Other Conditions And Medications Associated With High Hdl
High HDL is also linked to other conditions, including:
- thyroid disorders
- inflammatory diseases
- alcohol consumption
Sometimes cholesterol-controlling medications can also raise HDL levels. These are usually taken to lower LDL, triglyceride, and total cholesterol levels. Medication types that have been linked to increased HDL levels include:
- bile acid sequestrants, which decrease fat absorption from the foods you eat
- cholesterol absorption inhibitors
- omega-3 fatty acid supplements, which lower triglycerides in the blood, but also increase HDL cholesterol
- statins, which block the liver from creating more cholesterol
Increasing HDL levels is usually a positive side effect in people who have low HDL levels as in most cases, it decreases their risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Exercise And Weight Loss
Increasing your physical activity and losing weight- if needed have positive impacts on cholesterol levels. Consistent exercise is connected to increase HDL levels. More HDL cholesterol in the bloodstream means that there are more HDL particles removing LDL cholesterol to the liver to be processed for excretion.
Exercise also lowers cholesterol levels by helping attenuate obesity, which is a major risk factor for high LDL and VLDL levels. Exercising consistently helps the body burn more calories, which then allows the body to utilize fat stores for energy. Weight loss requires the body to be in a calorie deficit and burn more energy than it consumes. If you monitor your LDL cholesterol levels over time, you should see a downward trend that is associated with decreasing weight.
In addition to helping improve cholesterol levels, exercise and weight loss also have therapeutic effects on other conditions associated with high LDL cholesterol. Consistent cardio and weight loss help decrease fat accumulation in the liver, improve insulin sensitivity, decrease blood pressure, and improve diabetes. By targeting these other conditions as well, exercise and weight loss can help decrease the risk of heart disease even more.
Becoming More Physically Active
A sedentary lifestyle lowers HDL cholesterol. Less HDL means theres less good cholesterol to remove bad cholesterol from your arteries.
Physical activity is important. At least;150 minutes of moderate-intensity;aerobic exercise a week;is enough to lower both cholesterol and high blood pressure. And you have lots of options: brisk walking, swimming, bicycling or even yard work can fit the bill.
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Add These Foods To Lower Ldl Cholesterol
Different foods lower cholesterol in various ways. Some deliver soluble fiber, which binds cholesterol and its precursors in the digestive system and drags them out of the body before they get into circulation. Some give you polyunsaturated fats, which directly lower LDL. And some contain plant sterols and stanols, which block the body from absorbing cholesterol.
1. Oats.;An easy first step to lowering your cholesterol is having a bowl of oatmeal or cold oat-based cereal like Cheerios for breakfast. It gives you 1 to 2 grams of soluble fiber. Add a banana or some strawberries for another half-gram. Current nutrition guidelines recommend getting 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day, with at least 5 to 10 grams coming from soluble fiber.
2. Barley and other whole grains.;Like oats and oat bran, barley and other whole grains can help lower the risk of heart disease, mainly via the soluble fiber they deliver.
3. Beans.;Beans are especially rich in soluble fiber. They also take a while for the body to digest, meaning you feel full for longer after a meal. That’s one reason beans are a useful food for folks trying to lose weight. With so many choices from navy and kidney beans to lentils, garbanzos, black-eyed peas, and beyond and so many ways to prepare them, beans are a very versatile food.
4. Eggplant and okra.;These two low-calorie vegetables are good sources of soluble fiber.
Cholesterol And Its Types
Cholesterol is the most common alcohol in the human body, obtained from food and mostly synthesized in the liver.
It helps improve wounds, protect the skin from damage, and patch up broken and inflamed blood vessels.
Simply put, if there is no inflammation or broken blood vessels in the body, cholesterol will move freely and it will not be able to accumulate on the walls of the blood vessels or cause any trouble there.
It is the long-term inflammation that causes cholesterol build-up and not all cholesterol, but the oxidized one.
So the question is not always how to lower the cholesterol at all costs, but rather ; how to raise good cholesterol levels.
Four types of cholesterol can be found in the human body:
- Very low density lipoproteins
- Intermediate density lipoproteins
- Low density lipoproteins
- High density lipoproteins
LDL and HDL cholesterol are the most famous ones as 25-35% of the total human cholesterol is in HDL and 60-70% in LDL. So, these two are the key players and therefore we will focus on them in this article.
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Eat More Of Certain Foods And Less With Saturated Fats
Changes to your diet can make a big difference in lowering cholesterol, and they dont need to be complicated. According to the National Institute of Health, there are some simple guidelines to follow to get your cholesterol score down:
- Reduce your consumption of saturated fats This is arguably the most common sense action out there, as most people understand that red meat and non-lowfat milk and dairy products are high in saturated fats, which increase your cholesterol level. Eat them only in moderation or eliminate them where possible.
- Eat more high-fiber foods Increasing your intake of soluble fiber helps reduce the amount of cholesterol absorbed into your bloodstream. Great sources of soluble fiber include oats, barley and other whole grains, as well as fiber supplements.
- Eat more foods with omega-3 fatty acids Though these may sound bad for you, theyre just the opposite: Omega-3 fatty acids raise your HDL, or good cholesterol, and have other positive effects on heart health. Youll find them in things like fish and certain types of nuts and seeds.
What Causes High Triglyceride Levels
High triglyceride blood levels may be genetic or they may be acquired. Examples of inherited hypertriglyceridemia disorders include mixed hypertriglyceridemia, familial hypertriglyceridemia, and familial dysbetalipoproteinemia.
Hypertriglyceridemia can often be caused by nongenetic factors such as obesity, excessive alcohol intake, diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, and estrogen-containing medications such as birth control pills.
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What Are The Types Of Cholesterol
Cholesterol moves throughout the body carried by lipoproteins in the blood. These lipoproteins include:
- Low-density lipoprotein is one of the two main lipoproteins. LDL is often called the bad cholesterol.
- High-density lipoprotein is the other main lipoprotein. HDL is often called the good cholesterol.
- Very-low-density lipoproteins are particles in the blood that carry triglycerides.
Health Conditions Related To Triglycerides And Cholesterol
High blood lipid levels may increase your risk for plaques to develop in your arteries or thicken the walls of your arteries .
Other health conditions related to high triglycerides or cholesterol include:
- High blood sugar levels or diabetes
- Metabolic syndromea cluster of conditions that increase your risk for heart disease
- Hypothyroidism
- Genetic conditions
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What Factors Affect Cholesterol Levels
A variety of factors can affect your cholesterol levels. They include:
- Diet: Saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol in the food you eat increase cholesterol levels. Try to reduce the amount of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol in your diet. This will help lower your blood cholesterol level. Saturated and trans fat have the most impact on blood cholesterol.
- Weight: In addition to being a risk factor for heart disease, being overweight can also increase your triglycerides. Losing weight may help lower your triglyceride levels and raise your HDL.
- Exercise: Regular exercise can lower total cholesterol levels. Exercise has the most effect on lowering triglycerides and raising HDL. You should try to be physically active for 30 minutes on most days of the week.
- Age and sex: As we get older,cholesterol levels rise. Before menopause, women tend to have lower total cholesterol levels than men of the same age. After menopause, however, womens LDL levels tend to rise and HDL can drop.
- Heredity: Your genes partly determine how much cholesterol your body makes. High blood cholesterol can run in families.
S For Lowering Ldl And Vldl Cholesterol Levels
If you have bad;cholesterol levels, know that they dont have to stay that way! There are many things you can do at home to help improve LDL and VLDL levels. Cholesterol levels, like other markers of metabolic disease, is highly responsive to diet and lifestyle changes. Keep in mind that most research focuses on lowering levels of LDL cholesterol. However, the factors that lower LDL will also effectively lower VLDL to yield positive outcomes for your cholesterol levels.
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How To Lower Cholesterol: Low
Low-carbohydrate diets may help improve HDL cholesterol levels. The National Institutes of Health conducted a study that found while both low-fat and low-carb dieters lost weight over the two-year study period, low-carb dieters also improved their HDL cholesterol levels. The problem with low-carb diets is that they may be difficult to adhere to. Consult your doctor about the best healthy eating plan to manage your cholesterol.
Talk To Your Doctor About Medication
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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
What The Cholesterol Ratio Means
Sometimes, heart disease risk is assessed using cholesterol ratios. Your physician will determine a cholesterol ratio by taking your total cholesterol count and dividing it by your HDL cholesterol count. This cholesterol ratio should ideally fall between 1 and 3.5, which signifies that HDL cholesterol comprises a significant portion of your total cholesterol.
If your cholesterol ratio is above 3.5, this means that your HDL cholesterol doesnt make up a significant proportion of your total cholesterol. This, in turn, indicates that LDL and VLDL cholesterol comprise a more significant portion of your total cholesterol, which puts you at a higher risk for atherosclerosis and heart disease.
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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
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
A star in the Mediterranean diet, extra virgin olive oil is frequently associated with a healthy heart.;
Infused with the sheer goodness of monounsaturated fatty acids, its also an abundant source of polyphenols known for decreasing inflammation.;
As a result, this brings down the risk of anything unhealthy associated with your heart.;
This is perhaps one of the most healthy oils that top the list of foods that increase HDL and decrease LDL.
So, these were some of the LDL cholesterol-lowering foods list that answers how to reduce cholesterol without medication.
Not to mention, these are some of the easily available foods that lower cholesterol fast.
All these foods combined will definitely make up the best diet to lower LDL and raise HDL.
Guess what!
Apart from the foods, there are some proven drinks, exclusively known for regulating your cholesterol levels. So, what is the best drink to lower cholesterol?
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Work Out To Raise Your Hdl
Exercise works wonders for your body and helps with many cardiovascular risk factors, including cholesterol levels. According to a 2016 study published in the Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, most forms of exercise will help raise your HDL levels and can simultaneously lower your LDL levels.
Aerobic exercise, which can range from a 30-minute walk every day to running 10 miles, is widely accepted as a method for increasing your HDL levels. A 2017 study published in Lipids in Health and Disease showed that exercise at 65 percent of your maximal capacity can raise your HDL levels by almost 3 milligrams per deciliter of blood.
Maximum capacity in this study was measured in VO2 max, which requires expensive equipment to measure. To match that intensity, you can train in a light to moderate heart rate zone, which is around 60 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate, according to an article from Polar. To find your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220.
Get Optimal Ratios Of Essential Amino Acids
Amino acids are the smallest units of protein and play a critical role in supporting all enzymatic reactions including synthesizing muscle tissue and building neurotransmitters. Essential amino acids are those that are nutritionally required since we cant synthesize them. The nine essential amino acids are histidine, threonine, methionine, lysine, leucine, isoleucine, valine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan.
Research shows that getting optimal ratios of essential amino acids may play an important role in lowering LDL cholesterol levels and triglycerides. A;study;published in the;Journal of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Obesity;found that supplementing with a combination of essential amino acids and phytosterols promoted lower levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides.
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Eliminate Vices Such As Nicotine And Alcohol
Cook With Vegetable Oil
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Foods To Lower Ldl Cholesterol And Raise Hdl Cholesterol
Low-Density Lipoprotein cholesterol, as we all know, if exceeded, can block the artery walls.;
And conventionally known as the good cholesterol, HDL does the job of absorbing cholesterol and sending it back to the liver.;
Thereafter, the liver flushes it from the body.;
Hence, it has all the means and rights to be called healthy cholesterol that combats bad cholesterol aka LDL effectively.
HDL being less than 40 mg/dl for men and below 50 mg/dl for women is a matter of concern.
People with such dropped levels need an immediate HDL boost in their blood.;
On the other hand, a high LDL needs to be lowered down ASAP to prevent cardiac arrest.;
So, why not fill your plate with an overall nutritious heart-healthy diet?
Start today!;
Lets find out how to lower LDL cholesterol and go through the below-listed food sources that can lower LDL cholesterol and up HDL in the long run.