Cholesterol is a crystalline substance found naturally in the body that is technically classified as a steroid, but also classified as a lipid due to being soluble in fats rather than water.
The human body produces its own cholesterol. It is naturally found in the blood, brain, nerves, and liver of humans and other animals. Cholesterol is also found in bile, which is produced in the liver and stored in and released from the gallbladder.
Cholesterol enters into the bloodstream from the liver, which manufactures about 80% of total body cholesterol. The other 20% of cholesterol is derived from dietary sources, animal products to be exact or specific.
Lipo-Proteins Relationship to Cholesterol
The tissues of the body receive cholesterol by a means of protein molecules known as “lipo-proteins.” Cells take what they need from the lipo-proteins and any excess remains in the bloodstream until other lipo-proteins pick it up for transport back to the liver.
There are two classifications of lipo-proteins:
- LDL (low density lipo-proteins), considered the “bad cholesterol”
- HDL (high density lipo-proteins), considered the “good cholesterol.”
LDLs are heavily saturated with cholesterol, which transports cholesterol to all the cells of the body from the liver.
HDLs carry very little cholesterol, which circulates in the bloodstream and collects excess cholesterol from the blood and tissues and return it to the liver, which greatly helps the body.
Causes and Risk Factors
High cholesterol is caused by eating animal meat and by-products (such as dairy), which subsequently throws the body’s cholesterol levels out of balance. This can be exacerbated by genetics, as some people are genetically inclined to have high cholesterol. If genetics plays a factor in your family, you must be especially careful to keep your cholesterol level in check.
Excess cholesterol forms plaque (arterial plaque) that sticks to the walls of the arteries and leads to heart disease, the number one killer of Americans.
High cholesterol leads to various diseases such as arterial sclerosis, heart disease (and heart attack), impotence, high blood pressure, colon polyps, cancer, and gallstones to name a few. High cholesterol is epidemic amongst Americans.
Symptoms
There are no obvious symptoms associated with high cholesterol. It is found through routine blood tests.
Dietary Intervention
The first step in addressing high cholesterol is to modify your diet and totally eradicate all animal and animal by-products such as meat and dairy products from your diet. The vast majority of high cholesterol comes from eating meat and dairy products. This is a fact.
People with high cholesterol should eliminate and avoid consumption of all saturated fats and man-made sugars. Alcohol (including wine) should also be avoided as it raises the level of natural cholesterol in the body and many vegans today still like to consume alcohol, especially wine.
Olive oil can also be used to help lower elevated cholesterol levels and eliminate gallstones from the body.
Healing High Cholesterol Naturally
Exercise and movement of the body in general is great for circulation (of the blood and lymph fluid), which is even better when the diet is healthy (e.g., vegan, raw foods). Exercise which can help with high cholesterol include:
Herbs that help to reduce and eliminate excess or high cholesterol levels include:
- Devil’s Claw
- Guggal Gum
- Calamus
- Fenugreek Seed
- Hawthorn Berry
- Garlic
- Turmeric
- Bupleurem
- Thyme
- Cayenne
- Glucommanan
- Black Seed
- Artichoke
- Dandelion Root
- Speedwell
- Yarrow
- Fennel Seed
- Black Cohosh
- Lady’s Slipper
- Reishi
- Shitake (mushrooms)
Fiber herbs such as Psyllium Husk, Oat bran, Guar Gum, Pamita, and Apple Pectin are also great in reducing elevated cholesterol levels in addition to healing and preventing arterial sclerosis as fiber sweeps and cleans the artery walls.
Dherbs Solutions
Dherbs.com products that can help include:
- Cholesterol Formula
- Blood & Lymphatic
- Cardiovascular
- Electric Greens Combo
- Circulation Aid
- Intestinal Cleanser Mix
- Vitamin C
Thank you for reading!
This article is compliments of Dherbs.com
Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
