Cholesterol is a fatty substance in your blood that is made by your body and absorbed from some of the foods you consume. Cholesterol gets a bad rap, but you do need it to make hormones and healthy cells. However, having too much of the bad kind of cholesterol can cause trouble.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is the unhealthy cholesterol that clogs arteries. Levels should be below 100 mg/dL. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is the healthy kind that helps move LDL cholesterol out of your arteries. A level of 60 mg/dL or higher is optimal.
When you have too much bad cholesterol in your blood, it begins to build up inside your blood vessels, causing plaque deposits, which harden and constrict your arteries. This restricts blood flow. When a plaque deposit breaks, it can cause the formation of blood clots. If a clot gets stuck in a coronary artery, it can block blood flow altogether and cause a heart attack. A clot can also migrate to a blood vessel that connects to your brain. If blood flow to your brain is disrupted that can cause a stroke. High cholesterol levels are also a major risk factor for heart disease, which is one of the leading causes of death worldwide.
Reduce bad cholesterol. Increase good cholesterol.
A diet high in unsaturated fats and low in saturated fats may help reduce inflammation, lower LDL (bad cholesterol), and increase HDL (good cholesterol). Other lifestyle adjustments, even slight ones help to reduce risk factors associated with bad cholesterol like heart attack and stroke.
Eat fiber
Adequate fiber intake may reduce your cholesterol levels by up to 10%. The American Heart Association recommends 25-30 grams per day from food (as opposed to supplements). Here’s a useful chart from the Mayo Clinic to better understand specific sources of fiber from fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.
Check meat and dairy intake
If you have high cholesterol, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends no more than 5–6% of your daily calories come from saturated fats from foods like meat and dairy.
Add cholesterol fighting foods to your diet
The high levels of unsaturated fat in avocado has shown to help lower LDL levels. Tuna and salmon are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which also help with cholesterol reduction.
Lose weight
Even losing as little as 5-10 pounds could be enough to improve your cholesterol levels. Find our tips on maintaining a healthy weight here.
Quit smoking
Here’s yet one more reason to quit: the chemicals in cigarette smoke damage your blood vessels and speed the buildup of plaques inside your arteries. If you already have high cholesterol, smoking is only making the chance of having a stroke or heart
attack more likely. It’s hard to kick the habit but you can read our tips here.
Exercise
Fitting in 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise most days is ideal for lowering and regulating cholesterol levels. You can even break it into a few 10- or 15-minute sessions throughout the course of the day. Hitting your target heart rate is helpful as well. Here’s some useful information from the American Heart Association about your healthy resting heart rate, target heart rate for your age and how to take your pulse if you don’t use an activity tracker. Adding some strength training a couple of days is an even better boost.
If these lifestyle changes don’t help lower your bad cholesterol, then it may be time to ask your pharmacist and health care provider about cholesterol lowering drugs. There are several different medications that work to lower LDL, raise HDL or both. Your provider will know which is best for you.
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