What Causes High Cholesterol

Cholesterol has two main sources, cholesterol that is naturally present in your body due to genetics, as well as the cholesterol you consume through your diet. Obviously you cannot change your genetics and reduce your cholesterol level that way; however, it is possible to change your diet to reduce cholesterol.

Now, the foods that causes an unhealthy elevation in cholesterol are high in carbohydrates and trans fats such as your grains (bread, pasta, rice, cereal) and butter as well as the foods with high amounts of trans fats. Hence, the best way to avoid high cholesterol is to avoid these foods.

The other source of cholesterol is genetics. Often times if a parent or grandparent of a child has problems with cholesterol, the child may also have problems with cholesterol due to the amount his or her body makes naturally. Now, there is no change in diet that can be made to solve this source of cholesterol, and thus medication has been created that eliminates high cholesterol from both of its causes.

The genetic source of cholesterol is not serious in most instances and thus, it cannot be potentially dangerous by itself. However, in combination with the effects that unhealthy foods have on your cholesterol level, the amount of cholesterol in your body may be able to elevate to unsafe amounts rapidly. There are hundreds of medications on the market that can be purchased over the counter that claim to reduce cholesterol level. You should consult your doctor to determine which medicine is right for you if your cholesterol level reaches unsafe amounts. You may be able to determine which medicine fits your needs by yourself, however a doctor will just insure that you are making the correct decision as taking the wrong medication can be very dangerous.