Archive for August, 2011
Nowadays, more and more people become concerned about their cholesterol levels. They start to worry about medical conditions that result from high cholesterol, as it has become an issue for lots of people. Cholesterol itself is produced by our own bodies, mostly in the liver. It is very necessary for body to function properly. For example it is absolutely essential for fetal and newborn development.
So what are the causes for high cholesterol?
One really obvious reason is being overweight. It makes the body harder to handle all this cholesterol coming into your body. Overweight people usually have lower good cholesterol level, than normal.
Another reason for high cholesterol is low activity. We need our good cholesterol levels to be higher than bad cholesterol levels, it can be accomplished by regular exercise and activity.
Then there are causes that actually are not what we can control that much. Such as age – with age cholesterol levels rise or even if you had this problem as a young person, you may start to notice it only now. And, after 30, our bodies increase the production of cholesterol and this also causes higher levels. Family history also is a cause that we really can not control. If your parents or grandparents have had problems with high cholesterol, it is a great chance that you will, too.
Of course, there are some diseases that cause high levels, such as kidney problems and thyroid disorders.
As people tend to think only negative about cholesterol, it is not completely so. Our bodies produce it because it is needed. Even our nervous system and brain needs it to function properly, also it is needed for spinal cord formation. Many hormones are directly associated to cholesterol levels such as the ones that regulate blood sugar level, all the sex hormones etc. It is also used to make cell membranes and for making them durable.