CANTIKA.COM, Jakarta – Your body needs cholesterol, a waxy substance found in the blood, to build healthy cells. However, with high cholesterol, you can develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels.
Sometimes, these deposits can rupture suddenly and form clots that cause a heart attack or stroke stroke. It is very important to get your cholesterol levels out of the red zone to avoid problems.
While not all cholesterol is bad for your body, the type known as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is the bad cholesterol and can put you at greater risk of health problems. Therefore, it is important to keep your levels under control through regular blood tests.
What causes high cholesterol?
High cholesterol can be lowered or the result of unhealthy lifestyle choices such as smoking, inactivity or being overweight or obese. A healthy diet, regular exercise, and sometimes medication can help reduce high cholesterol.
This health condition has minimal symptoms, so it is often dubbed silent. Blood tests are needed to identify high cholesterol levels. However, there are some warning signs that may appear on your body. These conditions can help you recognize high cholesterol symptoms since early stage.
1. Numbness in the legs
One sign of high cholesterol could be a feeling of numbness in your legs and feet. This indicates that plaque formation has developed in the arteries and other blood vessels. Impaired blood flow can prevent oxygen-rich blood from reaching the arms and legs, causing pain and an uncomfortable tingling sensation. Other signs and symptoms of disease of the legs and feet include cramping, sores that don’t heal, and cold feet or legs.
2. Pale nails
It is this plaque that gets deposited in your arteries that makes the arteries narrow, with large deposits blocking them completely. When extra cholesterol narrows or clogs your arteries, it restricts blood flow to different parts of your body, including your nails. This can leave your nails with dark lines underneath. It’s a thin, red to reddish-brown line under your fingernail, as per MedlinePlus. These lines usually run in the direction of nail growth.
3. Stroke and heart attack
Other major problems that signal plaque formation are cases of stroke and heart attack. Blocked arteries to your heart can cause a heart attack. A blocked artery to your brain can cause a stroke. Many people don’t realize they have high cholesterol until they experience one of these life-threatening events. According to a new Yale-led study, high cholesterol is associated with a greater risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in women.
How to lower cholesterol
The best way to improve high cholesterol is through a healthy lifestyle and medications as advised by your doctor. Personally, here are some lifestyle changes you can make to maintain healthy cholesterol levels:
1. Avoid alcohol consumption
2. A diet low in saturated fat and high in fiber
3. Exercise regularly
4. Maintain a healthy weight
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