Cholesterol is a chemical compound that the body requires as a building block for cell membranes and for hormones like estrogen and testosterone. The liver produces about 80% of the body’s cholesterol and the rest comes from dietary sources like meat, poultry, eggs, fish, and dairy products. Foods derived from plants contain no cholesterol.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Diet and genetics both play a factor in a person’s cholesterol levels. There may be a genetic predisposition for familial hypercholesterolemia (hyper=more = cholesterol + emia=blood) where the number of liver receptor cells is low and cholesterol levels rise causing the potential for atherosclerotic heart disease at a younger age.
Cholesterol content in the bloodstream is regulated by the liver. After a meal, cholesterol in the diet is absorbed from the small intestine and metabolized and stored in the liver. As the body requires cholesterol, it may be secreted by the liver.
When too much cholesterol is present in the body, it can build up in deposits called plaque along the inside walls of arteries, causing them to narrow (known as atherosclerosis). Plaque sticks to the walls of our arteries and could lead to coronary artery disease (atherosclerosis – coronary arteries become narrow or even blocked).
Our body needs some cholesterol to make hormones, vitamin D, and substances that helps us digest foods.
What are HDL, LDL, and VLDL ?
Cholesterol does not travel freely through the bloodstream. Instead, it is attached or carried by lipoproteins (lipo = fat) in the blood. There are three types of lipoproteins that are categorized based on how much protein there is in relation to the amount of cholesterol. HDL, LDL, and VLDL are lipoproteins.
Different types of lipoproteins have different purposes:
- Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) contain a higher ratio of cholesterol to protein and are thought of as the “bad” cholesterol. Elevated levels of LDL lipoprotein increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease, by helping form cholesterol plaque along the inside of artery walls. Over time, as plaque buildup (plaque deposits) increases, the artery narrows (atherosclerosis), and blood flow decreases. If the plaque ruptures, it can cause a blood clot to form that prevents any blood flow. This clot is the cause of a heart attack or myocardial infarction if the clot occurs in one of the coronary arteries in the heart.
- High-density lipoproteins (HDL) are made up of a higher level of protein and a lower level of cholesterol. These tend to be thought of as “good” cholesterol. The higher the HDL to LDL ratio, the better it is for the individual because such ratios can potentially be protective against heart disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease.
- Very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) contain even less protein than LDL. VLDL like LDL has been associated with plaque deposits.
- Triglycerides (a type of fat) may increase cholesterol-containing plaques if levels of LDL are high and HDL is low.
What causes high cholesterol ?
The most common cause of high cholesterol is an unhealthy lifestyle…
- Unhealthy eating habits, such as eating lots of artificial fats. One type – saturated fats are not that much bad as they considered, chocolate, baked goods, and deep-fried and processed foods especially at restaurants. Restaurant foods contains trans fat, Eating these fats can raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol very badly. ?
- Lack of physical activity, with lots of sitting and little exercise.
- Smoking, which lowers HDL cholesterol, especially in women. It also raises our LDL cholesterol.
Genetics may also cause people to have high cholesterol. For example, familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an inherited form of high cholesterol. Other medical conditions and certain allopathic medicines may also cause high cholesterol.
What can raise risk of high cholesterol ?
A variety of things can raise your risk for high cholesterol:
- Age. Our cholesterol levels tend to rise as we get older. Even though it is less common, younger people, including children and teens, can also have high cholesterol.
- Heredity. High blood cholesterol can run in families.
- Weight. Being overweight/having obesity raises your cholesterol level.
What health problems can high cholesterol cause ?
Elevated cholesterol levels are one of the risk factors for heart disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease. The mechanism involving cholesterol in all three diseases is the same; plaque buildup within arteries decreases blood flow affecting the function of the cells and organs that these blood vessels supply.
- Atherosclerotic heart disease or narrowed coronary arteries in the heart can cause the symptoms of angina when the heart muscle is not provided with enough oxygen to function.
- Decreased blood supply to the brain may be due to narrowed small arteries in the brain or because the larger carotid arteries in the neck may become blocked. This can result in a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke.
- Peripheral artery disease describes the gradual narrowing of the arteries that supply the legs. During exercise, if the legs do not get enough blood supply, they can develop pain, called claudication.
- Other arteries in the body may also be affected by plaque buildup causing them to narrow, including the mesenteric arteries to the intestine and the renal arteries to the kidney.
Diagnosis of Cholesterol Types :
There are usually no signs or symptoms that you have high cholesterol.
A blood test “Lipid profile” to measure cholesterol level.
If the lifestyle changes alone do not lower cholesterol level enough, you have to take Homeopathic medicines; allopathic medicine will never helps you (patient have to take them his/her whole life).
Allopathic treatment for high cholesterol
Four types of allopathic drug classes are used to lower cholesterol levels.
- Statins: A variety of statin drugs are on the market including simvastatin, atorvastatin, pravastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, and rosuvastatin. These drugs primarily decrease LDL.
- Niacin: Niacin is the prescription form of niacin and decreases LDL and triglycerides as well as increases HDL.
- Bile acid resins: Cholestyramine is a bile acid resin that decreases LDL.
- Fibric acid derivatives: Fibric acid resins lower LDL and include gemfibrozil and fenofibrate.
Statins are the only allopathic class of cholesterol-lowering drugs that have been directly related to reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke.
Alirocumab and evolocumab are two new medications that are antibodies to a protein, PCSK9, a receptor for LDL. These drugs are indicated for treatment in patients who have had a heart attack or stroke or have familial hypercholesterolemia and are taking maximum therapy, but continue to have high LDL cholesterol levels in their blood.
The doctor should decide which cholesterol medications are right for the patient based on her/his current and past medical history, patient’s current health, and any other medications patient is taking. These medications often need to be adjusted and monitored for side effects.
While all four medication groups may have a role in controlling cholesterol levels in association with diet, exercise, and smoking cessation, only statins are shown to decrease the risk of a heart attack.
Statin therapy may benefit patients with a history of heart attack, those with elevated blood LDL cholesterol levels or type two diabetes, and those with a 10-year risk of heart disease greater than 7.5%.
Homeopathic treatment for Cholesterol
Unhealthy lifestyle weakens liver; unhealthy liver can not maintain its normal function to control cholesterol in our body. That’s why I (Dr. Qaisar Ahmed) recommend start cholesterol treatment from liver.
Allium Sativum:
Allium Sativum is the best natural medicine for cholesterol control as this helps in eliminating the excess cholesterol from the body by raising the vitality of the patient.
The high blood pressure due to cholesterol deposits/clots in the arteries can also be wonderfully disoled and removed with the help of Allium Sativum.
Calcarea Carbonica:
Calcarea Carbonica reduces high cholesterol in fate or obese/overweight patients. Excessive sensitive to cold air and continuous perspiration on scalp are symptoms for advising Calcarea Carbonica.
This medicine is also of great help for patients who complain of tightness or oppression in chest or a feeling of suffocation that is intensified on going upstairs. Excessive palpitations (a-rethmiya, tachycardia).
Baryta Muriaticum:
Baryta Muriaticum is best for elderly people who suffer from high cholesterol levels, atherosclerosis.
The systolic pressure is always on the higher. Heaviness and vertigo consequent to the reduced blood supply to brain.
Aurum Metallicum:
Aurum Metallicum is of great help in those cases of high cholesterol where the arteries have become hardened due to cholesterol deposits (atherosclerosis) and with high blood pressure, rapid and irregular pulse with violent palpitations (techicordiya). Patient may complain of pain behind the sternum, especially at night.
Strophanthus Hispidus:
Strophanthus Hispidus is an excellent natural medicine for reducing the extreme effects of high cholesterol levels in blood. It is very efficient and safe remedy which can be used in old age to tone up the weak heart muscles, excessive palpitations, cardiac pain and breathlessness.
It also has the capacity to drain off the dropsical affections that have occurred from extreme effects on heart due to high cholesterol deposits. The heart affections that have resulted as a combined effect of tobacco smoking and high cholesterol levels also come under this medicine.
Fel Tauri:
Traer sluggish liver and eliminates fat, Peevish, irritable mood, Violent headache, abnormal digestion, undigested stool,pasty stool, tightness of breath.
Rosmarinus Officinalis:
This homeopathic remedy used when the level of triglycerides is high. astringent, tonic, carminative, antispasmodic, and diaphoretic, Vertigo. Headache. Heaviness and dullness of head. Weight and tension round head, Oppression of breathing. Spasms in chest, Coldness so that she could not leave the bed. Chill over whole, legs icy cold, no thirst and no subsequent heat (atherosclerosis).
Fucus vesiculosus :
obesity, Intolerable headache; forehead felt as if compressed by an iron ring, act of digestion is no longer accompanied by flushings of the face, fulness, weight in epigastric region and fits of heat towards head, Sense of suffocation.
My (Dr. Qaisar Ahmed) advice is to make combination of above or some of them to maximize benefits and minimize treatment duration.
P. S : This article is only for doctors having good knowledge about Homeopathy and allopathy, for learning purpose(s).
For proper consultation and treatment, please visit our clinic.
Location, address and contact numbers are given below.
NoN of above mentioned medicine(s) is/are the full/complete treatment, but just hints for treatment; every patient has his/her own constitutional medicine.
To order medicine by courier, please send your details at WhatsApp– +923119884588
Dr. Sayyad Qaisar Ahmed (MD {Ukraine}, DHMS), Abdominal Surgeries, Oncological surgeries, Gastroenterologist, Specialist Homeopathic Medicines.
Senior research officer at Dnepropetrovsk state medical academy Ukraine.
Location: Al-Haytham clinic, Umer Farooq Chowk Risalpur Sadder (0923631023, 03119884588), K.P.K, Pakistan.
Find more about Dr Sayed Qaisar Ahmed at :
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