The presence of Cholesterol in the body is not in any way a problem. It only can become a source of worry when the level exceeds the normal amount required by the human body, so says expert.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is simply a fatty substance present in all human body. And usually when people hear of cholesterol, they get scared and begin to shiver. Cholesterol becomes a problem in the body when it gets high above normal level. Speaking in terms of body fats, cholesterol has benefits in the body. In fact, fats have good uses in the body, which include formation of hormones, dissolving of vitamins.
They also help in blood clot. Sometimes too, the fats assist in providing cushioning effect in a part of the body that had a fall and in protecting vital organs in the body.
Cholesterol itself serves, most especially, in helping the body to digest fat and produce vitamin D. It also functions in the formation of bile, which helps in the metabolism of fatty foods.
So, it is not as if cholesterol in the body is all bad and so people should not always be perturbed at the mention of it. Of course, its important to know that the body fat is classified into two types, the saturated and unsaturated fat. And cholesterol happens to fall into the groups of fat called saturated fat. This group is usually those that when they are in excessive amount in the body, it causes problems.
Who is at risk?
This problem does not often arise in babies and children even in adolescent. It usually starts from about the age of 40 and above. But that doesn’t mean that people below 40 shouldn’t be careful of what they eat. I’m saying this because if you over indulge, you might be at a risk even at an earlier age. In fact, nowadays, we are beginning to have people in early and late 30s having cholesterol-related problems.
High cholesterol-related illnesses
When we talk about high cholesterol in the body, we look at certain illnesses that are cholesterol-related. Some of these include high blood pressure, which is common in our society. Also, there is diabetes militias and illnesses related to the thyroid gland. Sometimes too, especially in females, you can have high cholesterol problem in those who have gall bladder disease. Cancer malignancies can also result from excessive cholesterol in the body. So, these are essentially the illnesses we can have problem with high cholesterol. Usually, this problem starts from excessive body weight, which is also obesity.
Things to do
Essentially, like most other illnesses, which we classify as chronic illnesses in the body, checking high-level cholesterol requires a general healthy feeding. This should include a healthy diet, which consists of the appropriate percentage of the classes of food, the carbohydrates, protein, fats and also your mineral and water. These will keep you from the level of cholesterol that is too high or below normal level.
Balanced diets
A normal average diet shouldn’t contain more than about 20 or 30 per cent of fat. And when you come down to the fats that is a problem that could lead to high cholesterol, it shouldn’t be more than 10 per cent. And where do these fats come from? They come mostly from red meat, butter, oils, cheese, fried food, and ice cream whole milk products.
Others include beef, pork and lamb; egg is also in this class. Then, some food that most people easily jump at often like the goat head, which is popularly referred to as Isi-ewu. One is not saying that these things should not be taken at all, what we are saying is that they should be taken in moderation. Moderation is the key word in any food intake.
Exercise
Exercise is very essential. This is for people who are 40 years and above highly recommended. It helps you to maintain a weight for your age and height. And then, there is what we call body weight index where you clock your weight in kilogramme against your height in meters. From that chatting, you can know whether you are, overweight or obese or even be underweight. A regular exercise of about 20 or 30 minutes daily is recommended.
It doesn’t necessarily need to be very rigorous. Or if you have space around, jogging or even skipping in your room is enough to guarantee a standard weight.
Strictly speaking, working hard is not exercise. Most of the working hard we see around is stress. There is a difference between exercise and stress. And, of course, stress is not good for the body but exercise is important. For example, if someone walks a long distance to or from his office due to insufficient money, he claims that is exercise. No, that is stress. Exercise is a voluntary physical activity done with the intention to bring good to the body.