High Cholesterol Foods And Their Health Risks

High cholesterol foods are like the siren call of the nutrition community. Heed it and doom awaits in the form of higher risks for certain potentially fatal diseases. Resist it and a healthier and longer life awaits you. Indeed, your final choice between these two paths will determine your quality of life and quantity of years spent in this lifetime on Earth. We assume that you will want to live a long, healthy and happy life as do most people on the planet.

But first, we cannot overemphasize that cholesterol per se is not harmful to the body when it is within normal levels. The body itself produces cholesterol mainly in the liver and secondarily in the stomach lining such that only 20% of its supply comes from the foods consumed on a daily basis. Cholesterol performs many critical functions in the maintenance of health including synthesis of lipids and bile acids.

But when high cholesterol foods are a regular presence in your diet, you can expect the good things that cholesterol does for the body to quickly turn into bad consequences. Yes, these food items are often the most delicious treats known to man including rib-eye steaks, chips and cakes - your imagination is now probably running in full blast and looking forward to your next meal - but these are like an early death served on a silver platter. Good presentation hiding the bad aftereffects, so to speak.
What exactly are the negative consequences of uncontrolled consumption of foods high in cholesterol? Read on and, hopefully, be encouraged to take the proper actions, namely, to assess your diet and then eliminate the high cholesterol foods present in it.

Weight Gain Leading to Obesity

In a way, weight gain may be the least of your problems with eating foods high in cholesterol. Gaining weight alters your physical appearance in an undesirable way - larger waistline with love handles hanging from it, chubby face with jowls and flabby arms with cellulite. In a society where leaner and meaner is the ideal, your weight gain from uncontrolled food consumption of high cholesterol, high sodium and high fat foods is unwelcome indeed.

But it is not just physical appearances that matter here and it is not even the most important part of the story either. Progressive weight gain leads to obesity that, in turn, increases the risks and complications for many types of diseases. Diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, depression, osteoarthritis, cancer and, stroke as well as a host of heart, skin and gynecological problems result from being obese to morbidly obese.

It comes as no surprise then that the first advice of health experts to achieve a healthier mind and a leaner body is to adopt a well-balanced diet. High cholesterol foods simply do not have a place in such a diet. Losing weight then becomes a matter of choosing a better life over an early death.

Atherosclerosis

Let's get to the meat of the matter, so to speak. With every single bite of food high in cholesterol and fat entering your system, you are increasing your chances for atherosclerosis. The medical name may be a tongue-twister but its cause and effects are as plain as day.

Atherosclerosis is the buildup of fats, cholesterol and other harmful deposits on the walls of the artery - called plaques - that leads to many health complications. Arteries are the blood vessels that carry essential nutrients and oxygen from the heart to the rest of the body such that atherosclerosis can affect the heart and other areas. Most plaques result from the regular consumption of high cholesterol foods, by the way.

When plaques severely restrict the blood flow in the arteries, you can suffer from chest pains, heart attack and stroke. The last two medical conditions take millions of lives annually while those who do survive find their lives irrevocably altered, often not in a positive way.

The worst part is that atherosclerosis does not have any symptoms. It is a slow and progressive disease that can be caused by a variety of controllable factors including smoking, high blood pressure and a high-cholesterol diet.
The good news is that atherosclerosis is completely preventable and treatable. You must start with healthy lifestyle habits of which the most important is the avoidance of high cholesterol foods including organ meats, high-fat dairy products and hydrogenated oils. Instead, we recommend eating plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains as well as healthy oils like olive and safflower oils for cooking and dressing foods.

When you adopt a healthy diet, you will also be losing weight, managing high blood pressure and controlling diabetes. Think of a chain of good events happening and you will understand why a healthy body starts with a healthy diet.

Heart Attack and Stroke

As previously mentioned, the regular consumption of high cholesterol foods can lead to a heart attack. Millions of people needlessly suffer from it but you don't have to simply because you can take the right steps to significantly lessen your risks.
What is a heart attack? It usually happens when the plaques in the arterial walls of the heart lead to a blood clot, which causes interrupted blood flow to the major organ. This chain of events partially damages and even completely destroys the heart muscle so much so that failure to administer immediate medical treatment will lead to death. All of these can be avoided if only the individual consciously avoided eating high cholesterol foods.

A stroke, on the other hand, occurs when the blood supply to the brain is either completely interrupted or significantly lessened. The affected brain tissues are then deprived of nutrients and food, which will the lead to the cells beginning to die in just a few minutes.

The good news is that overall healthy lifestyle changes can lessen your risks for a heart attack and a stroke even when you have already experienced one. Again, the avoidance of foods high in cholesterol is the first step coupled with good stress management, moderate exercise and the cessation of vices particularly alcohol, cigarettes and illegal drugs.

Don't take a bite from the apple of high cholesterol foods. You will discover that your body will be healthier and your life will be longer. Now, herein may well be the tree of life and the fountain of youth that have long escaped humanity.