High blood cholesterol and being overweight increase the risk of heart disease. Either condition plays a role as a risk factor, but you can tackle both problems through diet and exercise. A diet to lower cholesterol includes low-fat and nutritious foods to help you maintain a healthy weight. Regular physical activity also controls your weight and improves cholesterol levels.
Cholesterol
The body produces cholesterol to help manufacture hormones and other substances in the body. Certain foods also increase blood cholesterol levels. Excess amounts of cholesterol in the blood can eventually block blood flow to the heart, leading to heart disease. Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol causes plaques to build up in the arteries, which narrows them. Unhealthy fats contribute to excess LDL cholesterol. High-density lipoprotein, or HDL, cholesterol picks up excess cholesterol in the bloodstream and delivers it to the liver for disposal. Low LDL cholesterol levels and high HDL levels improve your overall cholesterol count.
Cholesterol Diet Controls Weight
Excess pounds contribute to high cholesterol levels. You can improve your cholesterol levels if overweight by losing just five to 10 pounds. Saturated fats, which raise LDL cholesterol, come mainly from animal protein. But protein also helps increase energy and build muscles. To get adequate amounts of protein and lower your intake of saturated fats, consume low-fat varieties of protein foods. Eat lean meats, chicken or turkey without skin, fish and low-fat or fat-free dairy products. Eliminate trans fats, which are found in processed cookies, snack cakes and fried foods. Trans fats raise LDL and lower protective HDL.
Substitute Foods
Add more fruits, vegetables and whole grains to your meals. These fiber-rich foods have low-fat content and fill you up to make you less tempted to eat fatty foods. Choose whole-grain bread and pasta, high-fiber cereal, oatmeal, brown rice and barley. Substitute olive, canola and peanut oils for butter or other fatty additives when preparing foods. These oils, along with avocados and nuts, contain unsaturated fats that help improve cholesterol levels. High fiber foods and unsaturated fats also help you keep your weight under control.
Exercise
Regular physical activity helps improve cholesterol levels and lowers or maintains a healthy weight. Moderate exercise, including walking, jogging or playing a favorite sport or activity, provides heart-healthy benefits when performed 30 to 60 minutes a day on most days of the week. Check with your doctor if you have been inactive for a while before beginning an exercise program. You can start out exercising in 10-minute sessions throughout the day until reaching 30- or 60-minute exercise periods.
