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As you might know by now, cholesterol is a waxy substance, mostly fat like that is made in the liver. Cholesterol serves many vital functions & forms part of every cell in the body. However, our bodies make more cholesterol than we really need occasionally & this excess of cholesterol starts circulating in the bloodstream. The blood vessels can be clogged & there is an increased risk for heart disease & stroke if the cholesterol levels get too high.

If you do indeed suffer from high cholesterol levels, your doctor will first advise you to bring the levels down with diet & exercise. For many people, simple diet & exercising can reduce the cholesterol levels in the first three months with about 30 to 55 percent. If even after these three months of healthy eating & regular exercise the cholesterol levels are still high, your doctor is more likely to attempt prescribing either medications or some natural supplements, or make some additional changes to help you lower your fat in your diet even more.

Cholesterol-lowering medications are really required if after 6 months with the new diet, & exercising, your blood cholesterol levels do not go down to a healthier level. In the recent years, many excellent medications have been developed, & they work by different means ? while some reduce the amount of cholesterol the liver makes, some reduce the amount of dietary cholesterol that is absorbed from food.

There are a few different types of medications that are generally prescribed to lower cholesterol:

Niacin ? Niacin is a type of Vitamin B that is found in many foods & multi-vitamin supplements. Available by prescription only in high doses, niacin help raise the HDL blood cholesterol (also known as the good cholesterol) & lower the LDL blood cholesterol (also known as the bad cholesterol). Tingling skin, flushing, itching & headache are the minor side effects that may appear.

Bile-acid sequestrants ? In order to limit the liver’s production of cholesterol, these medications work on the liver & may cause some ugly side effects. Common bile-acid sequestrants include cholestyramine (Questran) & colestipol (Colestid). Digestive problem are common side effects for these types of medicines, & include constipation, upset stomach & gas.

HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors also known as statins are the newest medications available to lower cholesterol.

Although statin drugs may be beneficial in severe cases of high cholesterol, we generally advise that people look in to more natural options at balancing out their cholesterol levels, formulas that concentrate on fighting the inner root of the problem rather than just fighting off symptoms.

Jean Helmet is a content editor who focuses on a wide array of niche health topics. Her latest website - Natural Cholesterol Supplement focuses on cholesterol as a whole, & in partcular, a natural product our editors personally use with excellent health results known as - Cholest-Natural

Be sure to check out our cholesterol product of choice, it is the natural supplement we use & recommend to friends & family, & have done for over 3 years.