Already Fasting But Cholesterol Still Rises, Why Is That?

Illustration (NeONBRAND / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The month of Ramadan is one of the times when many people compete to do good in order to get merit. However, that's not all. Not a few people also take advantage of fasting in the month of Ramadan for health reasons.

Unfortunately, even though they have fasted, there are still many people who complain that cholesterol levels in the blood actually increase. If you think that food is a major factor in raising cholesterol, you could be wrong. The reason is, according to a study from Ancel Key's original Seven Country Studies published on the Herworld page, Tuesday, April 27, showing that how much cholesterol you consume has very little to do with the amount of cholesterol in your blood.

So, what actually causes the increase in cholesterol levels in the blood besides food? Let's look at the information that VOI has summarized from the following sources.

Diet low in fat and cholesterol

If you think that a diet low in fat and cholesterol can keep you from rising cholesterol levels, then you are wrong. In fact, if the body lacks good fats or High Density Lipoprotein (HDL), the risk of cholesterol disease will increase. Various drugs to increase HDL are not necessarily effective in protecting the body from heart disease. For that, we still need good fat intake from outside so that cholesterol levels are balanced.

Triglycerides

During fasting, a type of fat in the blood, namely triglycerides, decreases in levels. These triglyceride levels are very sensitive to diet. However, that does not mean it can reduce dietary fat or cholesterol. The main factor that reduces this type of fat is if you cut back on carbohydrates. According to the research journal Karger, that as many as 32 adult men who had fasted, had decreased triglyceride levels by 30 percent.

LDL cholesterol

Bad cholesterol or commonly called Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) can be high during fasting and can accumulate in the walls of arteries. This is because bad cholesterol has a function that can carry cholesterol throughout the body through the arteries. You can lower LDL by burning it. However, beforehand you need to reduce sugar intake because if you consume sugar. So, you will only burn sugar in the body.