What Do The Cholesterol Numbers Mean
Your total cholesterol level shows how much cholesterol you have in your blood, and your test results will fall into one of these ranges:
- 200 mg/dL or lower = normal
- 200 239 mg/dL = borderline high
- 240 mg/dL or higher = high
Your total number includes:
- HDL, or good cholesterol. HDL helps take away LDL, or bad cholesterol, from your blood, so a higher number is better.
- LDL, or bad cholesterol. LDL is linked to the buildup of plaque in your blood vessels, so a lower number is better.
- Triglycerides, a type of fat. Triglycerides are also linked to the buildup of plaque in your blood vessels, so a lower number is better.
Dietary Factors That Tend To Reduce Ldl Cholesterol
Soluble Fiber
Soluble fiber helps to lower blood cholesterol levels. It dissolves in water to form a gel that moves slowly through the intestines, grabbing up fat, dietary cholesterol, bile salts, and sugar to be excreted. Once excreted, these are no longer available to build more cholesterol.
Load up on foods high in soluble fiber like beans, such as hummus, lentil stew, dal, bean burritos, bean soup, bean burgers, bean dips. There are endless options to incorporate beans into your diet. Oats and barley are also high in soluble fiber. Try having steel-cut or overnight oatmeal for breakfast, use rolled oats to make pancakes, or make a delicious barley risotto. Incorporate soluble-fiber-rich vegetables like eggplant, okra, carrots, and potatoes into your diet to help lower cholesterol. This also includes dark, leafy greens such as kale, spinach, and collard greens. Pectin is a soluble fiber that works by binding to fatty substances in the digestive tract, including cholesterol, and promotes their elimination. Pectin-rich fruits such as apples, grapes, citrus fruit, and strawberries can help lower LDL.
Whole Soy
How You Can Reduce Bad Cholesterol Without Medication
High cholesterol is one of the most common health ailments that can lead to heart disease. Too much cholesterol can clog your arteries and cause a heart attack or lead to arteriosclerosis. Did you know that you dont have to take medication to reduce your cholesterol levels? You can use fresh ingredients to naturally get rid of bad cholesterol in the body.
There is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol . HDL helps to control LDL levels and helps keep blood vessels healthy. The goal is to maintain healthy HDL levels because the cells in your body need it. All you have to do is make small changes to get your cholesterol down to a healthy level.
When it comes to using foods to naturally lower cholesterol, it is best to eat a healthy plant-based diet that consists of fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts and seeds. Consuming dairy products, meat, meat products, added sugars, and processed foods will only raise cholesterol levels, so we suggest not eating them.
It is also best to avoid cholesterol-lowering medications because they can cause memory loss, muscle pain, and elevated liver enzymes. Naturally lower your LDL levels and support HDL levels by following the tips below.
#1: Garlic
#2: Coriander
#3: Apple Cider Vinegar
#4: Oatmeal
#5: Cinnamon
#6: Onions
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Good Cholesterol V Bad Cholesterol
Cholesterol travels around the body in the blood. But, blood is water-based whilst cholesterol is oil-based and, as we know from school, oil and water do not mix.
So that, if left to its own devices in your bloodstream, cholesterol would just congeal into lumpy masses which your cells could not use.
However, your body is very clever and packages-up your cholesterol with other fats into protein-covered molecules called “lipoproteins” and uses these “vehicles” to transport it from the liver to the cells and back again.
There are several lipoproteins, but the 2 main types are: low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein .
LDL molecules have a low protein / high fat ratio so they are referred to as low-density, whilst HDLs have a high protein / low fat ratio and therefore are high density carriers.
Both HDLs and LDLs circulate in your blood at the same time. But, they have two entirely different jobs to perform.
Can I Pass Fh To My Kids
If you inherited FH from one parent, theres a 50% chance youll pass it on to your children. If both of your parents passed the FH trait to you, your children will definitely have FH. Thats why its crucial to get children with a family history tested at an early age and begin cholesterol-reducing treatment for those with FH.
People with FH are usually not diagnosed until their 30s or 40s or later. Unfortunately, far too few are diagnosed as children. But early treatment can significantly impact a persons lifetime cardiovascular health by lowering their long-term exposure to high cholesterol levels, Martin advises. The treatment keeps their arteries healthier and prevents premature heart attacks and strokes.
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Drink Alcohol In Moderation
If you drink alcohol, it should be in moderation, as this is one way to reduce your cholesterol without medication.
Cholesterol is produced in the liver, and alcohol is processed through the liver.
Your cholesterol levels as a result of drinking alcohol will depend on how much and how often you drink alcohol.
You shouldnt exceed more than 1 unit of alcohol a day for women and 2 units of alcohol a day for men.
Heres what happens to your cholesterol levels when you drink to excess:
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Alcohol is processed by the liver. Excess calories from carbohydrates and glucose that is found in most alcoholic drinks are stored as triglycerides, this may lead to an overall increase in your triglycerides and cholesterol levels.
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Though certain alcoholic drinks contain sterols, which are said to increase HDL levels, there are no health benefits from overdoing it on a night out of the town.
In sum: Drink alcohol in moderation to reduce your cholesterol without medication.
Daily Exercise To Lower Cholesterol
We know that being overweight causes raised cholesterol levels. And studies indicate that exercising helps to increase good HDL cholesterol levels and lower bad LDL levels in the body, which is exactly the outcome we are looking for.
For some time now experts have held that 30 minutes of moderate to intense exercise per day helps to lower cholesterol. Typical exercises being walking, jogging, cycling, etc. And tests show that exercises of this nature can definitely lower cholesterol.
However, more recent studies have shown that more intense workouts are even more effective and lower cholesterol even further.
So aim for 30 to 60 minutes of intense daily exercise. Don’t use the excuse that you don’t have time: that’s a cop-out. You can rearrange your day to fit-in at least 30 minutes of exercise.
Brisk walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, tennis, baseball, basketball, netball, racquetball, etc., are all things that you could fit into your schedule. Choose which works best for you and stick with it. But start slowly and build up over time as you become fitter.
Important: If you haven’t been doing any real exercise for a period of time, then you should definitely consult with your doctor / physician before you start. They will be able to advise on a safe exercise program to suit your individual circumstances.
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How To Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally Without Medication
In order to lower cholesterol naturally without medication, we are really talking about the lifestyle changes that will help to reduce cholesterol. Your doctor would have advised whether to use lifestyle changes only or to use them in conjunction with medication such as statins.
Right then, here are four ways to lower your cholesterol naturally:
Recipes For Lowering Ldl Cholesterol
Adding foods every day that are naturally rich in fiber, like beans and brown rice, are an excellent way to lower your LDL cholesterol without drugs. The recipe below combines two great foods into one healthy cholesterol-lowering dish. Dont like beans or rice? Check out these other great cholesterol-lowering meals.
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Great Tips For Lowering Cholesterol Without Medication
Lowering LDL, also referred to as bad cholesterol, is key to lowering your risk of a heart attack. Its recommended that you aim to get your LDL levels below 100. Dropping your LDL below 80 provides even more protection. Taking charge of your heart health by making changes that lower your cholesterol is one of the key steps you can take to avoid dying of heart disease. Read on to learn five practical ways you can manage your cholesterol without medication.
Five Simple Ways To Lower Your Cholesterol
If your cholesterol is too high, do not despair. It is easy to bring it down! Here are 5 simple ways for most people to get their total cholesterol below 150 naturally.
1. Get Moving!
Regular physical activity lowers your LDL and raises your good cholesterol .
2. Minimize Animal Protein
Cholesterol is only found in meat and dairy. You do not need any cholesterol in your diet. Your body will make what ever your body needs. Fish is relatively neutral overall to cholesterol. While fish does slightly raises LDL it also raises HDL and lowers your triglycerides. Fish, especially oily fish, is very heart healthy provided it is a fish low in mercury and other contaminants. If you enjoy animal meat, eat only organic grass fed meat and in limited quantities.
3. Eat More Fiber
Fiber scrubs the cholesterol out of your body. The more fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and legumes the better.
4. Eat Only Healthy Fats
Nuts and seeds have the healthy fats our bodies need. For cooking, stick to healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil. Margarine, vegetable oils, or anything like this is toxic to our bodies.
5. Minimize Sugar and Processed Foods
This is where most of the chronic diseases we are now seeing come from. This is not real food. Stick to real food not stuff made in a factory and sold in a box, can, or jar.
One point to always remember. Please work with your physician when lowering your cholesterol naturally. You never want to just stop your medications.
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Are You Serious About Reducing Cholesterol
If making healthy changes on your own has been a challenge, it may be time to bring in the professionals! Our team of physicians, nutritionists, exercise experts, psychologists, and chefs – specialize in helping people just like you reduce medication and take contol of their health. A vacation at Pritikin will change your life!
How To Control Cholesterol Without Statins
This article was co-authored by Find BC Dietitians. Find BC Dietitians is a central hub of qualified nutrition experts in British Columbia, Canada with a mission to connect people to a registered dietitian best suited for their needs. BC Dietitians offer online consultations and provide evidence-based care on a wide range of nutrition matters such as diabetes, weight management, food allergies, eating disorders, and intuitive eating.There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 65,923 times.
Cholesterol is in the fats that are in your blood. Having high LDL cholesterol is dangerous for your health because it contributes to creating blockages in your arteries. This can increase your risk of a heart attack. Many people can successfully lower their cholesterol by making dietary and lifestyle changes. If you work hard at it, you may not need to take medications such as statins.XTrustworthy SourceNational Health Service Public healthcare system of the UKGo to source
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Eat Fewer Refined Grains Such As White Flour
Were a nation of white food eaters white bread, white rice, white pasta, and white-flour foods like muffins, croissants, bagels, crackers, dried cereals, tortillas, pretzels, and chips. Yes, more than half of many Americans typical diets are made up of hyperprocessed refined white flour, often injected with sugar, salt, and/or fat.
Thats a real problem in part because the more white, or refined, grains we eat, the fewer whole grains we tend to take in. Research has found that eating whole grains can help lower both total and LDL cholesterol, and improve heart health.
In Harvard Universitys Nurses Health Study, for example, women who ate two to three servings of whole-grain products each day were 30% less likely to have a heart attack or die from heart disease over a 10-year period than women who ate less than one serving of whole grains per week.2
When first starting to make the switch from refined to whole grains, many people often feel a bit confused. Where to begin? Whats whole? What isnt?
The registered dietitians at the Pritikin Longevity Center start with one very simple rule. When looking at products like breads and cereals, they recommend turning the package around and making sure the first word in the Ingredient List is whole. If you see the word whole at the top of the list, its a good bet that what youre buying is in fact 100% whole grain, or close to it.
Tips To Fix Your Cholesterol Without Medication
The singular focus on treating cholesterol as a means to prevent heart attacks is leading to the deaths of millions of people because the real underlying cause of the majority of heart disease is not being diagnosed or treated by most physicians.
For example, I recently saw a patient named Jim who had “normal” cholesterol levels yet was taking the most powerful statin on the market, Crestor. Despite this aggressive pharmaceutical treatment, this man was headed for a serious heart attack. Jim’s doctors had missed his real disease risks by focusing on and treating his cholesterol levels. All the while they were ignoring the most important condition that put him at dramatically higher risk of heart attacks, diabetes, cancer and dementia. In a moment I will explain what this condition is and what you can do about it.
This craze for treating cholesterol has lead to an onslaught of pharmaceuticals designed to “lower cholesterol.” Statins are now the number one selling class of drugs in the nation and new cholesterol medications are produced every day. The latest in a new class of “super” cholesterol drugs, CETP inhibitors, now in the drug approval pipeline from Merck burst into the news recently with exclamations from typically restrained scientists. Data on this new drug was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the American Heart Association conference in Chicago.
Why Lowering Cholesterol May Not Lower the Risk of Death
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Natural Ways To Lower Your Cholesterol Levels
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Cholesterol is made in your liver and has many important functions. For example, it helps keep the walls of your cells flexible and is needed to make several hormones.
However, like anything in the body, too much cholesterol or cholesterol in the wrong places creates problems.
Like fat, cholesterol does not dissolve in water. Instead, its transport in the body depends on molecules called lipoproteins, which carry cholesterol, fat and fat-soluble vitamins in the blood.
Different kinds of lipoproteins have different effects on health. For example, high levels of low-density lipoprotein result in cholesterol deposits in blood vessel walls, which can lead to clogged arteries, strokes, heart attacks and kidney failure .
In contrast, high-density lipoprotein helps carry cholesterol away from vessel walls and helps prevent these diseases .
This article will review 10 natural ways to increase the good HDL cholesterol and lower the bad LDL cholesterol.
Regular Exercise And Cholesterol
Staying active is another way to reduce your risk of high cholesterol. Regular exercise helps control weight, raise HDL, and lower LDL and triglycerides. Find an activity you enjoy biking, swimming, walking, tennis and try to do it for an hour every day.
If these changes arent enough to get your numbers into a healthy range, your doctor might prescribe medication. Its very important to stay on your treatment plan, and to practice healthy habits, whether your doctor prescribes medicine or not.
To learn more about cholesterol, heart disease, and how to keep your risks low, visit the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute or call 1-855-UPMC-HVI.
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Cut Back On Added Sugar
A sugary diet can cause your liver to make more LDL cholesterol while lowering your HDL levels. Excess sugar can also raise your triglycerides and inhibit an enzyme that breaks them down. To prevent this, replace sugary fare with naturally-sweet alternatives. Instead of a bowl of candy, for example, have unsweetened applesauce or a baked pear. When you do indulge in high-sugar treats, stick to modest portions.
Lowering Your Cholesterol Without Prescription Drugs
High LDL cholesterol levels , low HDL cholesterol levels , and high triglyceride levels are now recognized as being major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. And for decades, cardiologists and public health experts have stressed the importance of controlling blood lipid levels in an attempt to prevent heart disease.
A number of prescription drugs are available to help reduce LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. However, many health-conscious people would prefer to improve their lipid levels without resorting to prescription medications.
This article provides information about some of the more commonly used non-prescription methods of lowering cholesterol. But first, there are a few things you should know about cholesterol lowering and its effect on cardiovascular risk.
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