You can lower extremely high cholesterol naturally through diet and exercise. However, check with your doctor first. High cholesterol has no symptoms, except when the effects of heart disease begin to take place. Regular physical checkups usually include blood cholesterol tests. If you have high cholesterol levels, your doctor may prescribe cholesterol-lowering medication. Natural lifestyle changes help improve cholesterol levels and doctors recommend diet, physical activity and weight management, even if drugs are not prescribed.
Good and Bad Cholesterol
Dietary changes and exercise lower LDL cholesterol. LDL, called the "bad" cholesterol, can accumulate and form plaque on artery walls. This narrows the arteries and causes atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, which interferes with blood flow to the heart. HDL, the "good" cholesterol, picks up excess cholesterol in the bloodstream and brings it to the liver for removal. Regular physical activity and weight management help raise healthy HDL.
Healthy and Unhealthy Fats
Reducing your intake of saturated fat and eliminating trans fat from your diet may improve your cholesterol levels, according to MayoClinic.com. Saturated and trans fats raise LDL levels, while trans fat also lowers protective HDL. Saturated fats come from animal protein, including meat, poultry, fish and dairy products. Reduce your intake of these fats by choosing lean meats, skinless poultry and low-fat or fat-free dairy products. Fish usually contains less saturated fat than meat and poultry. Trans fats come from many commercially baked snacks and fried foods in restaurants. Check labels for trans fat when buying packaged items. Replace saturated fat with unsaturated fat when cooking or preparing foods as often as possible. Use olive, peanut or canola oils, which have monounsaturated fat, instead of butter. Almonds and walnuts contain polyunsaturated fat. Unsaturated fats may help improve cholesterol levels.
Add Healthy Foods
Add more fruits, vegetables and whole grains to your meals. Foods rich in fiber can help lower harmful cholesterol. Eating these natural foods fills you up and avoids temptations for eating high-fat foods. Consume fresh fruits and vegetables, or canned and frozen fruits and vegetables without added sugars, creams or other unhealthy fats. Whole grains have more fiber and nutrients than refined grains. Examples of whole grains include whole-grain bread, whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, oatmeal, oat bran and whole-wheat flour. Some types of fish not only have the advantage of less saturated fat and cholesterol than meat and poultry, but they also contain omega-3 fatty acids, which may improve cholesterol levels. They include tuna, halibut, salmon, mackerel and herring.
Exercise
Regular exercise lowers LDL cholesterol and boosts healthy HDL. Exercising 30 to 60 minutes a day on most days of the week may bring down high cholesterol levels. Exercising can include brisk walking, running, bike riding, swimming or participating in a favorite physical activity. Get approval for an exercise program from your doctor if you have high cholesterol. You can start out slowly by exercising in several 10-minute sessions throughout the day.
