Eating a lot of foods containing bad fats, being sedentary, and lacking sleep are common habits that contribute to blood lipid disorders.
Dyslipidemia is a condition of increased bad cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides, and decreased good cholesterol (HDL-C) in the blood. This is the cause of many cardiovascular diseases such as carotid artery disease, cerebral artery disease, coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease…
MSc. Do Van Kha, Cardiovascular Unit, Tam Anh General Clinic, District 7, said that the risk factor for dyslipidemia does not only come from age or family history. Cholesterol levels are also affected by daily habits.
Eat foods rich in saturated fats and trans fats
Regularly consuming fatty red meat, bacon, sausages, sausages, full-fat dairy products… will load the body with large amounts of saturated fat and trans fat. These bad fats reduce the liver’s ability to remove LDL-C from the blood, causing LDL-C to increase and HDL-C to decrease. Regularly eating white bread, sweets, ice cream, tea… (which belong to the group of refined carbohydrates and contain a lot of sugar) can also skyrocket triglyceride levels in the blood.
Each person should increase foods rich in unsaturated fats such as fish, seafood, nuts (flaxseeds, chia seeds), vegetable oils (corn oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, olive oil), low-fat or fat-free dairy products, whole grains… to protect heart health.
Sedentary lifestyle
Dr. Kha explains that a sedentary lifestyle weakens the body’s natural defense mechanism against cardiovascular disease. Regular exercise helps increase HDL-C, removing excess LDL-C and triglycerides from the blood.
Each person should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week including brisk walking, cycling, aerobics, swimming… Even small changes such as taking the stairs and doing housework can reduce sitting time, helping to improve cardiovascular health.
Dr. Kha advises patients on ways to maintain safe blood fat levels. Image: Tam Anh General Hospital
Frequently skip breakfast
People who regularly skip breakfast have higher total blood fat levels than those who maintain the habit of eating breakfast every day. When you skip breakfast, your body triggers metabolic changes that disrupt your internal biological clock, thereby changing the way your liver processes fat. If you miss this important meal, you’re more likely to be hungry later in the day and tend to choose less healthy snacks.
Scientific breakfast includes oatmeal porridge, whole grains, unsweetened yogurt, whole fresh fruit… helps protect the heart. A nutrient-rich meal immediately after waking up helps stabilize metabolism and keep blood sugar levels balanced.
Smoking and consuming a lot of alcohol
Chemicals in cigarette smoke destroy blood vessels, allowing bad cholesterol to easily accumulate inside the arteries, creating atherosclerosis and significantly reducing good cholesterol. Meanwhile, drinking alcohol stimulates the liver to increase triglyceride synthesis and easily causes weight gain.
Everyone should completely quit smoking. As for alcohol, people with high blood fat should minimize it or abstain completely; Normal people do not drink more than 1 unit/day (for women) and 2 units/day (for men). Each unit of alcohol is equivalent to 330 ml of beer, 100 ml of wine or 30 ml of spirits.
Prolonged stress and lack of sleep
Regular stress causes the body to secrete more cortisol and reduce insulin sensitivity, disturbing lipid metabolism and making blood fat difficult to control. Stress also indirectly causes cholesterol disorders by promoting bad habits such as unhealthy eating, smoking or alcohol abuse.
Each person can control stress by meditating, practicing yoga, deep breathing or listening to music. Maintaining 7-8 hours of sleep each night, relaxing your mind, and not using electronic devices at least 2 hours before bed can help ensure sleep quality.
According to Dr. Kha, dyslipidemia is often accompanied by metabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, increased uric acid… which increases the risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events many times over. Therefore, regular health check-ups and blood fat tests are essential. The basic blood lipid test includes 4 parameters such as total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C and triglycerides. In addition, the lipoprotein (a) test is also performed to screen for blood fats that are related to genetic factors and are important risk factors for atherosclerosis.
Doctors can coordinate to develop a multi-target treatment regimen, both controlling blood fat and blood sugar, protecting the heart and kidneys, combined with individualized nutritional advice for each patient.