Doctors have revealed the 'silent' symptoms your body displays when trying to tell you that you have high cholesterol levels.
Cholesterol helps produce hormones and cell membranes, but too much can lead to adverse health issues.
It can clog up blood vessels and arteries, stopping blood from running through unhindered when they combine with plaques. These can lead to heart attacks and strokes when blood is cut off from essential arteries, The Daily Record reports.
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Diet, weight, lack of exercise as well as toxins from smoking and drinking alcohol can cause high cholesterol.
High cholesterol, also known as hyperlipidemia, has been labelled a 'silent killer' due to it only being detectable through blood examination.
Dr Sami Firoozi, consultant cardiologist at the Harley Street Clinic, told The Huffington Post that early signs can be detected on people’s toes.
Toenails that grow gradually or are "brittle" are a warning sign that someone has high cholesterol.
Tendon xanthomata is another, which forms as swelling of knuckles, knees and backs of ankles. Xanthelasmas, small yellow lumps of cholesterol near the inner corner of your eye and Corneal arcus, which is a pale ring might also appear around your iris on your eye.
Dr Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist said the key ingredient to lowering high cholesterol levels is fibre.
She said: "As a cardiologist, I always tell patients that lowering their LDL [low-density lipoprotein] 'bad' cholesterol can help prevent cardiovascular disease. Many foods have soluble fibre, which binds cholesterol in the digestive system and drags them out of the body before they get into circulation."
The expert also swears by oats and their benefits.
"Not only are they high in fibre, they contain plenty of antioxidants, including those that help improve blood vessel function and lower blood pressure," she added.
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