Everyone knows that there are many myths around cholesterol. The most problematic is the often-proclaimed, erroneous theory that it’s okay to have it as low as possible, which is completely untrue. According to scientists, people with too much cholesterol live longer than those with too little. Nevertheless, elevated cholesterol is not a good thing – it accumulates in the walls of blood vessels, which means that much less oxygen and other ingredients reach the cells. The result can be a reduction in brain function and even a heart attack. Unfortunately, elevated cholesterol is very difficult to observe on your own.
This is because cholesterol builds up in the blood over the years. In addition, after exceeding this limit amount, we will not feel anything, and the symptoms of this type of abnormality are really rare. Especially if too high cholesterol is inherited in the family.
The most common symptoms are:
- Yellow, subcutaneous nodules around the eyelids, buttocks, ankles and elbows. These types of nodules appear in the case of too high inherited cholesterol, in up to 75% of patients. However, they rarely appear in young people, which makes it even more difficult to diagnose hypercholesterolemia, so many people may not be aware of the disease for a long time.
- Dizziness,
- broke energy,
- Leg pain for no reason, i.e. without, for example, effort.
It is worth knowing that elevated cholesterol is not only the domain of the elderly and obese, as is commonly believed. Very young people, and even children, have a problem with it more and more often. They can manifest themselves even in a three-year-old child if the parents suffer from the same. Particular care should be taken in cases where someone in the family has had a heart attack or stroke in the not too old age, i.e. in the case of men younger than 55 and women under 65.
The best way to avoid cholesterol problems in your child is to prevent them from becoming overweight and obese. It also deserves special attention cholesterol level in pregnant women, because too high its rate in the mother may result in this type of problems in the child. That is why it is so important to examine and control your cholesterol level on an ongoing basis – both when we have cases of heart attacks and strokes in the family, as well as, for example, a problem with overweight.
What causes hypercholesterolemia?
- Bad diet – too much animal fats, red meat, full-fat dairy products, flour, sweets, salty snacks, wheat flour products.
- Too high body weight,
- lack of physical activity,
- Stress,
- Smoking,
- genetic factors,
- Alcohol.