Cholesterol and cardiac disease are closely linked. The good news is, more and more people are becoming more conscience of the connection between blood cholesterol level and risk of heart attack, stroke or other cardiac disease. We have to give credit to the government for the education our government provide the public about the danger of high cholesterol.

The higher the "bad Cholesterol", aka LDL cholesterol, the higher the risk of you having coronary heart disease. But when do you need medcations? Usually medication is not encouraged just because they have high cholesterol ( except that the level is way too high ), but if diet, exercise and healthy living fail to lower your cholesterol level, then it's time for you to make some medical dicisions.

Due to wide coverage of damaging side effects of cholesterol medications, many people shy away from medication, while other do not want to bear the heavy cost of prescription medication.

It's important to thoroughly understand what determine the level of bad and good cholesterol in your blood stream.

Our liver manufacturers and secretes into our bloodstream these LDL cholesterol, at the same time, our blood also removes the LDL from ourbloodstream. When we have a deficiency of LDL receptors, the our LDL levels will go up.

In this aspect, heredity and diet play an important role in each individuals LDL level, the HDL level and the total cholesterol level. For those with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), they have a lower number or even nonexistent LDL receptors on the surface of their liver cells, and they have a tendency to develop atherosclerosis as well as to have heart attacks during their early adulthood.

However, those with FH can raise the level of LDL in their blood by increasing the other way we get LDL in the blood, which is through dietary cholesterol.

In order to raise the LDL level in the blood stream, Diets that are high in saturated fats should be consumed. We can get saturated fats from meat and dairy products. Certain vegetable oils are made from cocoa, palm, or coconut oils and are also high in saturated fats.

To prevent against cardiac disease and stroke, lowering LDL cholesterol is the first step toward lowering these risk . This is why doctors and nutritionists focus on diet.

By lowering your LDL level, the medical community has expressed belief that there are many benefits associated with lower LDL level, this include...

1. The formation of new cholesterol plaques in the walls of the arteries that lead to the heart and brain can be stopped or at least reduced

2. Reducing the plaque that has already formed on the artery walls

3. Improve blood flow by widening the arteries

4. Prevent blood clot formation by preventing the rupture of cholesterol plaques.

5. Decrease the risk for heart attack and for stroke and benefit the carotid and cerebral arteries that lead to the brain by retarding the formation of atherosclerosis in these arteries.

Most people prefer to lower cholesterol level naturally, this is due to the risk of adverse drug reactions ( ADR ) associated with prescription drugs. If you're looking for natural treatment to lower your cholesterol level, you can learn more here.