High Cholesterol

High cholesterol may run in your family. The foods you eat may also cause high cholesterol. Causes include:

• What you eat. Eating too much saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol can cause high cholesterol. Saturated fat and cholesterol are in foods that come from animals, such as meats, whole milk, egg yolks, butter, and cheese. Trans fat is found in fried foods and packaged foods, such as cookies, crackers, and chips.
• Your weight. Being overweight may increase triglycerides and decrease HDL.
• Your activity level. Lack of physical activity, which may increase LDL and decrease HDL.
• Your age and gender. After you reach age 20, your cholesterol levels naturally begin to rise. In men, cholesterol levels generally level off after age 50. In women, cholesterol levels stay fairly low until menopause, after which they rise to about the same level as in men.
• Some diseases. Having certain diseases may cause high cholesterol. These diseases include diabetes or other metabolic disorders, hypothyroidism, chronic kidney disease or other kidney problems, or cirrhosis.
• Your family history. If family members have high cholesterol, you may also.
• Cigarette smoking. Smoking can lower your good cholesterol.
• Certain medicines. Some medicines can raise triglyceride levels and lower HDL (good) cholesterol levels. These medicines include thiazide diuretics, beta-blockers, estrogen, and corticosteroids.

In rare cases, high cholesterol is caused by an inherited problem called a lipid disorder that changes the way the body handles cholesterol. People with lipid disorders may have total cholesterol levels well over 250 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). Certain types of inherited lipid disorders may be more difficult to treat.