Simple Ways To Naturally Lower Cholesterol Levels
What is cholesterol and how do you lower cholesterol without taking drugs prescribed from your doctor?
Cholesterol, a waxy substance that the body uses to make hormones and other important substances. Its also found in some foods such as eggs, meat, poultry, and whole-milk dairy products.
The level of cholesterol in your blood is called blood cholesterol. If its too high over time, you may develop heart disease or stroke.
We have all heard that having a high cholesterol level can lead to many life-threatening conditions, but did you know that there is good and bad cholesterol?
The good cholesterol is called HDL Cholesterol, while the bad is called LDL Cholesterol.
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Apples: Rich In Fiber And Beneficial Antioxidants
As with beans, apples are an excellent source of LDL-lowering soluble fiber, primarily pectin. Research published in December 2014 in the European Journal of Nutrition also shows that eating an apple a day can slow the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. This health benefit comes thanks to antioxidant polyphenols found primarily in apple skin . Antioxidants are important because inflammation and plaque buildup in the arteries are more likely to occur when LDL cholesterol interacts with free radicals and becomes oxidized.
What Fish Is Bad For Cholesterol
Salmon, mackerel, lake trout, herring, and sardines are among these fish. It is recommended that most people avoid eating fish with high mercury levels that have been consumed in excess of 150 g per week. Fresh or frozen tuna , sharks, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy, and escolar are some of these fish.
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Foods Rich In Unsaturated Fats
Cutting down on saturated fat and replace some of it with unsaturated fats is great way to lower your cholesterol. Foods which contain unsaturated fats include:
- vegetable oils such as olive, sunflower, corn, rapeseed, nut and seed oils
- avocado, nuts and seeds
- fat spreads made from vegetable oils, such as sunflower and olive oil
- oily fish
Oily fish are a good source of healthy unsaturated fats, specifically a type called omega-3 fats. Aim to eat two portions of fish per week, at least one of which should be oily. A portion is 140g, but you could have two or three smaller portions throughout the week. Tinned, frozen or fresh all count e.g. salmon, sardines, pilchards, trout, herring and mackerel.
Avoid coconut and palm oil as, unlike other vegetable oils, they are high in saturated fat.
What Are The Negative Effects On The Body From High Ldl Cholesterol Levels
There are many illnesses and health concerns that stem from having high total cholesterol levels.
Some health conditions that can be triggered by high cholesterol include:
- Atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries and vascular dementia, which can lower brain function.
- Increased risk of heart disease and strokes from plaque buildup on artery walls.
- Angina chest pain that is a result of atherosclerosis restricting blood flow to the heart muscle.
- Peripheral Vascular Disease
And that is to name a few.
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Lowering Your Total And Ldl Cholesterol Levels
Here are some things you can do:
Lose weight if you are overweight.
Exercise regularly. For example, walk or ride a bicycle for 30 minutes at least three times a week.
Eat fewer high-fat foods, like butter, cheese, meat, and some vegetable fats . Foods that are high in saturated fat should be less than 7 percent of your total daily calories.
Eat more high-fiber foods, like vegetables, fruits, grains, and whole-grain breads, cereals, and pasta.
Your doctor can help you plan a heart-healthy diet. If exercising and changing your diet do not help enough, you might need to take a medicine to lower your cholesterol level.
Use Polyunsaturated Fats Especially Omega
Polyunsaturated fats have multiple double bonds that make them behave differently in the body than saturated fats. Research shows that polyunsaturated fats reduce LDL cholesterol and decrease the risk of heart disease.
For example, one study replaced saturated fats in 115 adults diets with polyunsaturated fats for 8 weeks. By the end of the study, total and LDL cholesterol levels were reduced by about 10% .
Polyunsaturated fats also may reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
Another study changed the diets of 4,220 adults, replacing 5% of their calories from carbohydrates with polyunsaturated fats. Their blood glucose and fasting insulin levels decreased, indicating a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes .
Omega-3 fatty acids are an especially heart-healthy type of polyunsaturated fat. Theyre found in seafood and fish oil supplements. Especially high amounts occur in fatty fish like:
- salmon
- deep sea tuna like bluefin or albacore
- shellfish , including shrimp
Other sources of omega-3s include seeds and tree nuts, but not peanuts.
summary
All polyunsaturated fats are heart-healthy and may reduce the risk of diabetes. Omega-3 fats are a type of polyunsaturated fat with extra heart benefits.
Trans fats are unsaturated fats that have been modified by a process called hydrogenation. This is done to make the unsaturated fats in vegetable oils more stable.
The resulting trans fats are not fully saturated and are called partially hydrogenated oils .
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Psck9 Inhibitors Can Lower Your Ldl Cholesterol: A Lot
PSCK9 inhibitors may be a good choice for people with an inherited form of high cholesterol. These new drugs can lower dangerous LDL levels by half or more. The drugs costs are high, but the health care industry is working with manufacturers and pharmacists to bring the price down and make PSCK9 inhibitors available to more people.
Study Suggests Lower Ldl Cholesterol Is Better
A recent meta-analysis published in JAMA Cardiology suggests that it is both safe and effective to lower LDL below 70 mg/dL. The authors reviewed a large database of CVD patients with LDL levels averaging 70 mg/dL or less at the start of the studies. On average, there was a 20% drop in CVD risk seen for every 39 mg/dL drop in LDL cholesterol. In other words, a drop in LDL from 70 mg/dL down to 31 mg/dL was associated with 20% fewer CVD events such as heart attack or stroke.
The benefit was consistent regardless of the medications used to lower cholesterol. The JAMA Cardiology meta-analysis looked at studies in which LDL was lowered with a statin drug, which works by lowering LDL production in the liver, or with a different type of medication, including ezetimibe , which interferes with absorption of LDL from the intestine, or PCSK9 inhibitors, newer injectable medicines that increase uptake of LDL from the bloodstream into the liver. The drop in CVD risk was in line with previous studies of patients who started with LDL levels around 130 mg/dL, and saw a drop in CVD events of about 22% for every 39 mg/dL drop in LDL.
In this study, there was no increased risk of adverse outcomes , even when LDL was lowered to as low as 20 mg/dL. Although statin medications themselves have been linked to side effects, especially at high doses, it appears that extremely low LDL concentrations are not responsible for side effects.
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Should I Stop Drinking If I Have High Cholesterol
Cutting down on alcohol will help your liver to work better at removing bad cholesterol. It may also improve your heart health in other ways by helping you lose weight and lower your blood pressure.
Our top tips for drinking alcohol are to:
- drink less than 14 units of alcohol a week
- have a few days each week where you dont drink at all
- avoid binge drinking by drinking half what you usually would
- order a small glass of wine or half a pint of beer.
Read more of our advice on alcohol.By making some of these small changes you should see your cholesterol levels go down.
New Guidelines For Ldl Levels And Addressing Cardiovascular Disease Risk
New guidelines for assessing your heart disease give you and your doctor powerful tools for estimating your cardiovascular disease risk and lowering your LDL cholesterol levels. Working with your health care team, you can create a plan with a customized combination of lifestyle changes, medications and continued monitoring.
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Fruits That Lower Cholesterol: Apples
Eating apples once or twice daily reports many more health benefits than you could imagine. Scientific studies have shown that it is one of the best fruits to lower cholesterol, as well as lowering the bad cholesterol and favoring an increase of the good cholesterol . Not only that, but it exerts a cardio-protective action, maintaining good heart health and acting against free radicals that cause cellular aging in addition to being a great natural diuretic. You see, there are many reasons to include this delicious fruit in your diet and start to see the benefits.
Ranking The Best Cholesterol Supplements Of 2021
Cholesterol supplements are designed to keep your cholesterol at a healthy level. They do this using a variety of different methods and ingredients.
If your cholesterol levels are too high, you are at a higher risk for heart attack and stroke, so it is vital to lower them to a healthy level. Generally, this is done through both medication and diet. However, supplements can also play a key role when used correctly.
Here are some of our favorite supplements for lowering cholesterol levels:
Research
This supplement contains 500 mg of niacinamide, which can lower your LDL levels. Plus, it also contains a variety of other expert-chosen ingredients, like red yeast rice and garlic powder.
It also promotes the creation of healthy HDL cholesterol to keep your heart healthy. For these reasons, it is Bodynutritions #1 pick.
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Vegetables That Lower High Cholesterol
Vegetables grow on the ground or under it. If you want to lower your cholesterol, raise them to your dinner plate–at least 4 1/2 cups every day–say nutrition experts at Harvard University’s School of Public Health. The soluble fiber in vegetables is credited for lowering your “bad” cholesterol, or low-density lipoprotein, LDL. The best vegetables for the purpose are the green, leafy ones and the intensely colored ones.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
One of the most important foods in the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet is extra virgin olive oil.
One five-year study gave older adults at risk of heart disease 4 tablespoons a day of extra virgin olive oil alongside a Mediterranean diet.
The olive oil group had a 30% lower risk of major heart events, such as stroke and heart attack, compared to people who followed a low-fat diet .
Olive oil is a rich source of monounsaturated fatty acids, the kind that may help raise good HDL and lower bad LDL cholesterol.
It is also a source of polyphenols, some of which reduce the inflammation that can drive heart disease .
Summary
High cholesterol levels are a major risk factor for heart disease.
Thankfully, you can lower this risk by incorporating certain foods into your diet.
Upping your intake of these foods will put you on the path to a balanced diet and keep your heart healthy.
You can also practice techniques like mindful eating to make sure youre enjoying your meal and getting full without overdoing it.
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A Guide To Healthy Eating: Strategies Tips And Recipes To Help You Make Better Food Choices
Eat real food. Thats the essence of todays nutrition message. Our knowledge of nutrition has come full circle, back to eating food that is as close as possible to the way nature made it. Based on a solid foundation of current nutrition science, Harvards Special Health Report A Guide to Healthy Eating: Strategies, tips, and recipes to help you make better food choices describes how to eat for optimum health.
High Cholesterol: Prevention Treatment And Research
Cholesterol is a natural component in everyones blood, and supports normal function of cell membranes, hormone levels and more. However, having too much, is considered hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia or high blood cholesterol a major risk factor for heart attack, heart disease and stroke. About 71 million Americans have high cholesterol.
Heres what happens in your body when you have high cholesterol: The waxy cholesterol builds up in artery walls and contributes to plaque, a hard deposit that narrows and clogs the arteries.
When plaque builds up, it becomes harder for the heart to circulate blood and oxygen, which can cause chest pain or shortness of breath with increased exertion . If a blood clot forms at the site of a disrupted plaque in a narrowed artery, it can block blood flow to the brain or to the heart .
There are actually several different types of cholesterol, one of which is high density lipoprotein cholesterol. High levels of some kinds of cholesterol, including low density lipoprotein cholesterol, can be harmful to your heart and blood vessels.
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Foods To Help Lower Cholesterol
You can increase your HDLs through exercise, but when it comes to your diet, there are several foods that can help with LDL reduction The key here is to reduce, replace and improvise.
Soluble fiber is a gummy fiber that binds to bile and removes it with your bodys waste. For every 1 gram of soluble fiber you eat, you can lower your LDL by 1%. Replacing foods high in saturated fat with mono- and polyunsaturated fats can also help reduce LDL in your body. Its important to find small ways of building these foods into your diet, like swapping out cheese on a salad with avocado slices or replacing a creamy dressing with olive oil and vinegar.
Teas To Lower Cholesterol
What is the best tea to lower cholesterol? This section will feature what may be the best traditional and herbal teas to lower cholesterol, based on research studies.
The popular traditional teas for lowering cholesterol will include black tea, green tea, oolong tea, and pu-erh tea. When it comes to herbal tea, the best cholesterol-lowering teas seem to be rooibos tea, bitter melon tea, ginger tea, hibiscus tea, jasmine tea, peppermint tea, and dandelion tea.
We will look closely at these traditional and herbal teas to see how they might reduce your high cholesterol.
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How Can I Lower My Cholesterol With Medicines
As well as making lifestyle changes, some people will need to take cholesterol-lowering medicines to reduce their risk of heart and blood vessel disease, known as cardiovascular disease. The medicines most commonly used are called statins.
Your doctor will consider all your risk factors for cardiovascular disease before suggesting medication not just your cholesterol and lipid results. If youve already had a heart attack or stroke, taking statins can substantially lower your risk of having another one.
Statins work by slowing the amount of cholesterol made in your liver. In response, your liver uses the cholesterol already in your blood to make up for the deficit. This lowers the level of LDL cholesterol in your blood.
If statins alone do not lower your cholesterol enough, you may need additional medicines.
Contact your doctor if your medicines are causing any side effects.
Now Supplements Cholesterol Pro
If youre worried about your cardiovascular health, this supplement may be a great choice. It contains two ingredients that may be beneficial to your heart health. Plus, it is also soy-free and non-GMO.
It is made in a GMP-quality assured lab, so you can rest assured that the quality is fantastic. They are also packaged in the USA.
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Qunol Ultra Coq10 100mg
These soft gels contain the perfect amount of CoQ10, which can lower your LDL cholesterol levels. They are 100% water and fat-soluble, allowing your body to use the contents of these pills faster.
These may be particularly useful for statin drug users, as some studies have shown particularly good results when this supplement is paired with that particular drug.
Types Of Healthy Fat In Oils
Heart-healthy oils like canola, corn, olive, peanut, and sunflower oils contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. They help to lower harmful low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and raise healthy high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Each has its own unique flavor, as well as properties that are better suited to different types of cooking and individual recipes.
Using a range of oils in your diet can help to give you a variety of healthy nutrients.
The two types of oils here are named on the basis of their chemical structure:
- Monounsaturated fats have one unsaturated carbon bond in the molecule. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends MUFAs make up 15 to 20% of total daily calories. These fats are found only in plants and are a good source of vitamin E.
- Polyunsaturated fats have more than one unsaturated carbon bond in the molecule. They are found in plants and fish such as salmon. PUFAs have vitamin E and high levels of omega-3 and/or omega-6 fatty acids, essential for brain function and cell growth.
Omega-3 fatty acids are healthy fats that help reduce inflammation and prevent plaque in the arteries. Good sources of omega-3s include avocado, canola, flaxseed, olive, peanut, sunflower, and walnut oils.
There are two main factors to consider when choosing the best cooking oil for the job:
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Fill Up On Whole Oats
One cup of oats provides 16.5 grams of fiber, which is 66 percent of the daily recommended fiber intake based on a 2,000-calorie diet. This grain also boasts large amounts of protein, thiamin, riboflavin, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and manganese. Plus, it can be cooked in a multitude of ways, from porridge to cookies and homemade granola.
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Beta-glucan, a soluble fiber in oats, lowers LDL and total cholesterol levels. A 2014 clinical trial published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that subjects who consumed 3 grams of beta-glucan daily experienced a 0.25 mmol/L reduction in bad cholesterol and a 0.30 mmol/L decrease in total cholesterol. Their good cholesterol levels remained unchanged.
Other studies indicate that oats suppress hunger and increase fullness, leading to better appetite control. This makes them ideal for those who are trying to slim down. Furthermore, the fiber in these grains may improve insulin sensitivity and reduce blood sugar spikes following a meal.
If your goal is to lose weight, consider using oat bran instead of oats. One cup of oat bran has only 231 calories, while the same amount of oats boasts 607 calories. Their fiber content is similar.
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