10 Ways How to Lower Cholesterol Levels

I’ll explain:

It’s because a lack of this element also leads to the increase of diseases. In the blood, it is carried in its pure form. So its lack or excess often leads to the cardio system diseases.

Normal cholesterol level is important for a person’s well-being. Increased blood cholesterol is dangerous. Actually, it promotes the formation of some diseases. In future, they can even lead to heart attacks and strokes.

 

Therefore, the question of how to lower cholesterol becomes very important. Why then is everyone afraid to raise it?

10 Ways to Lower Cholesterol

heart.org states a strong correlation between overweight and high blood cholesterol on:

Weight reduction helps lower cholesterol. If the normal body mass index matching to age and growth. It is not possible with the help of diet and physical activity. Then meeting with a specialist is necessary.

Our experts prepared top 10 ways how to lower cholesterol level.

1. Reduce Harmful Fats Intake

Of course, saturated fats have the most vital effect on how to lower cholesterol. So, it would be right to reduce the use of some saturated fat sources.  

Such as fatty meat, butter, cheese and refined oils. Whenever possible, replace these products with fish, poultry, or low-fat dairy products.

Actually, you might be surprised to learn:

Not all fats are harmful to the body. There are those that are necessary and very beneficial. Fats help form cell membranes and connective tissues. They help to lose weight, maintain weight and build muscle mass.

Harmful and healthy fats

Robin Madell states on.healthline.com which fats are harmful:

It is worth getting if you searching the ways how to lower cholesterol. They enter our body with food. Their excess density in the body can lead to obesity, diabetes, cardio diseases. Besides, an increased cholesterol in the blood. Leading to blockage of blood vessels.

Harmful fats are of three types:

• SATURATED FATS

The most dangerous among the harmful fats. To make it easier to decide what products they contain, remember one thing. They are solid at room temperature.

• TRANS FATS

They are used to extend the life of products. They cause a tense release of insulin into the blood. And the growth of excess fat.

• CHOLESTEROL

In fact, it is vital for the body to produce estrogen and bile acids. But in small quantities. Its excess is dangerous for health. It lives on the walls of blood vessels. And this often leads to atherosclerosis, angina pectoris and other cardio diseases.

Doctors and nutritionists advise reducing the consumption of products with its high content.

Which fats are useful?

Useful or natural fats are usually in a liquid state at room temperature. They are of two types – monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Both groups work together to provide the body with energy.

Besides, keeping healthy skin, hair and nails. Improving digestion, reducing harmful cholesterol and protecting against heart disease. They are great helpers if you searching the ways hor to lower cholesterol.

• MONOUNSATURATED FATS

These include oleic acid, also known as omega-9. It is just part of the cell membrane. With its lack in the body, metabolism slows down.

• POLYUNSATURATED FATS

These include omega-3 and omega-6 acids. Our body does not produce one and another. These fats are completely broken down in the body. Maintaining the skin and kidneys in good condition.

Ensuring the normal functioning of the brain. As well as protecting our body from inflammation. Moreover, these fatty acids can accelerate the process of fat loss.

Mind that if you avoid eating fats, you risk slowing the metabolism. Besides, to harm your hair and skin, reduce vision and well-being. So, excluding the harmful fats, do not forget about healthy ones.

Products such as vegetable oil, a small amount of cheese and eggs should be present in your diet. They will help you a lot in how to lower cholesterol.

2. Switch to Olive Oil

Olive oil and some other products, such as nuts, avocados have a common feature:

They have a high content of quite different fat. It was possible to reveal that such fats reduce only LDL-cholesterol (harmful). And HDL-cholesterol (a useful one) is left untouched.

Thus, stick to a low-fat diet. Then add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. And so on a daily basis. Make sure to replace other fats with healthy ones. 

Olive oil is a special component of food:

How much cholesterol is in olive oil? As in any other form of vegetable fat – 0 mg.

When it comes to how to lower cholesterol, it is good to use olive oil. Such an effect is explained by a large number of mono-unsaturated acids. They have such benefits for the human organism:

 

For lowering cholesterol levels. It is advisable to apply such treatment schemes.

Olive oil while high cholesterol can be used for dressing salads, vegetable dishes, add to meat, fish. But you need to make sure that the total daily amount does not exceed 50 grams. It is about 3 tablespoons.

Olive oil is a valuable source of polyphenols, fatty acids needed by the body. It should be part of the daily diet of people suffering from high cholesterol. Except this, with cardiovascular diseases.

3. Do not Eat a lot of Eggs

Of course, this does not mean that you should completely exclude them from your diet. Although eggs contain huge amounts of cholesterol (275 mg each).

Experts believe:

About 2/3 of the population can cope with additional cholesterol. Without feeling an increase in serum one. This is due to the fact that the body adapts to a high level of consumption. In this way, reducing its cholesterol production and removing excess.

Despite the fact that about 30% of the participants in the scientific studies had changes. The daily eating of eggs caused some increase in cholesterol. And this increase was extremely small.

However, these same scientific studies have shown that chicken eggs rather increased the level of useful cholesterol.

In some countries of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, India. There are no formal restrictions on the use of cholesterol. The fact is that the available scientific data indicates no relationship.

That is, between the cholesterol consumption from food and the increased risk of cardio diseases. As will be shown below with the example of chicken eggs.

How to lower cholesterol?

A popular recommendation for a long time. It is to limit the use of eggs (primarily yolks) to 2-6 per week. The logic of this restriction is as follows:

Scientific studies indicate that there is no correlation between egg eating and the risk of heart disease. And this is primarily a matter of general diet. And not removal from the diet of a certain type of food. Such as chicken eggs.

In such experiments, as a rule, two groups of people are studied. Representatives of one eat several eggs every day. And the other excludes eggs from the diet. For several months, scientists have been monitoring cholesterol in the blood.

4. Eat more legumes

Nutritious and not expensive, legumes comprise a high level of fibre. That dissolve in the water. It is pectin. If you are searching the ways how to lower cholesterol level:

These vegetables are perfect for you. This substance surrounds cholesterol. And remove it until it does not harm the body. 

Being a complete substitute for meat, beans are better and faster absorbed by the body:

Moreover, legumes have sufficient content of dietary fibre. It prevents the occurrence of heart disease, improves digestion. Nutritionists agree that with the daily intake of 150 grams this type or any legumes.

In two weeks, cholesterol noticeably lowers in the blood. Beans and cholesterol are simply made for each other. As mutually exclusive elements.

5. How to eat beans while high cholesterol

How to lower cholesterol eating beans?

In order to properly prepare the grains and noticeably remove the high cholesterol content. You should follow some rules.

As soon as a disease is detected. At once change the diet. Replace meat with beans, peas, oatmeal, vegetables and fruits. Exercise or effectively activate your lifestyle. Exclude all fatty dairy, meat, smoked products from the diet. But increase your plant food intake.

How to lower cholesterol? A good dish during treatment will be vegetable stews, vegetable soups and mashed soups. Bean cultures are tasty while boiled, steamed and baked.

6. Follow your weight

The higher weight you have, the more cholesterol your body produces. A twenty-year study in the Netherlands led to such a result. The body weight is the only important determinant of serum cholesterol.

Each weight gain of 0.5 kg increases cholesterol levels by 2 levels. And the well-known heart study showed a clear link between blood cholesterol and body weight.

You should know one fact if you are searching for ways how to lower cholesterol:

Increased weight and cholesterol go hand in hand. And is defined by a significant link with health problems. Often people tend to lose weight to look more attractive. Some, on the contrary, suffer from a lack of weight. And tend to gain extra body weight.

However, the lack of weight is much less common among the population of developed countries.

In a number of people, cholesterol levels gradually increase with age. And weight control allows them to interfere. With an increase in body weight, triglycerides in the blood also increase. That increases the risk of a heart attack. The human body has a complex structure.

Therefore, you should approach the issue of weight loss seriously. First of all, you should entirely change your lifestyle.

Scientists have identified the following pattern. The more overweight a person is, the more cholesterol is produced in his body. In the process of research, it was reliably set. That if there is an excess of body weight of only 0.5 kg.

The cholesterol in the body rises to two levels at once. This dependence of excess weight and cholesterol makes you seriously think about the state of the body.

Excess weight leads to fat deposits in the body. Obesity threatens people leading an unhealthy lifestyle. And people not keeping to the rules of proper nutrition.

In addition, the rise of obesity in the body. And, as a result, the increased cholesterol production in the liver. The reason for these disorders can be diseases in the human body. Such as diabetes mellitus.

The fact that a person has excess cholesterol and excess weight is not a sentence. How to normalize these processes and bring them to a normal condition?

In some cases, it will be enough to change the lifestyle and change the diet. In addition, it is recommended in this case to do sports. Regular physical load contributes not only to weight loss and lower cholesterol in the body. But also to its general state.

Preventing the excess weight helps to keep cholesterol at an acceptable level. This prevents the emergence of many diseases associated with metabolic disorders.

7. Eat more fruits

Fruits also have the ability to reduce cholesterol level. Because of the presence of pectin in it. Nutritionist James Serd at the University of Florida Medical Sciences Center found out the fact:

Grapefruit pectin is in the pulp and peel. And it reduces cholesterol by an average of 7.6% in 8 weeks.

Eat many other fruits:

For example, if you eat half of the grapefruit for breakfast. An apple for the second breakfast. Some slices of orange for a dinner. Then you will be able to progress on the way how to lower cholesterol.

Mandarins are a low-calorie product:

Their calorie per 100 grams is 53 kcal. This means that in one fruit without peel and depending on its size 40-64 kcal will be contained. Fruits are an excellent source of carbs.

So for people suffering from diabetes, you can consider them as a snack. Which should not include more than 30 grams of carbs. While high sugar, it is advisable to eat no more than one piece per snack. And maximum 3 pieces.

In addition, the mandarins include a large number of antioxidants:

They are beneficial to human health and explain the popularity of this fruit. In addition to vitamins, these fruits contain many minerals, pectins, carotene, and essential oils.

It is important to pay attention to the fact that they contain citric acid. This allows you to not worry about the fact that harmful substances enter the body.

Besides, help reduce the number of cholesterol plaques. And help improve the overall tone of the body.

Mandarins promote appetite, have a positive effect on the gastro tract, elevate mood. Mandarin juice is considered dietary. Because it is advised to use for those who want to reduce their own weight.

How do citrus fruits help?

Heart attacks and strokes account for almost 70% of all deaths in the world. In almost all cases, this is a consequence of elevated cholesterol. According to many scientists, citrus fruits help prevent atherosclerosis. 

It is due to their ability to break down cholesterol. That is because doctors recommend using these fruits while the high level of cholesterol. Mandarins lower cholesterol and prevent the presence of plaque.

In addition, being a product of plant origin, citrus fruits do not have bad cholesterol in their composition. Because their use does not provoke an increase in its level in the blood.

8. Consume oats and barley

Beta-glucan is a soluble fibre found in oats and barley. It reduces cholesterol and the risk of heart disease. This beta-glucan just reduces the density of harmful cholesterol. Without affecting the beneficial one.

It dissolves in the gastro tract. Forming a thick gel as a result:

Regular consumption of oatmeal and barley helps reduce blood cholesterol levels. It is much more efficient than simply reducing the intake of saturated fat.

Scientists from the University of Toronto, Canada, carried out a study:

By the way, oatmeal has a number of valuable properties:

For example, it is proved that eating oatmeal for breakfast increases the attention level during the day. Tests on children have shown that a portion of cereal in the morning can solve this problem.

Which type of oatmeal is the most effective?

Although there is some disagreement about that.

Everyone agrees that any food that contains oatmeal provides some help in regulating cholesterol levels. The best option can be oatmeal flakes or crushed oatmeal cereal. However, there is also evidence. That even the use of soluble oatmeal or cold oatmeal produces a positive effect.

The best option would be to enjoy porridge with banana slices. As this increases the total fibre content. And increases the removal of bad cholesterol from the body.

9. Call carrots for help

Carrots also lower cholesterol, as it contains pectin:

Says Peter D. Hoagland, Ph.D., at the United States Department of Agriculture’s Eastern Research Center. In fact, people with high cholesterol just need to eat 2 carrots a day to reduce it by 10-20%.

Carrots are good for health:

As well as in the fight against high cholesterol. Bright saturated colour of the vegetable indicates its content. It is high in carotenoids, retinol precursors (vitamin A). Beta-carotene and vitamin A are powerful antioxidants.

They play an important role in the prevention of cardio diseases. Besides, have a positive effect on lipid metabolism.

How to lower cholesterol using this amazing vegetable?

In fact, carrots refer to the most useful products. That help to lower cholesterol level. It is advised to eat at least two roots a day for a month. In this case, the use of carrots while high cholesterol will be noticeable.

A good result is achieved due to the fact that it contains beta-carotene and magnesium:

A little advice:

The root becomes very tasty in stewed form. You can use carrot juice. Especially in combination with apple or citrus one. It is advised to drink half a glass of juice before eating. But do not abuse it. As carotene jaundice can develop.

Care should be taken with Korean carrot. As it is rich in spices. Proper and regular use of carrots while high cholesterol helps reduce its level by about 5-20%.

10. Get enough exercise

Rhode Island cardiologist Paul D. Thompson, an associate professor of medicine at Brown University:

He considers it possible that exercise reduces the cholesterol blockage. That has grown in the arteries.

He names one of the best ways to raise the level of protective HDL. It is intense exercising. Which also slightly reduces the level of unwanted LDL.

How to lower cholesterol?

Physical activity while high cholesterol level helps to solve several problems at once.

It is better to exercise, walk or spend half an hour a day in the pool. Than to torture yourself with exercise equipment in one two-hour workout. And then forget about the gym forever.

Experts have found one point how to lower cholesterol level. Regularity and duration of training are more important than their intensity.

How to lower cholesterol levels using physical load?

You can choose a type of exercising due to your preferences.

In the spring, summer and autumn garden work can provide priceless training. But here, it is very important not to overwork so that your back hurts or pressure rises.

To avoid this, after every 1.5-2 hours of work, be sure to take a full half-hour break. And do not go to work during the high sun – from 12 to 16 hours.

Benefits from exercising

A positive effect from exercising is visible only when you do it regularly. And on the condition that you do not experience too intense load. Because of hard strength training.

Actually, physical exercises and cholesterol level are connected notions. In other words, the more physical load you get, the lower your cholesterol level is.

According to medical experts, that conducted tests. They made the connection between physical load and cholesterol level.

One more result of these studies. It was the dependence of the training nature on the change in the harmful cholesterol level. Regular moderate exercise allows you to achieve a more active reduction in LDL. Than rare strength exercises.

Notice that too intense physical load while high cholesterol will not benefit. But on the contrary, will affect his health rather negatively.

Do not smoke

This is another reason to give up smoking. There is a study by a New Orleans medical scientist, David S. Friedman:

So in young boys who smoked only 20 cigarettes a week. There was a vital increase in blood cholesterol levels.

In addition, the study showed that smokers have low levels of healthy HDL cholesterol. However, when a group of habitual smokers quit smoking, everyone quickly increased the density of HDL.

It is known:

Scientific studies show the effect of tobacco addiction:

Actually, it seriously upsets the cholesterol balance. Reducing the amount of useful cholesterol and increasing the level of harmful one.

Smoking, by itself, without high cholesterol. It makes blood vessels fragile and more sensitive to rupture. If a cholesterol plaque is formed in such a “crystal” vessel. This greatly increases the possibility of ruptures and thrombosis.

So what to do?

Sadly, no tricks in the diet and even medication will not help to establish a cholesterol balance. If a person smokes. The first step is to get rid of tobacco addiction so that high cholesterol therapy can be successful.

Scientists have shown:

This will be a good help to your body. And in some cases, it is even possible to reduce the dose of medicines. That decrease the level of low-density lipoproteins.

How to recognise the high cholesterol level?

Heart attacks and strokes are the reason for almost 70% of deaths in the world. But a few people know that 7 of 10 people die exactly because of high cholesterol level in the body. As a result, blockage of the heart or brain arteries.

The most dangerous is the fact that many people do not even suspect. That they have a high cholesterol level. And they miss the opportunity to fix something. Simply condemning themselves. And they do not even guess how to lower cholesterol level.

Hope that our pieces of advice will help you to recognise the disease.

To conclude, we advise you to monitor your health. When you notice something wrong, consult a doctor at once. Do not forget to use our pieces of advice on how to lower cholesterol levels.

Stay healthy!