Stress And High CholesterolCould This Be Affecting Your Heart Health?Is stress and high cholesterol affecting my health? Does stress management help my cholesterol level? What does stress and high cholesterol have to do with heart disease? As many of us know high cholesterol is one of the risk factors of heart disease. Stress itself does not cause high cholesterol. Studies are being conducted under the theory that chronic stress on the mind and on the body produces more energy, this is part of the fight or flight response. That excess energy turns to glucose and fatty acids in your body, which cause the liver to increase the production of bad cholesterol. It has not been proven as of yet. As we mentioned studies are being conducted. Stress BehaviorWhat has been proven is when we are under a stressful situation we tend to crave foods that are bad for our cholesterol level. This is a coping mechanism we develop, this behavior links stress to high cholesterol.Stress also leaves us feeling drained, so we are less likely exercise. Which helps keep our cholesterol levels under control. There are certain stress behaviors that we adopt that can be managed, so that we can reduce our chances of developing high cholesterol. 1. Food Intake. Reaching for the sweets and fried foods is bad. Even though we think it makes us feel better. Your daily total cholesterol intake should be below 200 mg/dL. Being overweight increases the level of your bad cholesterol. 2. Smoking is a negative way of coping with stress. It is bad for your overall health.
Tobacco 3. Alcohol. Drinking alcohol in moderation is ok because it can increase good cholesterol. But, it does not reduce the levels of your bad cholesterol. It also causes hardening of the arteries, and damages the heart and liver. Over consumption of alcohol leads to various other health complications. It is best not to exceed one beverage a day. Remember moderation is key. TriglyceridesHere is the meat of our discussion. Triglycerides are a certain type of fat that is found in your blood. You get triglycerides and cholesterol from saturated fat and animal products. What happens is your body uses triglycerides for energy. So hormones release the triglycerides from your fat cells to produce that energy for you to use.If your body does not burn the excess calories you get a high level of triglycerides. The connection we see here between stress and high cholesterol is when you are stressed most people tend to take in more calories. That leads to high cholesterol, and high levels of triglycerides. Let's consider the terms good, and bad cholesterol and their link in heart disease. Good cholesterol is high density lipoprotein which is HDL. Bad cholesterol is low density lipoprotein which is LDL. LDL sticks to the lining of your blood vessels which can cause atherosclerosis, that is hardening of the arteries. This is one of the problems that lead to heart attacks and heart disease. Ideal LDL levels should be less than 100 mg/dL. Stress Reduction ManagementStress Managment Techniques click here and learn a fun ways to combat stress!These techniques do not reduce your cholesterol levels themselves. The techniques have been proven to distract you from common stress behavior. Which these behaviors cause the development of serious health concerns like, high cholesterol. Behaviors we adopt that can cause high cholesterol.
These behaviors are over eating, eating high fat content foods, and adopting unbalanced dietary habits, as noted above. Another helpful tip is to learn to be disciplined in your eating habits. By regulating your lifestyle habits and eating healthy these positive behaviors can help you in the reduction of your stress level and high cholesterol. Stress and High Cholesterol. click here to return to heart disease and stress.
|
