High cholesterol is one of the most dangerous health conditions today. If you have high cholesterol, it increases the risk of developing high blood pressure and heart disease, which could lead to death.
Lifestyle is the major contributing factor to high cholesterol levels. That’s why a change of lifestyle is also one way to address this condition and help you lower your cholesterol level effectively.
That said, below are tips on how you can lower your cholesterol naturally and effectively:
Consume Soluble Fiber
Many cholesterol-lowering alternatives include consuming soluble fiber. Fiber is known to provide an array of health benefits, one of which is its capability to lower cholesterol levels.
There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble fibers. Both provide amazing health benefits, but soluble fiber, in particular, is the suitable option if you want to focus on lowering your cholesterol level.
Soluble fiber binds to your small intestine. These fibers then attach to cholesterol particles inside your small intestines. Once they are attached to the cholesterol particles, they prevent them from entering your blood, preventing them from travelling to the other parts of your body.
Instead of entering your bloodstream, soluble fiber will eliminate cholesterol particles from your body via the feces. Therefore, you should add food high in soluble fiber to your diet, like apples, oats, peas, etc.
Avoid Trans Fat
Trans fat is known to be the worst fat. Today, a lot of food consists of trans fat, such as baked goods such as cakes and cookies, frozen pizza, and non-dairy coffee creamer.
If you want your cholesterol level to lower, you should watch what you eat and choose only foods that don’t have trans fat, such as nuts, fruits, and vegetables. Note that trans fat increases your bad cholesterol level, or LDL, in your body and lowers your HDL, or your good cholesterol.
High HDL levels help eliminate other cholesterol forms in your bloodstream, lowering your risk of high blood pressure and heart disease.
Reading the label can help you choose your food properly. Choose food that has 0 grams of trans fat. Avoiding food that reads partially hydrogenated vegetable oil also helps.
Exercise Regularly
Another natural yet effective way to lower your cholesterol is to exercise regularly. According to the American Heart Association, there are two lifestyle causes of high cholesterol: being overweight and lack of exercise.
When you exercise, you burn fat and lose weight. As a result, you can address being overweight and the lack of exercise, which results in lowering your cholesterol.
Additionally, exercising is known to increase your HDL, which results in the elimination of LDL. It would help if you also remembered that losing weight increases HDL. Therefore, exercising contributes significantly to lowering your cholesterol level.
When you decide to start exercising, you might want to consider aerobic exercises that work for multiple muscle groups and are repetitive. You should exercise at least 30 minutes five to seven times a week.
Start slow and ramp up as you get used to your routine. This way, you won’t strain any muscles and your body can adjust properly. Try jogging or brisk walking. You can also consider cycling and swimming, which could increase your heart rate.
Eat Less Saturated Fats
Another type of fat that you need to cut down from your diet is saturated fat. There are so many foods that contain saturated fats that we consume every day. Examples of these foods are butter and dairy products.
If you cut down on saturated fats and consume more unsaturated fats instead, it will significantly lower your cholesterol levels. Opt for plant-based oils and fat spreads. Oily fish, nuts, and seeds can also be a great addition to your diet to help lessen saturated fats.
Remember that cholesterol is created and broken down in your liver. If you eat foods that are high in saturated fats and low in unsaturated fats, your liver’s functions change, which affects how it handles cholesterol.
Our liver contains LDL receptors. Once LDL passes through your bloodstream, these LDL receptors remove cholesterol from your bloodstream and bring it to your liver. Once the cholesterol is in your liver, it is broken down.
Consuming too much-saturated fats hinders these receptors’ proper function. As a result, cholesterol builds up in the bloodstream, which could cause blockages in the arteries.
Practice Healthy Sleep Habits
Another thing that can affect your cholesterol level is sleep. Sleep is vital as it is when your body recharges and restores. It is when your body repairs itself after the stress you experience during your waking hours.
One of the health problems that you can develop with a lack of sleep is an increase in your cholesterol level. If you don’t get enough sleep, your hormones will be all over the place. Your body will produce too much cortisol, which is also known as stress hormones.
It can also increase your body’s production of ghrelin, the appetite-boosting hormone. As a result, you will eat more throughout the day, which could result in weight gain. Moreover, lack of sleep also lessens your body’s production of leptin, which regulates your body weight. The imbalance in your hormones can make your cholesterol out of balance.
Conclusion
If you are experiencing high cholesterol levels, visiting your doctor to discuss your health situation is always advised. Aside from visiting your healthcare provider, following the tips mentioned above will help you lower your cholesterol and ensure proper medicine usage.
