Control cholesterol in the Ayurvedic way

In the last 2 decades, there has been an increasing importance for monitoring the cholesterol level and the treatments to reduce the high cholesterol. All for a lot of purpose, but mainly to lessen the risk of heart diseases.

The American Heart Association finds that around 98.6 million Americans who are aged 20 & above have cholesterol above the optimal level and hypercholesterolaemia is estimated to cause 56% of ischemia heart diseases (a disease characterized by reduced blood supply to the heart) and about 4.4 million deaths per year. A research says that about 72% Indians have low levels of the good cholesterol.

This article aims to show how Ayurveda is helpful in managing the hypercholesterolaemia, which is a leading contributor of coronary heart disease.

Cholesterol:
Cholesterol is a greasy, fat-like substance found in the cells of the body. It is used to form hormones, cell membranes and other bodily functions, thus plays an important role in maintaining a healthy body. However, high cholesterol in the blood may lead to increase heart diseases.

Cholesterol can’t dissolve in the blood. They have to be transferred to and from the cells by some carriers known as lipoproteins. The main cholesterol carrier in the blood is low-density lipoprotein (LDL, known as bad cholesterol) and about one-third of blood cholesterol is carried by high-density lipoprotein (HDL, known as good cholesterol).

Risks of high LDL: Too much of LDL cholesterol in the blood can slowly build up in the walls of the arteries. When joining with other substances, this LDL can form a thick, hard deposit which blocks the arteries. And this is really not good for health, since artery is the one that conveys blood from the heart to other parts of the body.

Importance of high HDL:  High HDL levels decreases the risk of heart diseases. HDL reduces LDL cholesterol by transporting it back to the liver, where it can be reprocessed. Medical experts say that HDL removes the harmful bad cholesterol.

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