Latest Medical News | Medical Conditions

Apr 25, 2022

We are officially four months into the new year, and we are pretty sure you have adopted and immersed yourself in your ‘millennial’ diet (natural, organic and sustainable foods) and fitness plans (online training, high-intensity interval training [HIIT], etc.) to achieve your desired healthy lifestyle goals for 2022. But have you considered all the other important factors that minimise your risks of developing lifestyle-related conditions?

As part of Bestmed Medical Scheme’s new series on chronic illnesses and lifestyle-related conditions, this month we feature another common condition – hyperlipidemia.

Hyperlipidemia is defined as when your “blood has too many lipids (or fats), such as cholesterol and triglycerides”. There are variants of hyperlipidemia, such as high cholesterol, hypertriglyceridemia and mixed hyperlipidemia, which occurs when both cholesterol and triglyceride levels are high.

Our bodies naturally produce fat for digestion and to make hormones. However, excessive consumption of ‘other external’ fats received from foods we consume, increases the levels of cholesterol in the body, which can lead to blockages in your blood vessels. Furthermore, hyperlipidemia can be caused by:

stress
being overweight
inherited genes
drinking too much alcohol
physical inactiveness
smoking

Uncontrolled hyperlipidemia increases the risk of severe damage, such as heart attacks, stroke, cardiac arrest, coronary heart disease, microvascular disease and peripheral artery disease. To help alleviate the risks associated with high cholesterol, you could integrate the following lifestyle changes:

exercising
sleeping enough
eating healthier
minimising alcohol consumption
quitting smoking
controlling your stress levels

As a Bestmed member, you can take the first step and take advantage of our Bestmed Tempo wellness programme, which supports you in improving your health by providing you with access to the Bestmed Tempo Health Assessment at any of the Scheme’s network pharmacies (Dis-Chem, Clicks, Van Heerden, Alpha Pharm). The assessment includes one of each of the following per adult beneficiary (16 years and above):