How to Lower Cholesterol? Holistic Way Of Curing High Cholesterol. Treatment With Herbs And Other Natural Ways.

How to Lower Cholesterol? Types of Cholesterol.
Treatment With Herbs. 
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Cholesterol is a very important substance for our bodies to function normally. It is almost everywhere in our body: cells, brain, skin, liver, intestines and heart. Our body produces many hormones, vitamin D and bile acids using cholesterol.
If our blood there is too much cholesterol, the excess can accumulate over the walls of the arteries, coronary arteries, carotid arteries to the brain and the arteries that supply blood to the legs.These plaques (cholesterol) can cause narrowing and obstruction of the arteries, causing a stroke or a heart attack.

Narrowing of the arteries can cause angina (chest pain), because the heart muscle doesn’t get enough oxygen. If there is a sharp increase of pressure in the arteries (this can happen if you have high blood pressure, or if you leap out of bed very quickly, or when you bend down to tie your shoes), parts of cholesterol plaques in artery walls may rupture.

In turn this leads to the formation of a blood clot, which can completely block the artery and cause infarction or stroke.

There are several types of cholesterol. Some of them are needed for processes in the body, whereas others may be harmful, especially if their substantial amount  in the blood is high.

Good cholesterol is called HDL (high density lipoprotein). It "attaches" to the artery  walls to "sweep" the bad cholesterol to the liver, where it is metabolized and eliminated. 

Bad Cholesterol LDL (low density lipoprotein) has a much lower density and it can easily accumulate itself on the walls of the arteries and to form plaque.

Which People Are Most Likely to Have High Cholesterol?

All over the globe, people have different levels of cholesterol. For example, in Japan, people have lower cholesterol and there cardiovascular diseases are less, in comparison to other countries.

In Finland, for example, there are very high rates of coronary heart disease, and cholesterol levels there are higher, though. You should know, however, that cholesterol levels are not considered to be decisive for cardiovascular diseases, there are many other factors, as well.

   

High Cholesterol – Causes

Regarding to high cholesterol levels there are many reasons, but among the main ones are:

• heredity
• diet
• lifestyle

Diseases destroying the liver, thyroid and kidneys can affect high cholesterol in blood, as well.

Heredity-genes can affect the way our body processes the bad cholesterol.

Weight - overweight tends to increase bad cholesterol while weight loss can reduce it.

Physical activity - regular exercise can reduce triglycerides and increase good cholesterol.

Sex and age - many premenopausal women have lower total cholesterol levels, as opposed to men of this age. And in both men and women, cholesterol level is raised to 60-65 years of age.

Alcohol – about 1-2 drinks a day can increase good cholesterol, but it doesn’t reduce the bad cholesterol. Excessive alcohol consumption may damage the liver and heart muscle, which can lead to high blood pressure and higher levels of triglycerides.

Stress - stress can increase the cholesterol levels in a long run. This is explained by the fact, that  during stress, the organism needs a less fatty foods.

Herbs Lowering Cholesterol Levels

Hawthorn is a herb that helps the body to convert part of the bad cholesterol in good cholesterol.This is not the end of the tory, the free radicals, which damage the cells and trigger the disease, oxidize (LDL), as the arteries become less elastic and more vulnerable to injury.

Garlic and hawthorn can be useful for preventing the oxidation of LDL. Thus, the body attempts to heal the affected areas, covering them with a sticky substance.

But if there is a big amount of accumulated plaque, that sticky substance turns into "foamy cell", where these fatty substances (proteins, inflammatory cells and other "fragments" in the blood) , accumulate themselves and form plaque.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) lowers cholesterol levels, by blocking the absorption of cholesterol, preventing the formation of atherosclerotic plaque. This makes the arteries stiffer. As the plaque  is being gradually packed on the walls of the arteries, they become narrower. Fewer and fewer oxygen, nutrients and "fresh" blood reach the heart. It worsens his work, and it becomes impossible for it to perform its functions and the cells die.

This predisposes to cardiovascular disease or stroke. That’s why we pay attention to hawthorn, which lowers cholesterol, strengthens and protects the heart.

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