Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, helps carry cholesterol to your cells, where it produces hormones and builds new cell membranes. When excess amounts of LDL build up in your blood, it begins to collect along the walls of arteries, blocking blood flow to either your heart or brain, depending on the artery it affects. Treatment is available for high levels of LDL, but you must first recognize it as a problem.
Testing for High LDL Cholesterol
The first step in treating high LDL cholesterol is detecting it. A blood test known as a lipid profile is how you accomplish this. Your doctor must order the test, and results usually return in a week. Normal levels are between 100 and 129 mg/dL. Anything higher than this usually requires some type of treatment.
Risk Factors
You can take steps to prevent the development of high LDL cholesterol by recognizing some of the risk factors. These include being overweight, lack of exercise, eating high-fat foods, smoking, a family history of heart disease, and certain medical conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Maintaining control over these conditions can reduce your risk of high cholesterol.
Change Your Eating Habits
Your liver produces all the cholesterol your body needs, however, the food you eat produces the excess cholesterol depending on the choices you make. Foods rich in fiber, such as oatmeal, whole grain bread, fruits and vegetables, help lower your levels of LDL cholesterol. The fiber binds with the cholesterol in your intestines, washing it from your system.
Fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, halibut and herring contain a healthy fat that lowers your cholesterol and protects your heart against heart disease. Fish is a healthy alternative to red meat, the main source of saturated fat. This fat increases your cholesterol levels, as well as your risk for heart disease. Poultry is another healthy alternative.
Nuts are a source of polyunsaturated fat, a good fat that lowers your cholesterol as well. Walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, pistachios and almonds are good options for snacks. MayoClinic.com suggests a handful a day, as these are high in calories.
Find foods fortified with plant sterols. These natural substances absorb cholesterol and eliminate it from your body. Consuming 2 g daily can lower your LDL more than 10 percent, explains MayoClinic.com. Fortified foods include orange juice, yogurt and margarine. Two 8-oz. glasses of orange juice a day provides you with the recommended serving amount.
Make Lifestyle Changes
Losing extra weight can help reduce your LDL cholesterol, even if you only lose 10 percent of your weight. Find an eating plan you can stick with, such as meal delivery programs, support groups or working with a dietitian.
Exercising regularly helps you lose weight and lowers your cholesterol simultaneously. Take 30 minutes a day, and set it aside for you. Walk, dance, hike, swim or play tennis -- whatever it is that you enjoy doing. As long as your heart rate increases, the activity is doing its job.
Take a Cholesterol-Lowering Medication
Sometimes dietary and lifestyle changes aren't enough, and you need to add a prescription medication into the mix. Statins are the most commonly prescribed medicines for reducing LDL cholesterol because of their efficacy and low rate of side effects. Your doctor will determine what medication is right for you.
