While it is true that many cases of high cholesterol are genetic, fortunately, in most cases, you can lower your cholesterol by making a few lifestyle changes.
Here are some ways to maintain your cholesterol levels naturally without medication:
1. Eat more: This doesn’t mean eating lots of unhealthy processed foods, in fact, it means cutting out unhealthy, inflammatory foods altogether and replacing them with healthy, nutritious foods that keep your body functioning. Vegetables like okra, leafy greens like spinach, eggplant, and sweet potatoes are great for maintaining healthy LDL and HDL levels in the body. Likewise, fruits like apples, grapes, strawberries, and citrus fruits also help maintain cholesterol levels. Including foods rich in Omega 3 like salmon or flaxseeds and foods rich in soluble fiber like oats, beans and other whole grains also helps maintain a healthy cholesterol balance.
2. Exercise: As children, we all loved running and playing outside, and as adults, we can recapture that feeling by finding activities we enjoy. Exercising with friends can make exercise fun again. In particular, exercises like Dancing, Swimming, Yoga, Tai Chi, Walking, Cycling, etc. can be more enjoyable when you have a partner.
Vary your workout routine between aerobics, weight training and stretching to keep your body flexible and strong. Exercise is also a great way to relieve stress and improve your mood.
3. Stay calm: Stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol increase fatty acid and triglyceride levels, which can increase your LDL levels.
If you feel stressed, try some relaxation techniques such as:
- Meditation
- Prayer
- Deep breathing
- Exercise
- Talk to a friend
- Talk therapy
Take time for yourself each day to reduce the effects of stress.
4. Drink in moderation: Red wine and other types of alcohol may have some benefits for your heart health, but you should not try to use them to lower your cholesterol. Drinking more than moderate amounts of alcohol can increase your risk of cancer and other diseases. If you are a woman or a man over 65, limit yourself to one drink a day and two drinks a day if you are a man under 65.
5. Don’t smoke: There are many benefits to quitting smoking, one of which is raising your HDL (“good”) cholesterol. HDL helps remove LDL from your blood, keeping your blood vessels and heart healthy. Within a year of quitting smoking, your risk of heart disease is cut in half.
6. Life is more precious than salt: Salt has been known to be a valuable resource for centuries. The Romans used salt to pay their soldiers, and the word “salary” comes from “salt.” Today, salt can be purchased cheaply, but too much salt is not good for your health. You can reduce your salt intake by cutting back on processed foods and snacks.
7. Choose the right fats: Although the cells in the human body need good quality fats to function optimally, eating too much fat or the wrong type of fat will negatively affect your cholesterol levels. For example, trans fats increase LDL levels. Trans fats are found in most processed foods and snacks, often in the form of “hydrogenated oils.” Avoid unhealthy fats, such as those found in processed foods or red meat. Other sources of unhealthy fats include fast foods and dairy products. But instead of avoiding all fats, focus on good fats, such as olive oil or sunflower oil. You can also get good fats from nuts and fatty fish.
If your cholesterol is too high, our doctors at CVCFL may also recommend medication to lower your LDL. To learn more about lowering your cholesterol, call us today or request an appointment online.
