How To Control Cholesterol Through Diet

Foods That Lower Cholesterol

• Summary

A persons diet plays a crucial role in how healthy their cholesterol levels are. Eating foods that keep cholesterol within a healthy range can help prevent health issues, including a heart attack or stroke.

Cholesterol is a waxy substance that travels through the bloodstream as a part of two different lipoproteins: low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein .

People sometimes refer to LDL cholesterol as bad cholesterol because it causes fatty deposits to build up in the blood vessels. These deposits can block blood flow and cause heart attacks or strokes.

HDL, or good, cholesterol helps remove cholesterol from the body through the liver. High levels of HDL cholesterol can reduce the risk of heart problems and strokes.

How Can Foods Help Lower Cholesterol

People can often reduce their cholesterol levels dramatically by changing the foods they eat. Diets high in saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterolfound in meat, dairy products, and eggsraise cholesterol levels, which increases heart attack risk. Foods high in saturated fat are especially dangerous because they can trigger the body to produce extra cholesterol.

Plants do the opposite. They are very low in saturated fat and free of cholesterol. Plants are also rich in soluble fiber, which helps lower cholesterol. Soluble fiber slows the absorption of cholesterol and reduces the amount of cholesterol the liver produces. Oatmeal, barley, beans, and some fruits and vegetables are all good sources of soluble fiber.

It is important to continue to work closely with your health care provider to monitor your health and manage medications, even as you make dietary changes.

What Is ‘bad’ Cholesterol

Whilst cholesterol is seen as the enemy of a healthy diet, we actually need the fatty substance to stay healthy. “It’s needed to make cell membranes, various hormones, certain vitamins and bile salts which are important for the digestion of fat,” explains Garton.

The problem comes when there are high levels of cholesterol in the blood, increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke and vascular dementia. The risk increases the longer the higher cholesterol is left untreated.

There are actually two main types of cholesterol involved: low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein .

“LDL is the main carrier of cholesterol in the blood and is often called ‘bad’ cholesterol because too much LDL cholesterol can build up in your arteries and cause narrowing,” says Garton. “HDL is often called ‘good’ as it picks up excess cholesterol from the arteries and takes it back to the liver where it can be removed from the circulation. As well as LDL cholesterol, other non-HDL cholesterol is considered ‘bad’ as it can also contribute to fatty build-up in the arteries.

“The ideal situation is to have low non-HDL cholesterol. It’s also important that your HDL cholesterol does not drop too low.”

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How To Manage High Cholesterol: Diet Medications And More

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Cholesterol isnt inherently bad. Your body needs the waxy, fat-like substance to produce cell membranes, hormones, and nutrients like vitamin D. But too much of it especially low-density lipoproteins cholesterol, which accumulates in the walls of your blood vessels and is also referred to as bad cholesterol can increase your risk for heart disease and stroke.

The good news? High cholesterol is one of the heart disease risk factors that you have control over. There are many changes you can make to bring down your cholesterol levels, which in turn will strengthen your overall cardiovascular health. Heres an overview of how to manage high cholesterol through a combination of diet, lifestyle changes, and medication.

Exceptional Pharmacy Care To Strengthen Your Health

At Alto, were committed to making it as simple as possible to stay on top of your cholesterol-lowering medications. We offer same-day delivery and medication management tools like reminders and auto refills in our app. And our team of pharmacists are always here to answer your questions by phone, text, or chat, and will even remind you when your medications are due for a refill.

Reach out any time via text or phone at 1-800-874-5881, or in-app messaging.

This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

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Work In Some More Movement To Your Daily Tasks

Do you need to start running every day? Do you need to join a gym or buy a bunch of home fitness equipment? If you want to, go ahead! But there are many other choices, and finding a routine that works for you is whats most important.

Ideally, you want to aim for at least 2.5 hours of moderate physical activity every week. You can break that up however you like. You might focus on doing something every day, or you could dedicate yourself to just a few days per week. The key is to just get started.

For example, do you usually take the elevator? Take the stairs instead. Do you walk your dog every day? Go a little farther than usual, or walk at a faster pace. Need to go shopping? Park farther away than you normally do. Catching up on your favorite TV series? Try stretching, dumbbells or kettlebells while youre watching rather than just sitting on the couch. Also look for chances to bring motion into your daily life, such as walking while you talk on the phone.

If youre feeling good, work up to more intense physical activity, like lap swimming, jogging or hot yoga. Dont overexert yourself, but remember that regular and consistent exercise has benefits beyond managing your cholesterol. It also helps reduce blood pressure and builds your overall physical, mental and emotional well-being.

Even if you just go a little farther or a little faster than you usually do, that extra activity will be a big step in the right direction for your health.

Work With Your Doctor On A Lower Cholesterol Plan

Lowering your cholesterol doesnt mean going it alone. Your primary care doctor is a helpful partner along your journey.

Your doctor can work with you to create an action plan just for you one that combines diet, exercise and other lifestyle changes to help you lower and manage your cholesterol.

For example, losing weight and quitting smoking can be big helpers for lowering cholesterol. Quitting smoking can raise your good HDL cholesterol levels, and losing weight can lower your bad LDL cholesterol levels significantly.

But these two tasks arent easy. Fortunately, your primary care doctor can be a great resource to help you get started and find practical ways to stick with it. Plus, help with quitting smoking and losing weight may already be covered if you have health insurance.

Whether you want to quit smoking, lose weight or just learn more about how your personal health would benefit from lower cholesterol levels, regular check-ins with your doctor are key. They can also perform cholesterol tests the only way to actually measure cholesterol to check your progress and help you make adjustments based on the results.

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How Can I Lower Cholesterol With Diet

Heart-healthy lifestyle changes include a diet to lower your cholesterol. The DASH eating plan is one example. Another is the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes diet, which recommends that you

Choose healthier fats.You should limit both total fat and saturated fat. No more than 25 to 35% of your daily calories should come from dietary fats, and less than 7% of your daily calories should come from saturated fat. Depending upon how many calories you eat per day, here are the maximum amounts of fats that you should eat:

Calories per Day
69-97 grams	17 grams

Saturated fat is a bad fat because it raises your LDL level more than anything else in your diet. It is found in some meats, dairy products, chocolate, baked goods, and deep-fried and processed foods.

Trans fat is another bad fat it can raise your LDL and lower you HDL . Trans fat is mostly in foods made with hydrogenated oils and fats, such as stick margarine, crackers, and french fries.

Instead of these bad fats, try healthier fats, such as lean meat, nuts, and unsaturated oils like canola, olive, and safflower oils.

Limit foods with cholesterol. If you are trying to lower your cholesterol, you should have less than 200 mg a day of cholesterol. Cholesterol is in foods of animal origin, such as liver and other organ meats, egg yolks, shrimp, and whole milk dairy products.

Eat plenty of soluble fiber. Foods high in soluble fiber help prevent your digestive tract from absorbing cholesterol. These foods include

Follow Your Doctor’s Advice

Continue managing a normal cholesterol range for life with regular doctor checkups, exercise, and healthy food choices. These lifestyle changes can help you to reduce the risk of disease and promote longevity. Work with your health care professionals to get tips to improve your cholesterol by changing your routine.

Hemera

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Saturated And Unsaturated Fat

There are 2 main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Eating too many foods high in saturated fat can raise the level of cholesterol in your blood.

Most people in the UK eat too much saturated fat.

Foods high in saturated fat include:

• meat pies
• cakes and biscuits
• foods containing coconut or palm oil

Eating foods that contain unsaturated fat instead of saturated fat can actually help reduce cholesterol levels.

Try to replace foods containing saturated fats with small amounts of foods high in unsaturated fats, such as:

• oily fish such as mackerel and salmon
• nuts such as almonds and cashews
• seeds such as sunflower and pumpkin seeds
• avocados
• vegetable oils and spreads such as rapeseed or vegetable oil, sunflower, olive, corn and walnut oils

Tactics To Reduce Cholesterol Quickly

For most of us, there’s really no need to pack our medicine cabinets with pills to reduce cholesterol levels. Natural, lifestyle-based strategies have proven extraordinarily effective in reducing cholesterol quickly and permanently.

Get the top 5 food and fitness tips recommended by the doctors, dietitians, exercise experts, and other faculty at the Pritikin Longevity Center. Pritikin has been helping people lower cholesterol levels since 1975.

Did you know that for every 10% drop in your cholesterol level, your heart attack risk drops by 20% to 30%? Theres more good news: Most of us can reduce cholesterol quickly, and without the need for medications. Simple lifestyle strategies can be very powerful.

Thats what several studies on thousands following the Pritikin Program of diet and exercise have found. Within three weeks, people were able to lower their cholesterol levels on average 23%, which translates into a 46% to 69% drop in heart attack risk.1

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Use Liquid Vegetable Oils In Place Of Solid Fats

Liquid vegetable oils such as canola, safflower, sunflower, soybean and olive oil can often be used instead of solid fats, such as butter, lard or shortening. If you must use margarine, try the soft or liquid kind.

Use a little liquid oil to:

• Pan-fry fish and poultry.
• Make cream sauces and soups using low-fat or fat-free milk.
• Add to whipped or scalloped potatoes using low-fat or fat-free milk.
• Brown rice for Spanish, curried or stir-fried rice.
• Cook dehydrated potatoes and other prepared foods that call for fat to be added.
• Make pancakes or waffles.

How To Manage High Cholesterol With Medication

For some people, diet and exercise may be enough to manage cholesterol levels. In other cases, medication may be necessary to lower LDL cholesterol levels, increase HDL cholesterol levels, or both. There are several different classes of cholesterol medications. Your doctor can advise you on the best option for your needs.

Statins

Statins, also known as HMG CoA reductase inhibitors, act on the liver to prevent cholesterol from forming and limit the overall amount of cholesterol circulating in your bloodstream. They are most effective at lowering LDL cholesterol but can also help increase HDL cholesterol and lower triglycerides, or blood fats.

Commonly prescribed statins include:

This medication is not safe to take during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.

PCSK9 inhibitors

PCSK9 inhibitors bind to a protein found in liver cells to lower LDL cholesterol. They are administered as injections every 2-4 weeks. Commonly prescribed medications in this class include:

• Alirocumab

The primary side effect is itching, swelling, pain, or bruising at the injection site.

ACL inhibitors

ACL inhibitors act on the liver to block cholesterol production. They are often taken in combination with statins to help further lower LDL in people with heart disease and people with familial heterozygous hypercholesterolemia, a genetic condition that causes high LDL cholesterol.

Commonly prescribed ACL inhibitors include:

• Bempedoic acid
• Bempedoic acid and ezetimibe

Fibrates

• Fenofibrate

Niacin

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The Dietary Guidelines For Americans Summarized

Heres a summary of the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans:

Avoid industrial trans fats.

Replace saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats, and aim to get less than 10% of your calories from saturated fats.

Reduce calories from solid animal fats with plant oils when possible.

Prioritize seafood , lean meats, poultry, eggs, legumes , nuts, seeds, and soy products over red and processed meats as sources of protein.

Avoid Artificial Trans Fats

While trans fats occur naturally in red meat and dairy products, most peoples main source is artificial trans fat used in many restaurants and processed foods .

Artificial trans fats are produced by hydrogenating or adding hydrogen to unsaturated fats such as vegetable oils to change their structure and solidify them at room temperature.

Trans fats make a cheap alternative to natural saturated fats and have been widely used by restaurants and food manufacturers.

However, substantive research shows that eating artificial trans fats increases bad LDL cholesterol, lowers good HDL cholesterol and is linked to a 23% greater risk of heart disease (

31 ).

Summary Artificial trans fats are linked to higher LDL cholesterol levels and an increased risk of heart disease. Recently, the US banned their use in restaurants and processed foods, making them easier to avoid.

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Treatment For High Cholesterol

Making lifestyle changes, especially changing some of the foods you eat, and regular physical activity, are very important to help reduce high LDL cholesterol.

You may also need to take cholesterol-lowering medicines to help manage your cholesterol and reduce your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Talk to your doctor about finding the most appropriate treatment for you.

What Is The Difference Between Hdl And Ldl Cholesterol

Cholesterol doesnt dissolve in blood. To be transported in the bloodstream, cholesterol is packed into two types of carriers: low-density lipoproteins or high-density lipoproteins . LDL cholesterol, which is sometimes known as bad cholesterol, is necessary in limited quantities , but high LDL cholesterol levels can dramatically increase your risk of a heart attack. Thats because LDL particles can contribute to atherosclerosisor clogged arteries. HDL cholesterolsometimes called good cholesterolhelps clear LDL cholesterol from the arteries.

When doctors measure cholesterol levels, they first look at total cholesterol as a quick way to assess a persons risk. For a more exact guide, they divide the total level by the HDL level. Heart attack risk is minimized by having a lower total cholesterol and a higher proportion of HDL cholesterol. The ratio of total cholesterol to HDL should be less than 4 to 1.

Unfortunately, the average American man has a ratio of 5 to 1. Vegetarians, on the other hand, average about 3 to 1. Smoking and obesity lower HDL vigorous exercise and foods rich in vitamin C may increase it.

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Enjoy Lots Of Fruits And Vegetables

Eating fruits and vegetables is an easy way to lower LDL cholesterol levels.

Studies show that adults who consume at least four servings of fruits and vegetables each day have roughly 6% lower LDL cholesterol levels than people who eat fewer than two servings per day .

Fruits and vegetables also contain high numbers of antioxidants, which prevent LDL cholesterol from oxidizing and forming plaques in your arteries .

Together, these cholesterol-lowering and antioxidant effects can reduce your risk of heart disease.

Research has found that people who eat the most fruits and vegetables have a 17% lower risk of developing heart disease over 10 years compared to those who eat the fewest .

Summary Eating at least four servings of fruits and vegetables daily can lower LDL cholesterol levels and reduce LDL oxidation, which may reduce your risk of heart disease.

Food Supplements That Do Not Help With Cholesterol

Many extracts and supplements have been promoted for their overall health benefits and lipid-lowering effects, but do they work?

We reviewed the available scientific research and found that the following supplements had no good evidence to support those claims:

• Selenium: Supplements may help lower cholesterol in people with low levels of selenium, but not in people with normal levels of selenium. There is not enough scientific evidence to say that selenium protects against cardiovascular disease.

• Calcium: Results here are mixed, but the bottom line is calcium supplementation does not improve cholesterol levels.

• Garlic supplements: Raw, powdered, and aged garlic supplements had no effect on cholesterol levels.

• Policosanol: This substance, which is extracted from sugar cane wax, did not improve cholesterol.

• Coconut oil supplements: There is mixed evidence about the cardiovascular benefits or harm of coconut oil. It is not an evidence-based alternative treatment for high cholesterol levels.

• Coconut water: There is no high-quality data about coconut water improving cholesterol levels.

• Resveratrol supplements: There is no evidence that these improve cholesterol levels in humans.

• Soy isoflavones supplements: Taking supplements of soy isoflavones does not improve cholesterol levels.

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