The need to lower cholesterol arises because the presence of excess cholesterol in blood serum can lead to a whole range of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. These diseases include high blood pressure, narrowing and hardening of arteries, heart disease, stroke, and paralysis.
These diseases spring up because the liver dumps excess cholesterol on the inner arterial walls. Later, these fatty deposits harden up to form a plaque, thus narrowing the arteries and obstructing blood flow to the heart and other organs. Other diseases can also result if the affected arteries normally supply blood to organs other than the heart and brain.
The good news, however, is that it is possible to lower cholesterol simply by making some therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC) and following a healthy TLC diet. In fact, these measures are the first line of defense against hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol). If the TLC measures don’t reduce your cholesterol level enough, then your doctor could prescribe cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins.
The most important lifestyle changes you must make to lower your cholesterol are:
Reduce excess body weight
Exercise regularly
Follow the TLC diet
Quit smoking
Excess body weight because of obesity not only increases the overall cholesterol level but also reduces the protective HDL (high-density lipoproteins) cholesterol, making the problem of high cholesterol worse. HDL is responsible for the transport of excess cholesterol from the tissues and arteries back to the liver for breakdown and disposal and therefore some people call it the good cholesterol.
Regular physical activity, especially aerobics, plays a twofold role in lowering cholesterol. First, it reduces obesity; second, it increases the HDL level. In other words, fat loss causes a drop in the total cholesterol, and your body does a better job of lowering your cholesterol because of the higher HDL level. A moderate-intensity aerobic activity like walking, cycling, dancing or swimming for 30-40 minutes, 5 days a week is an effective way to lower cholesterol.
Your diet plays a direct role in keeping your cholesterol levels. The richer the diet is in cholesterol, saturated fats and trans fats, the higher will be the cholesterol levels. While the liver makes most of the cholesterol in your body, cholesterol that comes from the foods you eat does play an important role.
In fact, for many people, a diet rich in soluble fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, when combined with regular exercise, can just as effectively lower cholesterol as do statin drugs. You would normally get these healthy nutrients from like oats, walnuts, almonds, fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, whole grains, cold-water fish, olive oil, peanut oil, and canola oil. On the other hand, this diet would exclude red meats, alcohol, fried foods, whole-cream dairy products, refined foods, and commercial bakery items.
Today, everyone knows smoking causes a whole range of deadly diseases affecting almost every organ of the body. Smoking is a major cause of cardiovascular diseases because of its role in hardening of the arteries and reducing HDL levels. So, quitting smoking will not only lower your cholesterol levels and raise the HDL level, it will also reduce the risk of getting other deadly diseases.
It is perhaps better to have several different avenues to lower cholesterol because high cholesterol could show up for different reasons in different people. So, you could, in addition, also resort to natural remedies like Guggul, Pantethine, Beta-Sitosterol, Policosanol, Curcumin, red yeast rice, and so on. You can get these supplements at health food stores at a lower price compared to prescription drugs.
Julia Carmichael
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/ways-to-lower-cholesterol-99606.html
Posted in High Blood Pressure Remedies
4 Responses to “Ways To Lower Cholesterol”
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What are the best ways to lower my cholesterol?
I’m 51 & I’ve been healthy all my life, not overweight & now going through menopause. I don’t eat junk food either. My cholesterol is over 200. What are some simple ways to lower my cholesterol? What foods are the worst to eat & the best to eat? Is walking leisurely enough with regards to exercise?
Go on a completely fat free diet for 2 weeks and have your cholesterol measured again. It should have dropped to around 160. To reduce your cholesterol, eliminate all partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, whether in shortenings, margarines, deep fat fried items like fried potatoes or fried chicken, etc. Cut your fat intake to 25% of caloric intake. LOL
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I can only tell you what did it for me. I went low-carb. My numbers went from much higher than you to nothing short of amazing! I’ve fought cholesterol all my adult life and tried all the traditional ways of lowering it… low fat, losing weight, exercise to raise HDL, etc. I cut out all added fat except olive oil for two years. Even that didn’t do it. Then I discovered low-carbing, Atkins in particular. Although my numbers had greatly improved with everything I had done it wasn’t enough. Once on Atkins my HDL went from high 40’s to nearly 90. My triglycerides went from 200 to 60. LDL went from close to 150 to around 100. My risk factor went from extremely high to so low the computer calls me abnormal. My doc says only 5% of adults have numbers like mine.
It would be easier to give you more information if I knew what all your specific numbers were. Being over 200 in itself is not necessarily bad if you have very high HDL. It’s the balance that matters.
The worst foods are saturated fats, trans-fats, sugar and processed foods. By sugar I mean ALL sugar, including naturally occuring sugar in some fruits like watermelon, grapes and bananas. Cutting sugar will cause your triglycerides to literally plummet.
BTW… I’m 59.
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After reading the other answers, I have come to the conclusion that everyone IS really different. I have done all the above things (and continue to do so, it is just simply healthier) and had no difference. It runs in the family and is hereditary. However, my doctor suggested I take a little extra niacin to help my liver. He suggested 250 mgs a day of a "non-flush" brand of niacin. Like an idiot I got the cheapest regular kind. Those flushes are something else! If you are having hot flashes, niacin is just a harsher form of a hot flash.
Ask your doctor about niacin and if they say OK, try it, but get the "non-flush" kind. My cholesterol was/is high but it has come down several points and is still declining.
Stay away from animal fat and use olive oil or sesame oil, apples, pears and citrus fruits are good. Chicken (no skin) and fish are good sources of protein. (No peanut oil, either!) I have also started adding ground flaxseed to my pancakes, they are high in omegas 3, 6 and 9, they are supposedly cholesterol busters. I use ground oats in meatloaf instead of bread crumbs or crackers. These are just a few ideas. Leisurely walking is good if you do it long enough. If you have cardiac issues you don’t want to over do the hard-core exercise routines.
As always, check with your physician, good luck. It’s nice to see people here in my age group! LOL
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