Cholesterol, a waxy substance, can block your blood vessels and prevent blood from flowing to your heart, so it's important to know how to lower your LDL levels – the "bad" type of cholesterol. Fortunately, it is easier to lower LDL levels than to increase HDL levels. Focusing on lowering your cholesterol levels is a great measure to take for your overall health.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Reducing LDL With A Balanced Diet
Step 1. Reduce saturated fat intake
The American Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute strongly recommends the following low-cholesterol diet, minimizing saturated fat. And they certainly know what they're talking about! The easiest way to do this is to limit the amount of processed foods into your diet, and focus on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
What are the main sources of saturated fat? Think of animals -- beef, lamb, poultry, pork, and dairy products. The more vegetables your diet contains, the lower your saturated fat intake will be – as long as the vegetables are not buttered! One tablespoon of butter contains 7 grams of saturated fat. The American Heart Association recommends that saturated fat should be only 7% of your diet
Step 2. Increase the amount of fiber you eat each day
Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are excellent sources of fiber. These foods help to get cholesterol out of the body through feces, rather than making the body absorb cholesterol back. Maybe you've heard your grandmother talk about it!
Wheat, beans, kidney beans, apples, and pears are rich in soluble fiber as well. It is the type of food that will dissolve cholesterol, preventing cholesterol from building up in your body
Step 3. Choose foods that contain healthy fats
Foods like fish, avocado seeds, and nuts are good fats for you. You know, you need it! You want the polyunsaturated type. But be careful: a handful of nuts is healthy; an entire container is not.
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For edible oils, choose olive, canola, or peanut oil. But make sure not to use the oil as an additive – olive oil and the like should be substitutes for things like butter or margarine. And again: moderation is key. Even though it's full of healthy fats doesn't mean you can overdo it!
Extra-virgin olive oil is even better – it's less processed. Aim to consume two tablespoons (30 grams) a day to get the results
Step 4. Add food products containing plant sterols or stanols to your diet
This includes specialty margarines, lettuce or vegetables and fruit in their natural state. They're like something trendy, so read the label! Manufacturers are now even adding them to orange juice, granola bars, and cereals.
Stanols and granols seem to disguise themselves in the bloodstream as cholesterol (molecularly, they are very similar). Then when cholesterol enters, your blood will reject it, and cholesterol will come out along with other impurities
Step 5. Eat, drink, and cook with low-fat or no-fat dairy products
The DASH diet, the Mediterranean diet, and the Ornish diet (All diets aim to make the heart healthy) all contain small amounts of animal products, and that includes dairy products. That's because dairy products (and animal products in general) contain unhealthy fats and high cholesterol.
- Just because something is high in cholesterol doesn't mean you have to avoid it entirely. Sometimes eating eggs will not interfere with the progress of your diet. Although doctors used to think that was how it worked, now they're concentrating on unhealthy fats.
- You can replace protein from animal products with other sources, such as beans and other vegetable protein sources. Have you ever tried almond milk? What better reason than your health?! And for soy, consuming 25 grams of soy protein (that's about 2 cups of soy milk) a day can lower your LDL levels by 5% or 6%.
Step 6. Take Omega-3
If you eat everything like Americans, "balanced" might be something you don't eat; Your Omega 3:Omega 6 ratio might be 1:20, when it should be 1:1. Easy way to change that? fish.
Mackerel, Salmon, Lake Trout, Albacore Tuna, and Halibut are all great fatty fish for you – their fatty acid levels can lower blood pressure and reduce your chances of blood clots. Win! If you don't like fish, you can get something similar from flaxseed or canola oil. And as always: real food is better than supplements
Part 2 of 3: Reduce LDL With A Healthy Lifestyle
Step 1. Lose excess weight
Losing weight may help reduce bad cholesterol. Even losing 4.5 kg can start the process of reducing bad cholesterol levels. A combination of diet and exercise will be the most efficient way to do this.
Fat is especially calorie-dense (9 calories per gram, whereas carbohydrates and protein have only 4). If you're counting calories for your waistline, cutting fat is an easy way to reduce your waistline
Step 2. Start exercising regularly
Physical inactivity is one of the main causes for high cholesterol levels. The recommended exercise time to do each day is between 30 and 60 minutes; 150 minutes is recommended each week (75 minutes if the activity is strenuous). You will become healthier and feel healthier.
Choose an activity that you enjoy the most, such as swimming, jogging, cycling, hiking, walking or dancing. If it is something you enjoy, you will continue to do it. Make sure it's easy too! You don't have to lift heavy weights or run – as long as you're moving, it's physical activity
Step 3. Cut back on liquor
If you don't drink, don't start. But if you do incorporate alcohol into your social routine, take it seriously. Drinking just one drink a night (two if you're a man) can help reduce your cholesterol. but that's it!
- On the other hand, too much alcohol can seriously raise triglyceride levels. Anything more than an infrequent drink will damage your system and put you at risk for alcohol addiction.
- A single drink was defined as 5 ounces of wine, 8 ounces of grain liquor, 12 ounces of beer, or 1.5 ounces of very strong liquor.
Step 4. Quit smoking
It is a known fact that smoking can reduce your HDL cholesterol levels. Smoking can also make it difficult for you to exercise, which will have an impact on your overall cholesterol levels. And for your general health, quitting smoking is a very good idea.
- If you don't have much of a reason to quit smoking, you may be living under a rock. Smoking contributes seriously to liver disease, cancer, and other serious diseases. It also has a negative impact on those around you.
- Not too late. In fact, as soon as you quit smoking, your lungs will begin to repair themselves. And the same goes for your wallet!
Part 3 of 3: Making Things Easier
Step 1. Get social support
Everything – everything – will be easier if you have a supporting army behind you. Don't be ashamed of what you're going through; now it is so common that the American Heart Association says that everyone 20 years of age or older should be screened every 5 years. twenty. So let your family and friends know because they can help.
Eating, exercising, and living habits are all social endeavors. Friends who smoke will influence you to smoke, friends who eat a lot will encourage you to eat a lot, and friends who plan to drink beer while playing poker prevent you from exercising. The only way they can help you and make you successful is if they know. And they will support you 100%
Step 2. Have knowledge
The NIH Organization has a great brochure for understanding cholesterol that is very easy to understand. The brochure can be found at the following link here. The brochure contains the gist of the TLC diet, which this article doesn't cover much of. After all, science is power. When you know what you are fighting for, you will know how to fight for it.
You are on the right track – doing some research on the internet. The next step is your friends, family, and doctor. Be sure to check your sources
Step 3. Increase your HDL levels
Increase the rate so that your body sends LDL cholesterol to the liver to be excreted or reused. To do that, increase your levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the good cholesterol. HDL allows your body to carry cholesterol and triglycerides through the bloodstream. Sometimes, though not always the two work together.
Dark chocolate, green tea, and Vitamin D can also increase your HDL levels. While most people can safely consume 1 glass of red wine or other alcoholic beverage a day to increase their HDL levels, it can be detrimental for alcoholics, the elderly, and people who are overweight or have other illnesses. If alcohol isn't your cup of red wine, then you have reason to eat chocolate
Step 4. Find a friend to lower LDL levels
1 in 3 adults in America has high cholesterol levels. Basically, you just need to know a group of people to find someone who is going through the same thing as you! With such an opportunity, you may have friends who are fighting the same battle as you – so you should fight together.
Design and plan meals geared towards fighting cholesterol. Be an exercise buddy. Find small opportunities (like swimming or walking the dog) to be active. When you have someone to share your misery with, it becomes easier to do
Step 5. Talk to your doctor
He or she can provide you with information about managing your cholesterol levels with a medication to lower cholesterol levels if eating right and exercising properly are still not enough. You have many options. And don't be afraid to ask questions!
- Doctors usually like to see LDL cholesterol levels below 160, but they also take other factors into account, such as your age, smoking, and family history, when determining the optimal LDL level for you. You may or may not be a candidate for a treatment. Whatever your doctor thinks may be what is best for you.
- Statins are usually a prescription that is often given to lower cholesterol levels. If routines for health don't work, then the drug can lower your cholesterol levels by as much as 20% to 50%!
Tips
- Garlic, onion, ginger, curry, and chili all work as anti-inflammatories. Very good for your blood flow!
- The American Heart Association recommends choosing lean meats, removing skin from poultry, and preparing meals without using saturated fat.
- Replace juice or soda with tea and mineral water. Black tea has been shown to lower the amount of lipids (fats) in the blood.
