treat lipid disorders? What are the best medicines to find in drugstores? This article answers these questions.

What Is Cholesterol?

Yearly, people get their blood tested. Except for red blood cells, platelets, sugar, and white blood cells, some patients also need to check their lipid profiles. Traditionally, the panel provides information about the following cholesterol types:

LDL
Triglycerides
HDL
total

The human body gets cholesterol together with certain food and naturally. The body, the liver, in particular, produces the required amount of cholesterol daily. It’s essential for a proper organism functioning as it is a part of cell membranes and lets a human body produce the needed bile acids, sex hormones, and nerve cells. Moreover, it’s one of the most powerful antioxidants.

Another way to get good cholesterol is to consume food rich in it. The healthiest sources of HDL are avocados, meat, fatty fish, eggs, nuts, legumes, and other fat-rich products. In other words, such food has many fats. However, only proper cooking makes these products healthy. Fried and greasy dishes ruin the body by supplying it with LDL and triglycerides.

Drugs You Might Need to Treat Your High-Cholesterol Disorder

Pharmacological companies with advanced health experts do their best to create drugs to help patients lower their cholesterol levels. Today, doctors prescribe medicines with different active components. The available variety lets them choose the best drug and avoid allergic reactions and drug interactions.

Below, one can find information about the top 6 drugs with different active ingredients to deal with lipid disorders.

Lipitor

It’s a white oval pill with Atorvastatin as the active component. The available doses are 10mg, 20mg, and 40 mg. Patients take them before or after meals with a full glass of water. The drug fits patients older than 10 years. Only health experts can prescribe the drug to younger patients.

Crestor

It’s a round pink pill with 5mg, 10mg, or 20 mg of Rosuvastatin. Such dosing lets health experts help patients adjust to the drug gradually and even prescribe the drug to children from 6 years. One should take one pill a day with a glass of water or milk before or after meals.

Zocor

It’s a peach-color pill with four angles that resemble a shield. Its release doses are 5mg, 10mg, 20mg, and 40mg pills. The youngest patients are 10-year-old children. The younger ones should not take the drug without a doctor’s supervision. The active component of the drug is Simvastatin.

Lopid

It’s a white oval pill with Gemfibrozil as the active component. Unlike the above-mentioned drugs, this lipid-disorder drug has only one dose available. It has 300mg of Gemfibrozil, though the pill has a dividing line. So, one can split a pill into two 150mg doses to test the organism’s response. However, most patients take it twice a day before or after meals. Traditionally, patients take it after breakfast and dinner. This drug cannot be prescribed to children.

Zetia

This oval white pill contains 10 mg of Ezetimibe. This is the only available dose at the moment. One can take it with or without food. Children who are older than 10 years can take the drug to treat cholesterol-related diseases. Usually, a person takes one to four pills a day to treat the required condition.

Tricor

This is another white oval pill with 160mg or 200 mg of Fenofibrate. Usually, only adults can take it. Children need a doctor’s supervision to take the drug. One should take it three times a day to treat the required disease.

Why the Level of Cholesterol Rises and What the Consequences Are

If people eat too much greasy food, the cholesterol level in the blood rises. Naturally, the human liver gives 85% of the required cholesterol, and food gives another 15%. If a person consumes too many cholesterol-rich meals, a person’s blood gets an excess level of it. As a result, it affects different parts of the body.

First, too much cholesterol blocks the blood vessels and narrows them down. As a result, the formed plague blocks normal blood flow. Blood delivers oxygen and essential nutrients to different parts of the body. So, when the vessels cannot deliver microelements and macroelements alongside the needed oxygen, one starts suffering from various diseases.

Second, blocked blood vessels bear danger. They increase one’s chances of experiencing heart attacks and strokes. Such a condition is called atherosclerosis.

Finally, people who are in the risk group of acquiring cholesterol-related health disorders are those who:

are overweight
have diabetes or thyroid disorders
have atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels
suffer from ischemic disease
have kidney or ovary cyst disorders

However, not all cholesterol is harmful.

What Types of Cholesterol is Health-Beneficial?

Blood tests can show the two types of cholesterol — bad and good.
High-density lipoprotein is what one should expect when being checked. It is responsible for sex hormone production, nerve cell recovery, and vitamin D and bile acids production.
Low-density lipoprotein is the one a person should beware of as it causes blood clots. The last ones provoke strokes and heart attacks.
Another role of HDL is to “find” LDL and bring it back to the liver where it must be processed. So, LDL mustn’t exceed the level of HDL.

What are the Common Symptoms of Atherosclerosis?

When one’s body is unable to break down lipids, a person acquires the so-called hyperlipoproteinemia. Other medical terms for this disease are lipid disorder, high cholesterol, hypercholesterolemia, and hyperlipidemia. If a patient doesn’t start the treatment and refuses to use preventive measures, atherosclerosis will be inevitable.

One may have no symptoms when suffering from atherosclerosis. A patient’s blood vessels become narrow because of the lipid blocks, but they give no vivid symptoms. Other patients usually have chest pain and problematic breathing and experience muscle weakness and fatigue.

Note! If you or any of your relatives experience numbness in the limbs and pain in the chest, it’ll be necessary to call a doctor or 911 and get your or your relative’s blood checked.

Both cases pose danger for a patient who can get a heart attack or a stroke “out of nowhere”. Such diseases are usually associated with elderly people. However, this disorder is becoming “younger” as more people neglect healthy lifestyles and experience too much daily stress.

How to Prevent Cholesterol-Related Diseases?

One can avoid health problems connected with high cholesterol levels. Patients who already have the disorder can improve their health by following the assigned recommendations such as:

give up smoking and alcohol drinking
eat more low-fat foods (fruit, vegetables, whole grains)
go in for sports or at least manageable physical activity (yoga, pilates, walking, jogging, swimming, etc.)
consume low-calorie foods to reduce weight if there is such a necessity
drink enough water to improve metabolism and add some detox drinks like smoothies and green tea

Some patients must be more conscious about their cholesterol levels. These are people who have certain conditions or family histories of cholesterol disorders. As a rule, these are people over 40, obese, with cardiovascular diseases, and high blood sugar levels.

Unfortunately, not all cholesterol-connected disorders can be controlled by low-cholesterol diets and exercise. In this case, patients should consider taking the required medication.

Disclaimer: The information presented on the page should not be used for self-medication or self-diagnosis. If you suspect the presence of a disease, you must seek help from a qualified specialist. Only your attending physician can diagnose and prescribe treatment.