Making healthy lifestyle choices can go a long way to reducing high cholesterol levels. Eating a healthy diet, stopping smoking and managing stress all play a role. Adding regular exercise helps too. There are so many choices out there for exercise that it may be hard to know what the right one is. There are certain kinds of exercise that may help to lower your cholesterol levels.
Benefits
Regular exercise can change your levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. According to the Centers for Disease Control, when you exercise your body produces enzymes that help your body to transport and eliminate cholesterol. Exercise also seems to increase your levels of high density lipoproteins (HDL's) which are known as the "good" cholesterol. In turn it also may reduce low density lipoprotiens (LDLs') or the "bad" cholesterol. More research is needed to help fully understand how exercise affects these levels.
Types
The American Council of Fitness states that the best type of exercise to help reduce your cholesterol level is aerobic or cardiovascular exercise. This type of exercise is one in which you elevate your heart rate and maintain it at an elevated level. This includes activities such as brisk walking, running, dancing, biking and swimming. Check with your physician to determine how high it is safe to elevate your heart rate. There are precautions you may need to take if you are on any heart medications.
Frequency
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that you should aim to do aerobic exercise for 30 to 45 minutes at a time on most days. If this is too much to start with, you can break it into ten to 15-minute segments throughout the day. Then you can gradually add more time until you can do a full 30- to 40-minute session at once.
Solution
Exercise, especially aerobic exercise, helps you to lose weight. Being overweight or obese places you at risk for higher cholesterol levels. The Centers for Disease Control state that being overweight can increase your LDL levels and total cholesterol levels. Aerobic exercise is best for burning fat and excess calories, and helping you achieve a healthier weight.
Considerations
If you have not been exercising recently, or you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or other chronic conditions, see your physician to determine what type and intensity of exercise is right for you. In addition, you may want to start out in a gym or class where an instructor can monitor you and make sure you are exercising safely. Stop any exercise if it makes you dizzy or lightheaded or causes chest pain.
