More than 100 million adults in the United States have high cholesterol. When a person has high cholesterol, his or her risk of getting heart disease or having a heart attack increases. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the states. Over 2,100 Americans die each day from cardiovascular disease. The diagnosis of high cholesterol is not a death sentence. High cholesterol is a very manageable problem. There is plenty you can do to lower your cholesterol to prevent yourself from developing heart disease, or having a heart attack or stroke.
The first step is lifestyle changes which include dietary modification and optimizing your weight. Cholesterol is part of our energy transport system and overfeeding or bringing the wrong foods into our diet can harm cholesterol measurements. For some lifestyle changes are not enough and medication to keep their cholesterol at a healthy level may be appropriate.
Below, I will share some lifestyle changes you can make to improve your cholesterol.
- Take a look at your diet – Even just a few changes to your current diet can help improve your heart health and reduce your cholesterol.
Foods rich in healthy fats like olive oil, and lean meat, along with omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, halibut, trout) have been shown to protect against heart disease. Limit or remove foods with lots of saturated fat like butter, full-fat dairy products, and fatty cuts of red meat.
Fiber-rich foods are great at lowering cholesterol. Such foods include: oats, oat bran, sweet potatoes, yam, barley, beans, carrots, beets, berries, oranges, apples, and eggplant. Not only do beans and other legumes (lentils, peas, soybeans) contain high soluble fiber, but they are high in protein and help lower total LDL cholesterol, blood sugar, and insulin levels.
Nuts and seeds are also known to slightly lower LDL levels.
- Get Active – There are so many benefits to adding exercise into your daily life. If you’re looking to shed some excess weight, exercise will also help improve your cholesterol profile, along with helping to prevent other diseases including: stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers. A person’s cholesterol levels can improve just by losing 5 to 10 percent of his or her body weight. Moderate physical activity can help raise HDL cholesterol (the good kind) levels. You can walk, ride a bike, swim, play a sport, lift weights, dance, for at least 30 minutes per day to reap the benefits. Look for ways all day long to add movement to your day (taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking farther away at a shopping center, and opting for a walk over flipping through the TV channels) – All these small steps will add up!
- Stop smoking – When a person quits smoking, their levels of HDL cholesterol tend to improve. Within just 20 minutes of quitting, a person’s blood pressure and heart rate decreases. If this person has stopped smoking for 15 years, his or her risk of developing heart disease is the same as someone who has never smoked. Smoking as a behavior greatly adds to the risk of a heart attack independent of a person’s cholesterol values. The risk of smoking’s effect on heart attack risk drops back to average within months of stopping.
- Limit alcohol consumption – Studies have shown moderately consuming alcohol can lead to higher levels of HDL cholesterol. For some individuals moderate alcohol can add to triglycerides and VLDL cholesterol which contributes to your total cholesterol. All non-HDL cholesterol increases risk of building plaque in the arterial system. Too much alcohol can lead to an abundance of health issues like high blood pressure, stroke, certain cancers and decreased immunity.
- Take a supplement – Studies have shown that psyllium husk (seed grains) and plant sterols (naturally occurring substances found in plants) both reduce LDL cholesterol levels. With psyllium husk, a person should take 9 to 10 grams or 1 teaspoon of this supplement to reap the benefits. For sterols, 1 to 2 grams is plenty in one day to see the positive effect it has on lowering LDL cholesterol.
For further information, I suggest purchasing “100 Questions & Answers About Managing Your Cholesterol,” which is a book put out by the National Lipid Association to help people empower themselves through easy-to-read guides and information.
As a board certified Clinical Lipidologist (ABCL) I offer advanced lipid testing to patients who have a family history of early heart attack and also to patients taking medication for their cholesterol. Advanced lipid testing entails looking at the various sub particles of cholesterol as well as a person’s tendency to absorb or over-produce cholesterol, whether it is due to genetic tendency or medication intervention. Additionally, inflammatory signals are monitored to assure effective and optimal management is achieved.
If you’re having trouble managing this or think you may have high cholesterol, it’s best to talk to your doctor about options, lifestyle changes, or possible medications. To book an appointment with a doctor about your cholesterol, contact Dr. Kordonowy of Internal Medicine, Lipid & Wellness of Fort Myers at 239-362-3005, ext. 200 or click here.
