High cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease significantly, according to the Mayo Clinic. While there are medications out there designed to help lower your cholesterol, there are also natural ways to begin lowering your cholesterol back down to healthy levels. Be sure to consult your doctor to see which method may work best for you.
Eat the Right Foods
Diet plays an important role in your cholesterol levels. Mayo Clinic offers suggestions of the top five cholesterol-lowering foods that can help to naturally lower your cholesterol levels simply by eating them. One such food choice is food rich in soluble fiber--oatmeal, oat bran, apples, pears--that helps to reduce LDL, or bad cholesterol, from your blood stream. Eating fish and omega-3 fatty acids can also have the same effect. Other foods to focus on include nuts, olive oil and foods fortified with sterols or stanols. Sterols and stanols are substances found in plants that effectively block the absorption of cholesterol.
Exercise
Exercise 30 to 60 minutes per day most days of the week in order to increase your HDL, or good cholesterol, levels. Exercise can also help you lose weight, which is another way to lower your cholesterol. In fact, weight loss of as little as 5 to 10 lbs. can help to reduce your LDL cholesterol to healthier levels, according to Mayo Clinic. They recommend taking a brisk walk daily, riding your bike, swimming or playing an active sport each day.
Quit Smoking
Quitting smoking has multiple health benefits and one of those is an increase in HDL levels soon after quitting, according to Mayo Clinic. Even beyond that health benefit, quitting can lower your blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease almost immediately after taking your last puff.
Limit Alcohol Consumption
Mayo Clinic points out that moderate use of alcohol may help improve HDL levels, but consuming too much alcohol can do the opposite for your cholesterol levels. They also recommend not drinking alcohol if you do not already do so in an effort to lower your cholesterol because the health benefits may be outweighed by the potential negative aspects of drinking. Mayo Clinic defines moderate consumption as one drink per day for women and two drinks a day for men.
