You don’t see it, you don’t feel it – that’s why the diagnosis often comes as a surprise: “Yours Cholesterol levels are way too high. “That means the Blood lipid levels are out of order. It doesn’t matter. Because if the cholesterol level is permanently raised, there is a risk Hardening of the arteries, at worst one Heart attack or a stroke. With an elevated cholesterol level, it has been advised for years to go on a diet or to refrain from foods that are high in cholesterol. According to experts, this view has changed – they even speak of cholesterol hysteria.
In principle, cholesterol is not to be demonized, says Johannes Wechsler, President of the Federal Association of German Nutritional Physicians (BDEM). The body needs the fatty substance – for cell building, for the formation of vitamin D or for the production of sex hormone estrogen. He produces a large part of this fat himself. Cholesterol is also absorbed through high-fat food.
“Good” and “bad” cholesterol: what’s the difference?
Cholesterol is not the same as cholesterol. There is the “good” (HDL = High Density Lipoprotein) and the “bse” (LDL = Low Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol. The more of the good HDL in the body, the better. It protects the vessels because it brings excess cholesterol in the blood back from the artery walls to the liver. From there it is excreted via the bile. The poor LDL, on the other hand, transports the fat particles to the cells, where it settles and can lead to dangerous calcification.
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This can also lead to dangerous arteriosclerosis – which in turn increases the risk of a heart attack. In addition to cholesterol, decisive factors for atherosclerosis are smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure and genetic predispositions.
Triglycerides are also important fats in the blood. These neutral fats are considered the main component of body and nutritional fats.
Guide values: How much cholesterol should there be in the blood?
There are guidelines for how much cholesterol there should be in the blood: the total cholesterol should not exceed 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg / dl). But it often does: A third of the population between 18 and 79 years has a value of over 200 mg / dl, according to the German Nutrition Society (DGE).
The target values for the individual cholesterol types depend on whether someone has other diseases such as high blood pressure or diabetes or whether they smoke, for example. “LDL cholesterol should not exceed 150 mg / dl if there is a single additional risk factor for cardiovascular diseases,” said Wechsler. If there are several risk factors, then the LDL cholesterol should be below 100 mg / dl.
Even if a patient has high blood pressure, the LDL cholesterol level may not exceed 100 mg / dl. If someone has already had a heart attack or has diabetes, the value should even be below 70 mg / dl. The HDL should be above 45 mg / dl in women and over 40 mg / dl in men.
Have cholesterol levels checked once a year
To prevent serious illnesses, everyone should have their cholesterol levels determined once a year. “This can be done with a quick test in many, but not all, pharmacies,” says Ursula Sellerberg, pharmacist and deputy press spokeswoman for the Federal Chamber of Pharmacists. If the values found deviate from the guide values, patients should go to the doctor.
If it turns out that the cholesterol level – and above all the “bad” cholesterol – of a patient is permanently increased, then the affected person has to change his diet and change his lifestyle in a first step.
“That means the patient eats less high-fat and animal products and more vegetable and low-fat foods such as vegetables, fruit and cereal products,” explains Wechsler. If someone is overweight, the doctor puts him on a diet at the same time. By the way, a natural cholesterol lowering agent is ginger – even small amounts a day can lower the cholesterol level.
Diet has little effect on cholesterol
However, changing your diet is not necessarily helpful. Professor Ulrich Laufs, cardiologist at Leipzig University Hospital, is supported by the image quoted as follows: “Many people have inherited hypercholesterolemia. Because of a genetic defect, they have a poor intake of cholesterol from the blood into the liver. Your cholesterol level rises.”
The influence of the right diet on cholesterol levels has long been overestimated. Today, many doctors, including Professor Laufs, take this view: “Today we know that genetics is a major cause, not nutrition. However, it still plays a role in heart and soul. A healthy lifestyle with sufficient exercise and proper nutrition helps Heart attack and stroke. “
According to current estimates, an LDL reduction through diet alone is relatively unlikely – the likelihood of success is between five and 30 percent.
Note the correct selection of fats
If the diet is changed, Antje Gahl from the German Nutrition Society (DGE) gives important tips: “The right choice of fats should be the focus: vegetable oils, margarine, nuts and fatty fish are preferred.” According to them, it has a positive effect to consume less saturated fatty acids, such as those found in animal foods, and therefore more unsaturated fatty acids.
“Coconut fat, butter, cream, lard and bacon should only be used sparingly,” said Gahl.
It is also important to pay attention to hidden fats in processed foods – they can be found in delicatessen salads, pizzas or pies. Lower fat variants should be preferred. In addition to changing your diet, regular exercise, little alcohol and not using nicotine can help lower cholesterol levels. Eating eggs can raise cholesterol levels significantly – read how dangerous eggs really are for our health here.
Statins: medication to lower cholesterol
Eight weeks after starting this type of therapy, the doctor will measure the patient’s blood lipid levels again. Only when it turns out that the values have not improved significantly do drugs come into play. “However, this does not immediately lower the cholesterol level,” explains Sellerberg. With regular intake, it only goes down in the medium term.
How aerzteblatt.de reported, the intake of such statins (cholesterol-lowering) is not always viewed uncritically. In addition to the fact that the effect only occurs with regular intake and the correct dosage, there are also some side effects such as breathing difficulties, muscle pain, diabetes, heartburn or joint pain.
If an elevated cholesterol level is hereditary, a change in diet and lifestyle is of little use to lower the values. “In such a case, drugs are prescribed from the outset,” said Wechsler.
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