An estimated 98.6 million Americans have total cholesterol over 200 mg/dl, which is one of the primary risk factors for heart disease. While that's not good news, there is hope. Through a triad of diet, exercise and medications and how they relate to each other, high cholesterol is relatively easy to treat.
Step 1
Have your blood drawn by your doctor or by a clinically trained laboratory technician. Ask for a comprehensive blood lipid analysis that includes total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides. All have an impact on the health of your heart, but it's the HDL/Cholesterol ratio that's most important. Divide your HDL cholesterol level by your total cholesterol level, then move the decimal point over two places to the right. The result should be above 24. For instance, if your cholesterol is 185 and your HDL is 55, the 55/185 = 29.
Step 2
Begin a exercise regular exercise program. Schedule 30 to 60 minutes a day of quality aerobic exercise that uses large muscles groups and is capable of raising your heart rate over an extended period of time. Good examples include walking, running, swimming and hiking. Recruit friends, family neighbors to exercise with you at a daily prescribed time.
Step 3
Reduce the amount of commercially prepared foods you eat that are loaded with saturated and trans fats. Replace them with fresh fruits and vegetables, which are higher in vitamins, minerals, lower in saturated fat and cholesterol. Instead of eating a doughnut for lunch, replace it with an apple or orange. Start making the easy changes, then see how many more healthy replacements you can think of. At the end of the day, your total caloric intake for fat should be less than 20 saturated fat and less than 7 percent for saturated fat.
Step 4
Add fish to your diet two to three times a week. Certain types of cold water fish like salmon, trout, herring, mackerel and sardines are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that raise your HDL levels. If you don't care for fish, you find omega-3 fatty acid in supplemental form at your local supermarket or health food store. The recommended dosage is 1000 to 2000 mg per day.
Step 5
Drink one to two alcoholic beverages per day. While there is still some debate over what type of alcohol is best, evidence seems to lean toward red wines. However, if you don't currently drink, don't start. Focus on the other methods of raising your HDL.
Tips and Warnings
- Gather the support of the family by making healthy changes together. Start slowly, making life-long changes.
- Avoid fad diets and supplements that make outlandish promises.
Things You'll Need
- Blood chemistry analysis
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Fresh fish
- Alcohol (optional)
- Exercise clothing and shoes
