High cholesterol
Managing your cholesterol levels is key for maintaining heart health as you age. There are two main kinds of cholesterol: bad cholesterol (LDL) and good cholesterol (HDL).
Our good and bad cholesterol levels increase or deplete based on the kinds of food we eat and the activities we engage in. HDL, found in food sources like avocado, oily fish, eggs and nuts, can help carry away LDL, which is found in foods like take-away, cakes, processed meats and more.
High levels of LDL put strain on the heart, increasing our health risk and causing damage to our bodies. If you’re worried about cholesterol, our naturopaths can help.
Working out your blood cholesterol level is easy. One of our general practitioners (GPs) or naturopaths will order a pathology test to check your blood cholesterol levels.
The total cholesterol level is made up of “good” high-density lipoprotein (HDL) plus “bad” low-density cholesterol (LDL).
If your total blood cholesterol levels are over the acceptable range, many conventional doctors will prescribe drugs to lower your cholesterol levels if lifestyle interventions like exercise and diet do not work. For some people these drugs cause side effects such as fatigue, muscle pain and anxiety. Recent research suggests your DNA may factor into these side effects.
Like doctors, our naturopaths recommend lifestyle changes like different diets and increased exercise to manage your cholesterol levels. But we go one step further, using functional medicine tests like DNA mapping to investigate your genetic predisposition for clearing “bad” cholesterol.
Our tests can also identify a range of broader physiological processes contributing to your condition, such as detoxification and bone health.
This detailed insight into your genetic make-up helps our naturopaths prescribe a personalised diet and natural medicine regime that’s tailor-made for your body's particular quirks. We can focus on mitigating any physiological deficits in your metabolism that may be contributing to your high cholesterol levels, avoiding a one-size-fits-all cookie cutter approach.
With our treatment, we aim to improve your general overall health while lowering your cholesterol levels.
What’s next?
If you’d like to manage or reduce your cholesterol, we can help.
Find the support you need with our naturopaths. Connect with us below, and we'll be in touch shortly.