Say bye to high cholesterol
High cholesterol is one of those phrases that make people roll their eyes and stop listening.
We don’t want to hear how we need to cut back on pizza and start including legumes into our daily regime.
What should scare us is that around 50% of all heart attacks are associated with high cholesterol and over 5.5 million South Africans are at risk of a disease due to high cholesterol levels.
The good news is that a little knowledge (and exercise) goes a long way to helping us reduce our cholesterol levels and start leading healthier, longer lives.
Good cholesterol, bad cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a substance manufactured by the liver and found in the fats (lipids) in your blood. Like most substances your body produces, cholesterol is not all bad. Your body needs it to continue building healthy cells. The problem comes when you have too much of it. High cholesterol may cause you to develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels, which will make it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries. This means your heart may not get as much oxygen-rich blood as it needs, which increases the risk of a heart attack, while decreased blood flow to your brain can cause a stroke.