High cholesterol is a serious problem that is associated with many cardiovascular diseases. Why does the content of this substance in the blood exceed the norm and what can this lead to?

Sources of cholesterol

Cholesterol is one of the main lipids that are necessary for the construction of cell membranes, the production of a number of hormones and bile acids involved in the digestion of fats. It is very important that the body does not experience its deficiency. Most of the cholesterol circulating in the blood is synthesized in the body, mainly in the liver. In many ways, the level of production depends on the cholesterol content in the food consumed. The more it comes from food, the less it is produced in the body, and vice versa. In some hereditary metabolic disorders, cholesterol is synthesized in larger quantities than the body needs .

Every day with food we consume from 100 to 300 mg of cholesterol. The most cholesterol-rich red meats, dairy and other animal products containing saturated fats. In order for blood cholesterol not to exceed the norm, the proportion of saturated fat should be up to 7% of total calories consumed 2 .

Many harmful trans fats contain semi-finished products, confectionery, flour products. Their high proportion in the diet is associated with an increase in the proportion of total cholesterol and LDL-C and a decrease in the level of HDL-C - “good cholesterol”. The norm of consumption of trans fats is up to 1% of the total amount of fat consumed with foods 3 .

Cholesterol entering the body, reaching the intestines, mixes with the synthesized in the body and begins to work 4 . However, sometimes its content in the blood becomes too high. Why is this happening?

Causes of high cholesterol

Unbalanced Diet

It has been proven that high cholesterol content in foods is associated with an increase in its content in the blood. For every 100 mg of a substance that is "in excess of the norm", its concentration in the blood increases by an average of 10 mg / dl. Conversely, a 200 mg/day reduction in dietary cholesterol reduces total blood cholesterol by approximately 10 mg/dl 5 .

Bad habits

Alcohol significantly affects the content of lipids in the blood. Alcohol abuse is one of the causes of hypercholesterolemia. Most often, the concentration of the triglyceride fraction 6 increases.

Scientists have also proven a close relationship between high cholesterol and smoking. Research results show that smokers, compared with non-smokers, have a much higher content of “bad” cholesterol fractions 6 .

The relationship between the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the level of "bad" cholesterol has been proven: the more a person smokes, the higher his LDL-C 7 .

Diseases

Elevated cholesterol can be one of the consequences of a pathological process in the body. Hypercholesterolemia results from a number of diseases 6 :

hypothyroidism - a disease of the thyroid gland, in which the level of thyroid hormones decreases 8;

polycystic ovary syndrome;

nephrotic syndrome, chronic kidney disease;

gout;

diabetes;

obesity;

systemic lupus erythematosus;

anorexia nervosa.

It has been proven that cholesterol can increase while taking a number of medications 6 .

Hereditary disorders of lipid metabolism

Sometimes an increase in cholesterol is due to hereditary mutations. In such cases, the diagnosis of primary dyslipidemia is made. One of the most common hereditary causes of high cholesterol is mutations in the LDLR gene. Based on the information contained in this gene, a protein is synthesized that plays an important role in the regulation of cholesterol levels. Less commonly, hypercholesterolemia is due to mutations in other genes 6 .