Answer:

High cholesterol isn't exclusive to overweight or obese individuals; even thin people can experience it. For example, a thin person who exercises regularly but consumes a diet high in bad cholesterol, smokes, or drinks excessively can increase their risk of high cholesterol, metabolic disorders, fat accumulation, and genetically predisposed conditions.

Currently, no research suggests that blood filtering can prevent high cholesterol. In fact, blood filtering, or plasmapheresis, is a procedure that filters blood plasma and is used for people with severely high lipid levels who are at risk of blood clots or have multiple myeloma, not as a preventative measure.

According to the Ministry of Health's regulations, individuals recommended for blood filtering have specific cholesterol levels or accompanying conditions like pancreatitis. Additionally, this procedure requires strict technical standards, advanced equipment, and certified practitioners. Therefore, following advertisements on social media for this procedure carries significant health risks.

Furthermore, not all blood components are harmful. Filtering out all blood components, including platelets, white blood cells, and other immune substances, can have negative health consequences. Even cholesterol has good and bad forms, and filtering out all cholesterol could eliminate the good cholesterol, which helps increase collagen in blood vessel walls and is beneficial for the brain.

Since your family has a history of high cholesterol, you should prioritize lifestyle changes. This includes maintaining a diet rich in vegetables and fresh fruit, limiting salt and saturated fats, exercising regularly, avoiding prolonged stress, and getting regular health check-ups, especially cholesterol screenings, even if you don't appear obese.

Doctor Doan Du Manh

Vietnam Vascular Society