High cholesterol is a condition that 30% of all Americans contend with. Often, high cholesterol is a precursor, but it can also be a symptom of coronary heart disease. Depending on the severity of your cholesterol, your physician may prescribe to you a statin, a medication designed specifically to lower the cholesterol created in the liver by inhibiting strategic enzymes.
Although this does help lower your overall cholesterol numbers, it fails to address many of the root causes of cholesterol while negatively affecting other aspects of your health. In fact, you are still at risk for coronary heart disease when taking statins, despite an overall improvement in cholesterol statistics. Essentially, Statins provides a superficial fix to a life-threatening problem.
In terms of the negative side effects, statins have been shown to cause liver malfunction as well as damage to the various muscles of the body over time. In fact, recent studies have correlated statin use to the degeneration of neurons in the brain which can lead to a whole host of long-term issues.
Excess cholesterol builds up in the body through the combination of the food you intake and the natural production within the body. Genetics and other factors will often determine why some people create more than others, but lifestyle factors can be a huge factor in the outcome of your overall health.
Taking a holistic approach to your overall health will not only be a good preventative measure against issues with cholesterol and heart disease, but can actually reduce your current cholesterol levels. Whether it’s examining the physical activity you regularly get, the types of food you consume, environmental stressors, and/or the amount of sleep you get, improving your lifestyle can enact real and sustainable change on your body.
If you live in Nassau County, Dr. Druz of Integrative Cardiology Center of Long Island is available to evaluate your current cardiac condition as well as your lifestyle in order to provide you with holistic and functional solutions towards improving your long-term health. For more information, please contact us online or by phone today!