How Do I Lower My Cholesterol?

Lifestyle changes to lower cholesterol

How do I lower my cholesterol? Why is cholesterol a big deal?

As has been mentioned earlier, cholesterol can lead to dangerous health conditions such as heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Even though meds will help to improve the level, changing your lifestyle will bring long-term joy to your life. Other than that, even if you’ve taken meds from the doctor, following a healthier lifestyle would prevent your cholesterol to ruin your life in the future.

Eat heart-friendly foods

Changing your diet would lead to a stable cholesterol level. On the other hand, it leads to healthier heart health.

Heart-friendly foods include those with low to non-saturated fats. Saturated fats are commonly found in fatty dairy products and red meat. Limiting your consumption of those fatty sources will improve your cholesterol.

Trans fats are the next thing your health won’t approve. This thing is found in margarine and cookies. By January 1, 2021, the FDA will ban the use of partially hydrogenated veg oils.

Meanwhile, you can boost your consumption of omega-3 fatty acids, soluble fiber, and whey protein. Flaxseeds, walnut, herring, mackerel, and salmon are among those that contain a bunch of omega-3 fatty acids. To increase your soluble fiber intake, you can include brussels sprouts, kidney beans, oatmeal, pears, and apples as part of your diet.

Move your body

Exercises have to be part of your daily activities. You don’t have to go to the gym every day since you can do it three times a week. On the other hand, moving your body at home is also a good idea.

If your work seems like an obstacle, you can start by cycling to work and take a brisk walk during lunchtime. When you have time to workout, feel free to play your favorite sports. Sometimes a gym buddy or an exercise group will keep you motivated. Thus, make your time for exercise.

No smoking

Smoking is linked to various health conditions, one of them is high cholesterol. Stopping or even quitting smoking will improve your HDL level. The good news is that the relief comes over quickly.

10 minutes of quitting, your heart rate and blood pressure recover from the spike caused by the cigarette. Three months of quitting bring you to better blood circulation and lung function improvements. Within a year, your risk to develop heart disease drops up to half of a smoker. So, how do I lower my cholesterol? If you smoke, do consider quitting.

Lose weight

A high level of cholesterol is more common in obese people. Losing your weight will decrease your risk factor. Other than that, reducing the consumption of sugary drinks also helps big time. Meanwhile, you can try jelly beans or sherbets that contain no fat when sweet cravings come over.

Losing weight also needs to be accompanied by an active daily life. Thus, exercising is highly recommended to reach your health goal and ideal body weight. Taking a walk or cooking often is a good idea to start your lose weight journey.

Limit alcohol intake

Being sober is such a challenge for a lot of people. Drinking no alcohol at all may also seem impossible and may take a while to adapt to that new lifestyle. On the other hand, drinking no alcohol dramatically reduces your risk factors for developing high cholesterol levels.

Meanwhile, if being sober is not an option right now, you can start by limiting your alcohol intake. Limiting one to two drinks per day would bring a great difference in your life. Besides, too much alcohol is not good for your health.

Natural remedies for cholesterol

1. Niacin

Niacin is rich in vitamin B. doctors recommend supplements rich in niacin for people with high cholesterol or heart conditions. This supplement helps to balance the cholesterol level in your body and lets the blood do its job.

Other than supplements, you can catch this substance in chicken and liver. Keep in mind that this supplement is under the doctor’s recommendation.

2. Soy protein

How do I lower my cholesterol? You can start by consuming protein derived from soy. Steamed soy beans, soy milk, and tofu would be a group of foods you must consume to lower your cholesterol level. They are rich in protein but no need to worry about saturated fats.

3. Red yeast rice

Red yeast rice is yeast-fermented white rice. The fermentation causes the reddish color on the rice. This food has been used for traditional meds in China for centuries. Today, you can also catch the supplements.

4. Flaxseed

Flaxseeds are derived from blue flowers only found in temperate areas. The flowers produce seeds and oils, which are generous sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Reducing cholesterol with flax can be done by using the oil or the ground seed. Eating whole flaxes is impossible since the body cannot break the seed’s outer shell.

Conclusion

High cholesterol levels are a nightmare for everyone. Thus, staying away from the triggers and improving your lifestyle is essential. And this is anything you need to know about how do I lower my cholesterol.

Healthy Food Tips