When is my cholesterol too high? You should consider the following factors

• Too high cholesterol: The influence of nutrition has long been overestimated
• when is mine cholesterol levels to high?
• “good” and “bad” Cholesterol: This is what the blood fat value really says

Many people have high cholesterol levels and only find out about it from their doctor. Even today it is often recommended that to change diet and eliminating greasy, unhealthy foods from your diet. Yes it will risk, which assumes that the cholesterol level is too high, is now viewed in a more differentiated manner. And that too influence of diet hasn’t been valued as highly as it used to be for a long time.

“Bad” cholesterol increases risk of arteriosclerosis

At a elevated cholesterol levels was advised for years to have one diet to do or to high cholesterol foods to renounce. This According to experts, the view has changed – they even talk about one cholesterol hysteria. Basically, however, cholesterol should not be demonized, says Johannes Wechsler, President of the Federal Association of German Nutritionists (BDEM). The body needs the fat-like substance – for cell structure, for the formation of vitamin D or for the production of the sex hormone estrogen. He makes most of this fat himself. But also through High-fat foods ingest cholesterol.

Cholesterol is not just cholesterol. There is “good” (HDL = high density lipoprotein) and “bad” (LDL = low density lipoprotein) cholesterol. The more of the good HDL in the body, the better. It protects the vessels as it carries excess cholesterol in the blood from the arterial walls back to the liver. From there it is excreted in the bile. The bad LDL, on the other hand, transports the fat particles to the cells, where they settle and can lead to dangerous vascular calcification.

This can also be a dangerous arteriosclerosis arise – which in turn increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke. In addition to cholesterol, the decisive factors for arteriosclerosis are smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure and genetic predispositions. Triglycerides are also important fats in the blood. These neutral fats are considered the main component of body and dietary fats. Here you can find out which foods you can eat to reduce your heart attack risk and clean your arteries.

When is my cholesterol too high? You should consider the following factors

For how much cholesterol should be in the blood, there is benchmarks: Total cholesterol should not exceed 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl). But it often does: According to the German Society for Nutrition (DGE), a third of the population between the ages of 18 and 79 has a value above 200 mg/dl.

The target values ​​for each type of cholesterol depend on whether someone has other diseases such as high blood pressure or diabetes or whether they have, for example smokes. “LDL cholesterol should not be above 150 mg/dl if there is a single additional risk factor for cardiovascular disease,” says Wechsler. Lay several risk factors before, then the LDL cholesterol should be below 100 mg/dl.

Even if a patient severe high blood pressure the LDL cholesterol level must not exceed 100 mg/dl. If someone has already had a heart attack or is diabetic, the value should even be below 70 mg/dl. If possible, the HDL should be above 45 mg/dl in women and above 40 mg/dl in men.

Expert recommendation: Once a year for a cholesterol check

Around serious illnesses To prevent this, everyone should have their cholesterol levels checked once a year. “This can be done with a quick test in many, but not all pharmacies,” says Ursula Sellerberg, pharmacist and deputy press spokeswoman at the Federal Chamber of Pharmacists. If the values ​​determined deviate from the guideline values, patients should see a doctor.

Book: Good Cholesterol – Bad Homocysteine ​​- look at Amazon now

Turns out that cholesterol levels – and above all the “bad” cholesterol – of a patient permanently increased then the person concerned must take his first step Change your diet and lifestyle.

“That means the patient eats fewer high-fat and animal products and instead more plant-based and low-fat foods such as vegetables, fruit and grain products,” explains Wechsler. If someone is overweight, the doctor puts them on a diet at the same time. Incidentally, ginger is a natural cholesterol-lowering agent – even small amounts a day can lower the cholesterol level.

Genetics is more important to cholesterol than diet

However, a change in diet is not necessarily helpful. Professor Ulrich Laufs, cardiologist Leipzig University Hospitalis from the Picture quoted as follows: “Many people have an inherited hypercholesterolemia before. Due to a genetic defect, they have difficulty absorbing cholesterol from the blood into the liver. Your cholesterol levels are rising.”

The influence of the right diet on cholesterol levels has long been overestimated. This is the opinion of many medical professionals today, including Professor Laufs: “Today we know that the Genetics a major cause is, not diet. But it still plays a role for the heart and blood vessels. A healthy lifestyle with sufficient exercise and the right diet protects against heart attacks and strokes.”

According to current estimates, one LDL reduction through diet alone is relatively unlikely – the probability of success is between five and 30 percent.

The right fats: what matters when cholesterol is too high

Will nevertheless on a Diet change setsays Antje Gahl from the German Society for Nutrition (DGE) important tips: “The priority should be the right choice of fats: vegetable oils, margarine, nuts and oily fish are to be preferred.” According to her, it has a positive effect to consume fewer saturated fatty acids, such as those found in animal foods, and more unsaturated fatty acids.

Recipe: Salmon fillet in mustard-dill sauce with tomato salad

“Coconut fat, butter, cream, lard, and bacon should be used sparingly,” Gahl said, when that cholesterol too high is.

She also advises looking out for hidden fats in processed foods — they can be found in delicatessen salads, pizzas or cakes. Low-fat variants should be preferred. In addition to changing your diet, you can also regular exercise, little alcohol and no nicotine help lower cholesterol levels. Eating eggs can raise cholesterol levels significantly – you can find out here how dangerous eggs really are for our health.

Statins: Drug used to lower cholesterol

Eight weeks after starting this type of therapy, the doctor again measures the blood lipid levels of the patient. Medication only comes into play when it turns out that the values ​​have not improved significantly. “But this does not immediately lower the cholesterol level,” explains Sellerberg. If taken regularly, it only goes down in the medium term.

How aerzteblatt.de reported, the intake of such statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) is not always viewed uncritically. In addition to the fact that the effect only occurs with regular intake and correctly adjusted dosage, there are also some side effects such as breathing difficulties, muscle pain, diabetes, heartburn or joint pain.

Is a increased cholesterol level hereditary, then a change in diet and lifestyle is of little use in lowering the values. “In such a case, drugs are prescribed from the outset,” says Wechsler.