Low cholesterol levels are usually harmless but there are cases where it can lead to fatal diseases. The scientific researches are still going on and there isn’t any confirmed information regarding the risks related to low cholesterol.
There are cases where your health issues become the reason for your low cholesterol. For instance, depressed people tend to have low cholesterol. But there isn’t any scientific proof that toning down of cholesterol with statin therapy causes depression.
Unlike high cholesterol, in low cholesterol, certain symptoms indicate that the cholesterol level is dropping. Hopelessness, Nervousness, agitation are some of the common symptoms.
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Causes Of Low Cholesterol
Some of the viable causes of low cholesterol are
Statins
Statins are medications that you use to lower your cholesterol level. They block the substance which is required by your body to make cholesterol.
Atorvastatin, Lovastatin, and Simvastatin are some of the common medications available at the drugstore.
These lowers your cholesterol level and protects you from fatal diseases including cardiac arrest. But these medications also come with side effects.
Commonly you may have headaches, nausea, and muscle pains as side effects. But there are cases where your effort to lower your cholesterol down by statins becomes harmful.
Scientifically, statins can show the following harmful effects.
- It can increase your blood sugar level resulting in type 2 diabetes.
- It can damage your muscle cells.
- It can damage your liver
Hyperthyroidism
Your thyroid hormones make the cholesterol your body needs and gets rid of the cholesterol your body doesn’t need.
In cases like hyperthyroidism, your body doesn’t remove the low cholesterol and it starts building up in your blood.
Hyperthyroidism lowers your cholesterol level to an abnormal level. Weight loss, increased heartbeats, over sensitivity to heat, nervousness, increased appetite, troubled sleeping are some of the common symptoms of hyperthyroidism.
Hyperthyroidism not only lowers your cholesterol levels but it also causes fatigue, cold intolerance, and weight gain.
Radioactive iodine, anti-thyroid medications, surgery, and beta-blockers are some of the ways your doctors can advise you through which you can deal with hyperthyroidism.
Insufficient Adrenal
Incase of adrenal insufficiency, your adrenal glands do not produce a sufficient amount of steroid hormones. This can lower your cholesterol level and can cause you harm.
Low blood pressure, hyperpigmentation, and excess glucocorticoids are some of the common signs of adrenal insufficiency. Medications are provided to treat adrenal insufficiency.
Liver Disease
Your liver plays an important role in balancing your cholesterol and maintaining good health. It produces cholesterol and clears it.
Hence any kind of liver disease can affect the process of producing cholesterol and clearing it.
You can check your liver’s condition by liver enzyme’s test, liver protein test, single lipoprotein panel, and bilirubin test. Some of the conditions of your liver that can lower your cholesterol level are
- Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Almost one-quarter of the entire population is affected by NAFLD. People who are overweight and people having diabetes tend to have NAFLD. The severity of it can cause NASH, a disease that can lead to liver failure.
- Cirrhosis: This disease prevents your liver’s basic metabolic function. This disease is a reaction to the long-term injury of an organ. Hepatitis C and long-term alcohol abuse are a common reason behind cirrhosis.
Malabsorption
In this condition, your small intestine fails to absorb nutrients from your meal. Damage to the digestive tract, diseases affecting the digestive tract, and some drugs can lead to malabsorption.
This causes low cholesterol because your body doesn’t get the nutrients that balance your cholesterol level.
Fat malabsorption can cause steatorrhea. Steatorrhea is a condition in which your body isn’t able to absorb fats from the food.
Malnutrition
Malnutrition is a condition in which your body doesn’t get certain nutrients. It also occurs when your body gets an excess of a particular nutrient.
In this case, your body may not get the required amount of important nutrients including lipids. Weight loss, fat loss, mass loss, stolen stomach, brittle skin, brittle hair, and brittle nails are some of the common symptoms of being malnourished.
Depression and Anxiety are some of the emotional symptoms of malnutrition. This condition can affect your body, including the lowering of your cholesterol level unnaturally.
This is because your body doesn’t get every nutrient in a balanced proportion. Hence to avoid malnutrition, you should have a healthy lifestyle and your meal should contain every nutrient in a proper proportion.
Abetalipoproteinemia
Abetalipoproteinemia is a condition that results in complex biochemical defects. This condition causes the inability to absorb fat from the intestine. It results in the deficiency of vitamin A and vitamin E.
It lowers your cholesterol level unnaturally. This is a rare disease that is associated with the unique plasma lipoprotein.
You can characterize this disorder by pigmented retinopathy, spinocerebellar degeneration, fat malabsorption, and acantholytic red blood cells.
Manganese deficiency
This deficiency is very rare. It happens because of certain medical conditions. Manganese helps you in metabolism, development of bone health and it also helps in the treatment of your wounds.
It also has antioxidizing properties that prevent free radicals from harming your cells. Poor bone growth, low fertility, abnormal metabolism, impaired glucose tolerance are some of the symptoms of manganese deficiency.
Osteoporosis, epilepsy, and diabetes are some of the common causes of manganese deficiency.
This lowers your cholesterol level because manganese deficiency affects your body in several ways and doesn’t allow your body to function properly.
There are many other causes that lower your cholesterol level and risks your body. Hence to prevent this, there are several ways in which you can adapt.
- Having a healthy diet can help you to keep your cholesterol level normal. You have to reduce saturated fats, increase soluble fiber, and add whey protein to your diet.
- You have to work out at least thrice a week. Working out helps your body’s metabolism and also keeps you healthy and active.
- Smoking and drinking shouldn’t be something you preach. You must quit it.
