High Cholesterol In Young Adults
We often associate high cholesterol levels with older adults. The reality is that millions of adults in North America who are under 40 years old have high cholesterol levels.
It can be really jarring as a 30 year old to go for a routine check-up only to find out that your cholesterol levels are unexpectedly out of range. If you’re like many of my patients, your diet might not even be “that bad” which makes the test results even more frustrating.
Of course, one reason for high cholesterol levels in young, otherwise healthy people is genetics. Some people were born with genetic mutations that just make it harder for their body to metabolize cholesterol.
But this isn’t the case for everyone. Here are two risk factors that I find in many of my patients who are in their 30s and early 40s, eat reasonably balanced diets and still have high cholesterol levels:
1. Sedentary Lifestyle
Exercise keeps cholesterol levels in check in a number of ways. It boosts the production of good cholesterol and it helps your body utilize fat better. I have found that many of my patients may have decent diets, but they work all day at a desk and are often too tired during the week and too busy on weekends to even think about exercise. Many people have dogs to walk which definitely helps with getting steps in, but there is little vigorous cardiovascular or muscle-building exercise in their weekly routine.
I’m not judging here. I spend a lot of time sitting when I’m in the office and it always takes effort to motivate myself to exercise. That being said, I do my best to keep my reasons for exercising at the forefront of my mind which helps me push myself to do 20 minutes of YouTube exercise most days. It doesn’t take much, start with 10-20 minutes a couple times a week and build from there.
We want to aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-vigorous cardiovascular exercise each week (e.g. brisk walking, swimming, cycling) plus 2 days a week of muscle building exercise like yoga or weight lifting. If walking your dog is not getting your heart beating faster and getting you panting a bit, it may not be vigorous enough.
2. Stress
I’m not just blaming stress because I work in the mental health field. It is well accepted that stress can increase cholesterol levels. This is due to a couple different processes that happen in the body. Stress can increase the release of stress hormones (like cortisol) which in turn makes the body release more fat into the blood stream. Stress makes the body think that it’s gearing up for danger so it wants to have energy on hand in the blood stream. Long term, this can lead to elevated blood cholesterol levels in your test results and plaque formation in the arteries.
Managing cholesterol takes a multi-pronged approach that may involve diet changes, exercise plans, stress and sleep support, medication and natural supplements. If you’re young and your cholesterol levels are high, try not to panic. Just think of this as an indicator that your body is asking for some extra help in certain areas. Luckily a lot can be done to manage cholesterol levels in many cases.