You can lower your bad cholesterol and raise your good cholesterol with changes to your diet and lifestyle. Your bad cholesterol -- low-density lipoprotein, or LDL for short, -- can form plaque in your arteries, thus restricting blood flow in your body. Your good cholesterol -- high-density lipoprotein, or HDL for short, -- helps your body excrete LDL cholesterol. Your healthy HDL cholesterol can also help push another fat called triglycerides out of your system. Changes in your diet may help you eliminate the need to take cholesterol-lowering medication.
Cholesterol Numbers
If you're a woman, aim to keep your HDL cholesterol higher than 60mg/dL. A reading of below 50mg/dL puts you at higher risk for heart disease. A desirable HDL for a man is also 60mg/dL or higher, but an unhealthy level for men is one that falls below 40mg/dL. For both men and women, aim to keep your LDL cholesterol between 100 and 129mg/dL if you face normal risk for heart disease, but keep it lower if your age, family history or underlying medical conditions put you at high risk. For best heart health, keep your triglyceride levels below 150mg/dL.
Change Dietary Fats
You can both lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol by changing the amount and types of fat in your diet. Limit the amount of saturated fats, found in animal products and tropical oils, to 10 percent of your daily calories, or about 20g. Trans fat, found in shortening, margarine and store-bought snacks such as potato chips and cookies, both elevate LDL cholesterol and lower HDL cholesterol. Limit your intake to 1 percent of your daily calories, or about 2g per day. You should also limit dietary cholesterol, also found in animal products, to 300mg a day if you're otherwise healthy and 200mg a day if you face additional risks for heart disease. A single egg contains 212mg of cholesterol. Organ meats, shrimp and premium cuts of steak also contain high levels of cholesterol.
Healthy Foods
To lower LDL and raise HDL cholesterol, choose healthy fats such as those found in olive and oil canola. The omega-3 fatty acids in fish such as salmon and sardines can also help your body eliminate LDL cholesterol. So can the fat in nuts and seeds such as almonds, walnuts and peanuts. Other foods to add to your diet include high-fiber foods such as whole grains, beans, legumes, fruits and vegetables. Good examples include brown rice, multigrain bread, lentils, kidney beans, apples and broccoli. You may also obtain heart-healthy benefits from adding 2g of plant sterol in your diet. Some margarines, orange juices and yogurt drinks include added plant sterol.
Raise Good Cholesterol
Both diet and exercise affect your HDL levels. If you're overweight, shed excess pounds as this will help your LDL cholesterol, too. For every 6 lbs. you lose, your HDL may increase by 1mg/dL, according to Mayo Clinic. The medical website also suggests that drinking a moderate amount of alcohol -- one drink a day for women and anyone older than 65 or two drinks a day for younger men -- may help elevate healthy HDL. If you've been sedentary, making aerobic activity a near-daily habit may also help you increase HDL cholesterol by 5 percent. If you smoke, stopping will also improve your HDL.
References
- Mayo Clinic: High Cholesterol
- Mayo Clinic: HDL Cholesterol: How to Boost Your Good Cholesterol
- University of California San Francisco: Cholesterol Content of Foods
- Mayo Clinic: Healthy Diet: End the Guesswork with These Nutrition Guidelines
- Mayo Clinic: Cholesterol: Top 5 Foods to Lower Your Numbers
