Inflammation - real culprit for Cardiovascular disorders !

Hello friends , I thought of writing this blog to help you identify the real culprit for cardiovascular diseases . About 90% of my clients ask me for advice on reducing cholesterol to reduce the risk of heart disease & i have to point them to Inflammation,which actually messes up the whole thing .

Let me start with explaining what cholesterol and Inflammation are and how they how they impact our cardiovascular health .

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance in our body and it is needed to do some critical work like building of Cell walls & producing of some hormones. About 70% of Cholesterol is produced by the liver & the rest comes from the food we eat ( mainly animal based products). Although Cholesterol is needed by the body, too much of it can cause problems .

Inflammation refers to the immune system’s response to an injury or infection, it is our bodies defense system & helps in healing. For example, if you sprain your ankle or scrape your knee, your immune system unleashes an army of white blood cells to engulf and protect the area, causing visible redness and swelling. Infections such as the flu or pneumonia trigger a similar response to eliminate the harmful pathogens. Chronic inflammation often begins with a similar cellular response but morphs into a lingering state that per­sists far longer. Toxins such as cigarette smoke or an excess of fat cells (espe­cially around the belly area) can also trigger inflammation, so can the fatty plaque inside arteries, which causes inflammatory cells to cover and wall off the plaque from the flowing blood. But the plaque may rupture, mingle with blood, and form a clot. These clots are responsible for most heart attacks & strokes.

So, focusing only on Cholesterol reduction is not going to help , if one wants a good cardiovascular health we need to focus on the reduction of chronic inflammation as well .

As explained above, Inflammation is a natural defense system triggered by our immune system to protect our body, but due to conditions like wrong life style choices, prolonged stress etc. our Immune system gets weak ( & confused) & triggers inflammation which then starts the chain reaction explained earlier .

While there are many medicines available over the counter to help you reduce the inflammation, but the best way is to consult a health professional or a health coach to help you identify the causes that trigger it . This is more important as many times we even don't know how our wrong choices are triggering such behaviors in our body. A strong immune system & low inflammation guarantees a good health in same way as a strong security system (or watchman) guarantees safety to our property .

Hope this blog was helpful in clarifying the myths & helped you understand role of cholesterol & inflammation in heart related diseases . I welcome your thoughts & feedback on the subject .

Which you a healthy and happy life .

Coach Sunil