Contents:
- Medical Video: Mayo Clinic Minute: Do cholesterol medications work for older people?
- Are cholesterol-lowering drugs needed?
- Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs doesn't mean you can eat free
- Conclusion
Medical Video: Mayo Clinic Minute: Do cholesterol medications work for older people?
Are you among those who have high blood cholesterol levels? If so, do you take cholesterol-lowering drugs? Cholesterol-lowering drugs are the key to lowering cholesterol for people who have problems with cholesterol. However, if you have high cholesterol levels, not always this drug can help you.
Are cholesterol-lowering drugs needed?
Cholesterol-lowering drugs work by blocking substances that the body needs to make cholesterol, reduce triglyceride levels in the body, and help absorb cholesterol in the body. One of the drugs to reduce blood cholesterol levels is statins.
Statins can reduce levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) in the body by 50% or more and can also increase levels of good cholesterol (HDL) in the body by 15%. In addition, statins can also reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other heart diseases.
The use of cholesterol-lowering drugs or statins does show a significant impact on your blood cholesterol levels compared to if you only control fat intake and exercise.
- By controlling fat intake, you can reduce LDL cholesterol by 10%
- By reducing your weight by 5-10%, you can reduce LDL cholesterol by 15% and triglycerides by 20%
- By doing moderate intensity exercise for 150 minutes per week, you can reduce triglyceride levels by 20-30%
A smaller amount than you consume statins that can reduce cholesterol by 50%. However, of course the use of statins causes side effects, such as dizziness, digestive system problems, muscle and joint pain, type 2 diabetes mellitus, to muscle and liver damage.
If you see the side effects that can be caused from the drug, you may not want to take cholesterol-lowering drugs. However, whether you need to consume cholesterol-lowering drugs or not, it all depends on how high cholesterol levels are in your body. It's best to consult and ask your doctor:
- Do you need to take cholesterol-lowering drugs?
- How well can the drug work on your body?
- What are the benefits and risks of the drug?
- Does the drug interact with other drugs or supplements that you also consume?
Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs doesn't mean you can eat free
Cholesterol drugs can indeed help you reduce high cholesterol levels in the body. However, doctors usually also advise you to avoid foods that contain high cholesterol, such as high-fat milk and fatty meat.
There is no denying that the real key to lowering cholesterol is to change your lifestyle. These lifestyle changes include exercising every day for at least 30 minutes, eating foods that are low in fat, cholesterol, and salt, controlling stress, and quitting smoking. Even though you have taken cholesterol-lowering drugs, you still have to adopt a healthy lifestyle to help reduce your cholesterol levels.
If you consider that when you take cholesterol-lowering drugs, you will be able to eat any food free, so you assume all this time wrong. Many people feel safe, they can eat anything, after they take cholesterol-lowering drugs. However, taking cholesterol-lowering drugs does not mean you can ignore low cholesterol diets. You still have to pay attention to your fat and carbohydrate intake because these two nutrients can increase cholesterol levels in the blood.
And, what you have to remember is not that you have to stop consuming all fatty foods. Not all fatty foods are bad for your body. Your body still needs fat from healthy fats, such as those found in nuts, fish, avocados, and olive oil.
You should avoid foods that contain saturated fats and trans fats, such as those found in fried foods. Also, don't forget to always eat fibrous foods, such as vegetables and fruit, to help lower your cholesterol levels.
You should also know that once you start taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, you will usually continue to take the drug. Even if you stop taking the drug and your cholesterol level has been in the normal range for a while, but then your cholesterol levels can rise again. This can be prevented only if you change your diet, exercise, stop smoking, and leave other bad habits.
Conclusion
If you know that your blood cholesterol levels are high you should start to reduce consumption of foods that contain bad fats, increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, do regular exercise, reduce stress, stop smoking, and others that lead to a healthy lifestyle.
If these efforts have not succeeded in lowering your cholesterol levels in the normal range, you need to consult a doctor and ask your doctor if you need to take cholesterol-lowering medications.
There are many cholesterol-lowering drugs, make sure you choose a drug that is proven to be safe, effective, and right for you. Don't forget to use the drug regularly and keep control of your fat intake. If you experience possible side effects from the drug, you should immediately consult your doctor.
