The Culprits of High Cholesterol

In our previous blogs, we have discussed cholesterol, its types, symptoms of high cholesterol, the impact of cholesterol on the cardiovascular system, and other factors. But what is the real cause of high cholesterol levels in the human blood?

High cholesterol in your body can be caused by various reasons, including underlying medical conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, as well as lifestyle choices like smoking, eating poorly, and not exercising, and some other factors, details of which you will find in the following text. So, let’s dig into the article and discuss the real culprits of high cholesterol in the blood. 

Risk factors of high cholesterol

Your risk of high blood cholesterol may grow due to your lifestyle. It could involve lousy eating habits, a lack of exercise or other physical activity, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, etc.

Although some foods, including eggs, liver, and kidneys, contain dietary cholesterol. This has no impact on blood cholesterol levels. It would help if you kept an eye on the amount of saturated fat in your diet. 

Sedentary lifestyle

Your LDL cholesterol level may rise if you lead a sedentary lifestyle. If you are obese, you probably have lower HDL cholesterol and triglycerides and greater LDL cholesterol levels. Sitting for long periods is unhealthy, whether you’re doing it at a desk or on a couch. It has been connected to heart attacks, stroke, high cholesterol, and obesity. 

An enzyme that transforms LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) into beneficial HDL cholesterol decreases by 95% when sitting for an extended period. Take frequent breaks to safeguard your heart. If possible, take a 5-minute stroll every hour while standing up at least once every 30 minutes.

Alcohol

Regularly consuming a lot of alcohol might raise your triglyceride and cholesterol levels. Your liver processes alcohol in addition to digesting cholesterol. Thus, drinking too much can have an impact on your cholesterol. 

Compared to men who don’t drink much, men who do tend to have higher cholesterol levels. Even for individuals who only occasionally drink, it is true. If you drink alcohol, limit your intake to no more than one for women and two for men each day.

Smoking

Smoking has effects on more than just your lungs. It can make you more susceptible to cardiovascular diseases, stroke, high blood cholesterol, and other heart-related conditions. A substance in tobacco known as acrolein prevents “good cholesterol” (HDL) from transferring cholesterol to the liver, which results in cholesterol plaques (atherosclerosis). This suggests that smoking promotes LDL buildup and reduces HDL cholesterol’s capacity to repair LDL damage (1).

Poor diet

Diet plays a very important role in our overall health. Overeating saturated or trans fats are unhealthy and can lead to high cholesterol levels. Saturated fats are usually present in fatty cuts of meat and full-fat dairy products. Trans fats are found in desserts or packaged snacks.

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), high cholesterol meals increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. However, recent studies have provided more context for discussing heart disease and dietary cholesterol. Heart disease is caused by various variables, such as heredity, chronic inflammation, hypertension, and smoking tobacco. 

Obesity

A person is said to have obesity if he or she has a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. Unhealthy lifestyles cause many health problems. Obesity is one of them. It raises your risk of high blood cholesterol. Lack of physical exercise and poor eating habits may lead to obesity.

Age

Unhealthy cholesterol doesn’t need to be present only in older people. High levels of cholesterol can affect people of all ages. Even young children can have high cholesterol. However, high cholesterol is mainly diagnosed in people between 40 and 59. With the increase in age, the body’s metabolism changes. The liver becomes unable to remove LDL cholesterol. These changes may lead to an increased risk of developing high blood cholesterol.

Risk factors as causes or correlations of high cholesterol

All the risk factors explained above can contribute to high cholesterol. They are correlated with high cholesterol, but they cannot be considered the causes of high cholesterol. If you are otherwise healthy, you can avoid your risk of high cholesterol by adopting a healthy lifestyle, quitting smoking or alcohol, and exercising regularly.

Causes of high cholesterol

The following can be considered as the causes of high cholesterol. It does not mean that you will have high cholesterol if you have any of the following problems. Even if there is a family history of high cholesterol, you can still protect yourself from unhealthy cholesterol levels with a heart-healthy lifestyle. If you adopt healthy habits for the heart in childhood and continue throughout your life, you can prevent harmful blood cholesterol and heart diseases.

Underlying health issues

High cholesterol is frequently present in people with diabetes and high blood pressure (hypertension). The following medical disorders can also result in elevated cholesterol levels.

• Kidney disease
• Liver dysfunction
• Pregnancy
• Menopause
• Hypothyroidism

Medications

Some health problems may not themselves raise cholesterol levels. Still, the medicines you take for those problems can increase your level of LDL cholesterol or lower your level of HDL cholesterol.

• Arrhythmia medicines such as amiodarone
• Beta-blockers for treating angina, chest pain, or high blood pressure
• Chemotherapy medicines for cancer
• Diuretics such as thiazide used to treat high blood pressure
• Immunosuppressive medicines that are used to treat inflammatory diseases or to prevent rejection after organ transplant
• Retinoids used to treat acne
• Steroids such as prednisone used for inflammatory diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis.

Any medicine you take should be discussed with your doctor. You could require a different dosage or alternative medicine.

Stress 

Everyone occasionally experiences stress from their job, finances, families, or having to deal with a significant life transition like moving (2). Are stress and high cholesterol related? In a single word, yes. 

Long-term stress can increase your risk of high cholesterol and perhaps heart disease. You’re you are stressed, your body may raise levels of certain hormones such as corticosteroids. These hormones can cause your body to make more cholesterol. However, you may take action to manage your stress and safeguard your heart.

Mild stress causes your body to release cortisol and adrenaline hormones, which energize your heart, sharpen your mind, and aid problem-solving. Stress may benefit you if it encourages you to concentrate and work harder to conquer an issue in your life.

The problem arises with chronic stress. Your stress hormones remain high if it lasts for a long time and is continuous, putting dangerous pressure on your heart and other organs. 

Chronic or prolonged stress can raise blood cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease due to elevated cortisol levels. Excess LDL or “bad” cholesterol can accumulate over time in your arteries, hardening and clogging them. Additionally, stress causes inflammation, which lowers HDL, or “good,” cholesterol, further causing a decrease in clearance of additional LDL. 

The common ways people deal with stress also play a role in the relationship between stress and cholesterol. In difficult times, you may eat poorly and put on weight, smoke, consume excessive amounts of alcohol, or invest extra time on the sofa than working out. These all increase your risk of having high cholesterol (3).

Sex

Evidence suggests that between the ages of 20 and 39, men are at greater risk of developing high cholesterol than women. Female hormones such as estrogen and testosterone are protective against high blood cholesterol. Women’s risk goes up after menopause.

Family history

Family members often have similar cholesterol levels. It suggests that genetics has a role to play in it. Your genes can increase your risk of high cholesterol levels. Changes in genes or mutations can be passed from parents to children, which can cause a condition called familial hypercholesterolemia. It is the medical term for high cholesterol that runs in families. It is a rare disease, but if left untreated, it can worsen over time. High cholesterol is present from birth in people with familial hypercholesterolemia, which can cause the early onset of cardiac conditions such as atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases.

A child, sibling, or brother of someone with familial hypercholesterolemia has a 50% chance of developing the illness. If there is a history of high blood cholesterol in your family, it may be difficult for your body to eliminate LDL cholesterol by breaking it down in the liver.

How to detect high cholesterol in the blood

A blood test (lipoprotein panel) is recommended to detect high cholesterol. Before your cholesterol test, you might need to fast (without food or liquids) for nine to twelve hours. Because of this, testing is frequently conducted in the morning. Your healthcare professional will tell you in detail if there are any other particular instructions.

The cholesterol test measures cholesterol in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl). The cholesterol test includes the following numbers.

• Total cholesterol
• HDL levels
• VLDL levels and triglycerides
• LDL levels
• Non-HDL cholesterol
• The ratio between cholesterol and HDL

The term “advanced lipoprotein analysis” refers to a blood sample that goes beyond routine cholesterol testing. Instead of measuring cholesterol to determine the number of lipoproteins (also known as “lipid-carrying proteins”), it measures the lipoproteins that directly contribute to heart disease (4).

References

1. Katcher, H. I., Hill, A. M., Lanford, J. L. G., Yoo, J. S. & Kris-Etherton, P. M. Lifestyle approaches and dietary strategies to lower LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides and raise HDL-cholesterol. Endocrinol. Metab. Clin. North Am. 38, 45–78 (2009).
2. Weissglas-Volkov, D. & Pajukanta, P. Genetic causes of high and low serum HDL-cholesterol. J. Lipid Res. 51, 2032–2057 (2010).
3. Troxler, R. G. & Schwertner, H. A. Cholesterol, stress, lifestyle, and coronary heart disease. Aviat. Space. Environ. Med. (1985).
4. Artiss, J. D. & Zak, B. Measurement of cholesterol concentration. Handb. lipoprotein Test. 2, 189–205 (1997).