Chronic Diseases

Ways To Lower Cholesterol Without Drugs

Many problems with health are associated with aging, including cholesterol. There is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol, as you may have heard. Although having cholesterol in every cell in the body is completely normal, having high levels of bad cholesterol is exactly that, bad. And, with extreme levels of chemicals and pollutants, and the like, it is important to maintain optimum health with as few drugs as possible. That is why it is important to learn how to lower cholesterol without drugs.

The body uses cholesterol to build hormones and healthy cells, and therefore it is a necessity to the body. When those levels increase, fat deposits begin to form in the blood vessels. This in turn causes difficulty for the blood to easily flow through your arteries. High cholesterol can increase your chance of getting a heart attack or a stroke.

A healthy diet, along with exercise is key to controlling your cholesterol. Reducing the amount of dairy products and saturated fats, along with trans fats will have a positive impact on your levels and overall health. Understanding nutrition labels is very important to your health.

Trans fats have a negative impact on both your good cholesterol, which is known as HDL and on your bad cholesterol, which is known as LDL. In studies, trans fats will raise the LDL and lower the HDL, causing a double whammy. Do not simply rely on the packaging of any product that claims that it is free of trans fats. By law, if they are under a certain amount, they are considered to be low enough to not be mentioned. If you want to know whether a product has any trans fat at all, look in the ingredients for any hydrogenated oils.

Smoking will increase your LDL, as well as your risk for heart disease, cancer, and a slew of other problems. But, if you do have high LDL, you should quit smoking immediately. If you feel that you cannot quit, you don’t have to cold turkey anymore as there are specialized gums, patches, and other aides that will help you. If you are overweight, it is important to drop those extra pounds as weight is directly related to raising cholesterol levels.

Choose foods that promote a healthy heart such as fruits and vegetables, fish that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and whole grains. Try to reduce the amount of refined foods, such as white bread, white pasta, and the like. Instead, opt for whole wheat, et cetera.

Reduce the amount of alcohol you drink. For women, you should limit that to one drink a day and for a man, a maximum of two drinks per day. To promote a healthy heart, a good cardio workout for at least 30 minutes each day is recommended. These small lifestyle changes may seem like sacrifices to some, but they will lower your LDL in order to avoid taking medication to control it.