Herbs To Lower Cholesterol Quickly
Looking for herbs to reduce your cholesterol quickly? If your cholesterol is slightly high, chances are youre looking to first try some natural ways reduce it before the problem gets so urgent that you have to use dedicated drugs.
Mother nature is always providing us organic, natural choices that can be used in just about every health problem. So, lets try to find out what are the best herbs to use that can help us reduce high levels of cholesterol without stressing the body with side effects.
Medicinal plants usually contain multiple components and have the potential to target combinatorial pathways with less side effects, thus providing an alternative for more effective and safer control of hypercholesterolemia.
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Who Shouldnt Buy Freshfield Vegan Omega
- Customers who are looking for a higher dose of fatty acids. While we do like this supplement for its vegan DPA and DHA, it doesnt provide as much of these fatty acids as some other products on this list.
- People who prefer to get their omega-3s from animal sources like fish or krill.
The capsules used to deliver heart-healthy omega-3s are usually made from fish or meat-based gelatin. This product has a plant-based capsule and the oil is derived from algae not fish.
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Increase Your Intake Of Unsaturated Fats
Studies show that monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can reduce blood triglyceride levels, especially when theyre replacing carbs in your diet .
Monounsaturated fats are found in foods like olive oil, nuts, and avocados. Polyunsaturated fats are present in vegetable oils and fatty fish, as well as nuts and seeds such as walnuts, flaxseeds, and chia seeds.
A 2019 review of 27 studies reported that while olive oil consumption does decrease triglycerides levels, it does so significantly less than other types of plant oil .
One older study analyzed the diets of 452 adults in a specific population of Indigenous people in Alaska over the previous 24 hours.
It found that saturated fat intake was associated with increased blood triglycerides, while polyunsaturated fat intake was associated with lower triglyceride levels .
To maximize the triglyceride-lowering benefits of unsaturated fats, pick a heart-healthy fat like olive oil and use it to replace other types of fat in your diet, such as trans fats or highly processed vegetable oils .
Summary
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can decrease blood triglyceride levels, especially when theyre consumed in place of other fats.
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How To Lower Triglycerides
Your doctor will determine if you need treatment to lowering triglycerides by talking with you about your current diet and lifestyle, and evaluating your triglyceride level, your LDL cholesterol level, and your potential risk factors for coronary heart disease.
Here are some of the reasons your doctor might discuss medications to lower triglycerides with you:
- You have metabolic syndrome. This condition includes a combination of abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, and high blood pressure. If you have metabolic syndrome and tried diet and lifestyle changes for three months without success, triglyceride-lowering medications may be needed.
- Previous medication lowered your total cholesterol but not your triglycerides. If your cholesterol is well controlled, but your triglyceride level is still too high, at or above 200 mg/dL, triglyceride-lowering medications may help.
- You have very high triglycerides. If your triglyceride level is at or higher than 500 mg/dL, you may need to start medications to lower triglycerides even before reaching lower cholesterol levels.
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How Can I Lower My Triglycerides Quickly
High triglyceride levels can be reduced with the help of:
- Physical Activity: Including 30 minutes of brisk walk twice daily helps in managing the levels of TGs.
- Fiber Intake: High fiber food helps in binding with TGs and removes them out of the body. One can include oats/ daliya/ millets in breakfast cereals, 23 fruits a day, 2 vegetables and 2 times salad in the whole day.
- Choosing Right Oil for Cooking: Replacing refined oils with cold pressed oils help in reducing TGs.
- Amount of Oil: Limiting the consumption of oil helps greatly in bringing TG levels to the normal range.
- Avoiding High Fat and Sugar Rich Foods: Fried foods, processed foods, sugary foods and packaged foods all contain high fat or calories which contributes in increasing the level of triglycerides in our body.
- Reducing Weight: It helps in automatically reducing the bad cholesterol levels and triglyceride levels because the extra weight is due to extra fat only which gets deposited in various body parts especially the abdominal area.
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Putting It All Together
Improving triglyceride levels is simple. From a dietary perspective, all you have to do is two things: eat fewer carbs and eat more marine-derived omega 3s.
The best way to do this is by implementing a Mediterranean-style ketogenic diet. To follow this diet correctly, you must:
- Restrict carbohydrate
- Eat plenty of nuts, olives/olive oil, low-carb vegetables, and fatty fish like sardines and salmon
To enhance your results, you can also:
- Restrict calories to lose weight
- Implement a sleep schedule and improve sleep quality
- Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day
- Supplement with marine-derived omega 3s, curcumin, niacin, and/or garlic extract
- Eat more MCTs from coconut oil or an MCT oil supplement
- Avoid alcohol, trans fats, and added sugar
However, even if you implement these triglyceride lowering suggestions flawlessly, you will only know if they worked by getting a blood test.
Good Cholesterol Vs Bad Cholesterol
When your doctor checks your cholesterol with a blood test called a lipid panel, the results arent simply one number. A full picture of your cholesterol level and whether or not it needs lowering comes from four separate but related values: LDL, HDL, triglycerides, and total blood cholesterol.
LDL, often referred to as bad cholesterol, stands for low-density lipoprotein. LDL transports cholesterol through your bloodstream to your cells. The bad part of LDL is that in high levels, it tends to build up fatty plaques inside your arteries a condition called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis reduces blood flow through the affected arteries, leading to an increased risk of heart and kidney disease, peripheral artery disease, stroke, heart attack, and blood clots. For adults, a healthy LDL level is less than 100 mg/dl.
HDL, or high-density lipoprotein, is often referred to as good cholesterol. It helps remove LDL from your bloodstream by carrying it back to the liver, where its broken down for excretion. Thus, HDL helps protect your heart from disease and lowers your risk of stroke. A healthy HDL level for adults is more than 60 mg/dl.
Triglycerides
Triglycerides are a type of fat that stores excess energy from the calories you consume. A high level of triglycerides indicates an increased risk of stroke and heart disease. A triglyceride blood test result above 150 mg/dl is considered too high.
Total blood cholesterol
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What Qualifies As High Triglycerides
According to MedlinePlus , blood levels less than 150 mg/dL fall under the triglycerides normal range, while anything higherknown as hypertriglyceridemiacan increase risk for heart disease. Elevated triglycerides can also be a very early sign of diabetes, states Kristin Thomas, MD, a board-certified internist and co-founder of Foxhall Medicine in Washington, DC.
Extremely high triglyceridesblood levels over 500 mg/dLmay be due to a genetic disorder and can increase the risk of pancreatitis, along with heart disease, including atherosclerosis , Dr. Thomas, co-author of You Can Prevent A Stroke, explains. It can be seen alone or in association with many other conditions, as well, such as metabolic syndrome, hypothyroidism, fatty liver disease and kidney disease, Dr. Malaney says.
Risk Factors For High Triglycerides
Research shows that triglyceride levels predict cardiovascular disease, a principal cause of morbidity and mortality in Western society. People with high triglycerides may be at significant risk for cardiovascular disease even if their LDL cholesterol levels are at goal.
A 2010 study conducted at Harvard Medical School evaluated the relative contributions of triglyceride and HDL cholesterol in the risk of coronary heart disease after LDL cholesterol levels were reduced. The study, involving 170 cases and 175 controls, suggests that high triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol levels were associated with coronary heart disease even in patients with lower LDL cholesterol levels. The odds of coronary heart disease increased by approximately 20 percent per 23 milligrams per deciliter increase in triglycerides.
Having high triglycerides also makes you more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Its not that high triglycerides actually causes diabetes, but it shows that the body isnt turning food into energy properly. Normally, the body makes insulin, which escorts glucose into the cells where its used for energy. The insulin allows the body to use triglycerides for energy, but when someone is insulin-resistant, the cells wont let insulin or glucose in, thereby causing both glucose and triglycerides to build up in the blood.
Conventional Treatment for High Triglycerides
Statins
Fibrates
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Natural Cholesterol Lowering Remedies Supported By Science
Around 38% of U.S. adults are struggling with total cholesterol of over 200 mg/dl. About 12% of them are in their 20s.
While a staggering 7% of affected are adolescents and children between the ages of 6 and 19.
The higher the cholesterol, the bigger the risk of heart disease. Decreasing the cholesterol doesnt necessarily mean you have to take statin medications.
Relying on natural cholesterol remedies can also help. They can ave a beneficial impact on improving your cardiovascular health and overall well-being.
What Can You Do To Lower High Triglyceride Levels
Because your body can get triglycerides from the food you eat, it makes sense that changing your diet can help if youre concerned with your triglyceride levels. In general, according to Ash, its important to reduce your intake of refined flour, processed and packaged foods that contain trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, and excess carbs and sugars that are bad news for your health.
One key nutrient to keep in mind is fat. According to Ash, switching out the types of fat you eat can make a huge difference. Trans fats and polyunsaturated fats, like the fat in canola oil, are going to be the biggest offenders because they burden the liver, which is going to manufacture more triglycerides in order to make more LDL. So what were eating and how were supporting the liver is really whats going to matter when it comes to triglycerides, she says.
That said, fat is only one factor to consider when it comes to food. Specific to food, fat itself is often not the culprit, says registered dietitian Amanda Archibald, founder of The Genomic Kitchen. Excess calories from alcohol or starchy/sugary foods are often more complicit in producing high triglycerides.
If your doctor has told you your triglyceride levels are on the high side, its worth asking them what foods to avoid and what lifestyle changes could help. Chances are, youll want to exercise more and go easy on trans fats and simple carbs.
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Dietary Approaches To Lowering Cholesterol
Eating more foods with fiber, soy, omega-3 fatty acids, and plant compounds similar to cholesterol can lower LDL cholesterol, or bad cholesterol.
Dietary fiber, nuts, soybeans, and phytosterols each have different ways of lowering cholesterol levels. Enjoy them with fruits and vegetables, and cut back on saturated fats.
Stents Vs Surgery For Atherosclerosis Treatment
Which is the better treatment for the late stages of atherosclerosis stents or bypass surgery? Each procedure has advantages and disadvantages.
- Living longer when you have multiple blockages. CABG is the best treatment for extending life in people with multiple severe blockages. CABG has been shown to extend life for patients with several patterns of severe blockages, and is clearly superior to stenting in these cases. Stenting has not been demonstrated to help people live longer.
- Pain relief. Sometimes treatment with drugs cant control chronic chest pain. Both CABG and stenting provide near-complete relief from angina more than 90% of the time. Angina often returns over time, though, which may lead to future procedures.
- Emergency treatment. During a heart attack, stents are usually better than CABG. Stents can be placed in minutes, without the risks and recovery time of major surgery.
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Supplements And Medications To Lower Triglycerides
Some diabetes medications, Actos , for example, will also lower triglycerides, says Shurmur. However, this drug may cause or worsen congestive heart failure, warns the FDA.
Limit Your Added Sugar
You know that too much of the sweet stuff is bad news, and thats definitely the case here. When youre eating sugary foods, its easy to end up chowing down on more calories than your body needs.
The excess will be turned into triglycerides, which can lead to serious trouble:One 15-year study found that people who got 25 percent of their calories from sugar were twice as likely to die from heart disease as those who ate significantly less.
The American Heart Association recommends that women consume no more than 6 teaspoons and men consume no more than 9 teaspoons of added sugar per day.
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/11eat More Tree Nuts And Soy Protein
Tree nuts have concentrated fibre, omega 3 fatty acid and unsaturated fats, all of which are good for lowering the blood triglyceride levels.
Tree nuts include almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, pistachios, brazil nuts, pecans and macadamia.
Do not forget that nuts are high in calories and thus must be consumed in moderation.
Soy protein consumption has also been linked with lower triglyceride levels. It can lower the triglyceride levels 12.4 per cent more than the animal protein in six weeks duration.
Soy protein is found in foods like soy milk, soybeans, edamame and soy milk.
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Consider Cutting Back On Carbs
You dont have to go full keto. But some research suggests that lower carb diets are tied to healthier triglyceride levels.
How low should you go? In a 2006 study, people who consumed about a quarter of their calories from carbs lowered their triglycerides more than those who got more than half their calories from carbs.
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Dosage For Lowering Cholesterol And Triglyceride Levels And Reducing Risk Of A Heart Attack
Adult dosage
- Extended-release tablet: The starting dosage is 500 mg taken by mouth once per day at bedtime. After 4 weeks, your doctor may increase your dosage by up to 500 mg. The standard maintenance dosage is 1,0002,000 mg taken once daily at bedtime.
- Oral tablet: The initial dosage is 250 mg taken by mouth once per day following your evening meal. Your doctor may gradually increase your dosage to a maximum of 6 grams per day. The standard dosage is 12 grams taken 23 times per day.
Child dosage
- Extended-release tablet: The starting dosage is 500 mg taken by mouth once per day at bedtime. After 4 weeks, your doctor may increase your childs dosage by up to 500 mg. The standard maintenance dosage is 1,0002,000 mg taken once daily at bedtime.
- Oral tablet: The initial dosage is 250 mg taken by mouth once per day following the evening meal. Your doctor may gradually increase your childs dosage to a maximum of 6 grams per day. The standard dosage is 12 grams taken 23 times per day.
Child dosage
This medication hasnt been studied in children and shouldnt be used in children younger than 16 years.
Senior dosage
The kidneys of older adults may not work as well as they used to. This can cause your body to process drugs more slowly. As a result, more of a drug stays in your body for a longer time. This increases your risk of side effects.
Dosage warnings
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What To Look For In A Supplement
Dietary supplements arent regulated in the U.S., so its impossible to know just what youre getting when you pluck a bottle off the shelfunless it has USP Dietary Supplement Verification, which means the product has been tested to verify it contains what the label says it does. Just look for the USP seal on the label.
Choose an over-the-counter omega-3 supplement thats purified and contains EPA and DHA, says Robert Greenfield, M.D., a cardiologist at Memorial Care Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA.
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