Cholesterol-lowering drugs: is it true

Are you including those who have high blood cholesterol levels? If so, are you taking 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, this drug is not always able to help you.

Are cholesterol-lowering drugs necessary?

Cholesterol-lowering drugs work by blocking substances that the body needs to make cholesterol, reducing triglyceride levels in the body, and helping to absorb cholesterol in the body. One of the drugs to lower blood cholesterol levels is statins.

Statins can reduce the level of bad cholesterol (LDL) in the body by 50% or more and can also increase the level of good cholesterol (HDL) in the body by as much as 15%. In addition, statins can also reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, 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 your fat intake and do exercise.

By controlling your fat intake, you can lower LDL cholesterol levels by 10%
By losing your weight by 5-10%, you can reduce LDL cholesterol by 15% and triglycerides by 20%.
By doing 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week, you can reduce your triglyceride levels by 20-30%.

The amount is smaller than you are taking statins which can lower cholesterol by up to 50%. However, of course the use of statins causes side effects, such as dizziness, problems with the digestive system, muscle and joint pain, type 2 diabetes mellitus, to muscle and liver damage.

If you see the side effects that can be caused by these drugs, you may not want to take cholesterol-lowering drugs. However, whether you need to take cholesterol-lowering drugs or not, it all depends on how high the cholesterol levels are in your body. We recommend that you 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 are also taking?

Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs does not mean you can eat freely

Cholesterol drugs can indeed help you reduce high cholesterol levels in the body. However, doctors usually recommend that you 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 changing your lifestyle. These lifestyle changes include doing exercise 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 are already taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, you still have to adopt a healthy lifestyle to help lower your cholesterol levels.

If you consider that when you take cholesterol-lowering drugs, you will be free to eat any food, that is your assumption so far 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 a low cholesterol diet. You still have to pay attention to your intake of fat and carbohydrates because these two nutrients can increase cholesterol levels in the blood.

Also, what you have to remember is that it doesn't mean you have to stop eating all fatty foods. Not all fatty foods are bad for your body. Your body still needs fats from healthy fats, such as those found in nuts, fish, avocado and olive oil.

What you should avoid are foods that contain saturated 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 them. Even if you stop taking the drug and your cholesterol levels are in the normal range for a while, then your cholesterol levels can rise again. This can be prevented only if you change your diet, do exercise, quit smoking, and give up other bad habits.

Conclusion

If you know that your blood cholesterol level is high, you should start to reduce the consumption of foods that contain bad fats, consume more fruits and vegetables, do regular exercise, reduce stress, stop smoking, and others that lead to a healthy lifestyle.

If these efforts have not been successful to lower your cholesterol levels to the normal range, you need to consult a doctor and ask your doctor if you need to take cholesterol-lowering drugs.

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 take these medications regularly and keep control of your fat intake. If you experience possible side effects of these drugs, you should check with your doctor immediately.