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High cholesterol levels are known to cause a lot of trouble by paving ways for various other lifestyle diseases like cardiovascular diseases , angina, stroke, atherosclerosis and has also been linked to hypertension and diabetes. While you might be aware of diet tips and other things linked to cholesterol, here are 8 surprising things you didn't know about cholesterol.
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Bad cholesterol may give you cancer: A study revealed that bad cholesterol helps cancer spread through the body as cholesterol regulates the mechanism by which cells move through the body. Cells have adhesive molecules on their surface called integrins which help them in aggregating. LDL cholesterol controls the trafficking of tiny vessels which also contain integrins help cancer cells to move throughout the body. Integrin also help cancer cells that have broken off from the main tumor to root somewhere else in the body.
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Good cholesterol can turn into bad cholesterol: A study conducted says that good cholesterol in the body becomes dysfunctional and loses it properties protecting the heart. This may lead to clogging and blocking of the arteries and cause disorders like atherosclerosis.
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High cholesterol levels impairs pregnancy: A study revealed that couples in which both the partners had high cholesterol levels found it difficult or took too long to reach pregnancy. Statistics say that the couples in which the woman had a high cholesterol level and the man did not also took longer to achieve pregnancy when compared to couples in which both partners had cholesterol levels in the acceptable range.
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Cholesterol can cause recurrence of prostate cancer: Higher levels of triglycerides and blood cholesterol in men who underwent surgery for prostate cancer, increase the risk of cancer recurrence. The study found that men who have serum triglyceride levels of 150 mg/dl (milligrams per decilitre) or higher had a 35 percent increased risk of prostate cancer recurrence, when compared with patients who had normal levels of triglyceride.
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Watermelons are excellent to control cholesterol levels: Watermelon helps prevent heart disease as it halts the build-up of harmful cholesterol and thereby also controls body weight. The study revealed that eating watermelon prevents the buildup of fats inside arteries
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Lean meat reduces cholesterol: Meat has always been associated with chronic conditions like heart disease and hypertension. But a study conducted revealed that eating lean meat which has been trimmed to remove the visible fat does not increase the bad or LDL cholesterol. The study also said that eating meat should be part of a healthy diet as it is low in saturated fat and in fact reduces LDL cholesterol.
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Strawberries lower bad cholesterol levels: Including strawberries in your diet daily lowers your blood cholesterol levels and boosts cardiovascular health. Strawberries are rich in anti oxidants and the study says that this property of strawberries also helps improving other parameters like general plasma lipid profile, antioxidant biomarkers (such as vitamin C or oxygen radical absorbance capacity), antihemolytic defences and platelet function.
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Mediterranean diet helps lower cholesterol levels: A study reveals that Mediterranean diet might not help lose weight but help in reducing the bad cholesterol levels. The participants were subjected to 20-week weight-loss regime followed by five weeks of Mediterranean eating. Regardless of whether patients lost weight, following the Mediterranean-style diet resulted in a 9 percent decrease in levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL) known as ‘bad’ cholesterol.
