Ayurvedic Treatment Of High Cholesterol Levels
Main focus of treating cholesterol is to prevent heart attacks. High cholesterol
is now a universally accepted warning sign for millions of people. So what is Cholesterol actually?
Cholesterol is a fatty substance (lipid) produced 80% naturally by the liver and the rest comes from diet, found in the blood and which is essential for body to rebuild its cells and to make certain hormones and good health but it can become a problem when this is too much in the blood.
Dietary cholesterol is the cholesterol found in foods obtained from animal products like meat, cheese, poultry, or fish. High cholesterol levels in your blood are mainly caused by eating foods high in saturated fats and trans-fats.
Types Of Cholesterol
Cholesterol is carried via bloodstream by attaching to certain proteins. The combination is called a lipoprotein.
THE TWO MAIN TYPES OF BLOOD CHOLESTEROL ARE:
- Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) – Known as ‘bad’ cholesterol as it promotes the build-up of fatty deposits in the walls of arteries and increases risk of getting coronary heart disease
- High-density lipoprotein (HDL) – Known as ‘good’ cholesterol as it is helps to protect against coronary heart disease.
In healthy people, it is normal to have more of the ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol when compared to ‘good’ HDL cholesterol, but one should target to always maintain LDL cholesterol down and HDL cholesterol up.
Causes Of Cholesterol Problems
MANY FACTORS DEFINE WHETHER LDL CHOLESTEROL IS HIGH OR LOW, INCLUDING:
- Age (cholesterol levels increase with age)
- Alcohol consumption
- Diet high in saturated fats and cholesterol
- Inactive lifestyle
- Gender (men have higher cholesterol)
- Heredity
- Level of physical activity
- Weight- overweight
- Inherited genetic condition (familial hypercholesterolemia) in some cases.
- Certain medical conditions, like diabetes, hypothyroidism, liver disease, and kidney disease can raise cholesterol levels.
Risk Factors For Cholesterol Problems
- Smoking and Excess alcohol.
- A sedentary Lifestyle
- An unhealthy diet – including eating too much salt.
Ayurvedic View For Cholesterol Problems
As per Ayurveda perspective cholesterol isn’t bad in and of itself, however, it may cause harmful effect when Ama is present in the body. Ama, are metabolic left-overs that get accumulated, like toxins in the fat tissue.
When excessive, accumulated Ama start spreading throughout the body, it gets mixed up with the dhatus (body tissues) and the malas (waste products). Once amavisha (dangerous type of ama) gets mixed in with the fat tissue, it damages the srotas, and this in turn leads to problems such as high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure.
Symptoms Of Cholesterol Problems
Mostly persons with high cholesterol don’t have any symptoms, but chronic (long-term; several decades’ worth) elevated levels can lead to serious problems affecting your heart and circulation etc. such as heart attack and stroke.
HE FIRST SIGN THAT OF HIGH CHOLESTEROL COULD BE:
- Angina
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Pain on walking
Other symptoms may be like bumps in the skin, hands or feet, which are caused by deposits of extra cholesterol and other types of fat.
