1. You Are What You Eat
With all the diets out there, it can be difficult to decide what to chose when it comes to eating right. However, most experts agree that through all the fad diets, the following information always remains the same for improving cholesterol levels and protecting the heart. Consume foods high in fiber as your main source for carbs and don't forget about whole fruits and vegetables. Avoid foods that are high in saturated and trans fat, choosing instead those with omega-3 fatty acids such as those found in fish and vegetable oils. Eat fish, poultry and soy as the main source of protein instead of beef and pork. Healthy eating and a diet low in saturated fat, can help to lower the body's LDL levels.
2. Sweat It Off
Regular exercise is imperative for improving cholesterol levels. Combine it along side a healthy diet. Those who are active, have a 45% lower chance of developing heart disease than those who are sedentary. Intense exercise that burns at least 250 calories, for 25 to 30 minutes a day, like jogging, can improve HDL, or good cholesterol, levels. Weight training is important to do along with an aerobic regimen in order to lower LDL, or bad cholesterol, levels.
3. Visit the Last Resort
When regular exercise and a healthy diet aren't enough to improve cholesterol levels, your physician may decide to prescribe medications that may help to lower LDL levels and raise HDL levels. Medicines like Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor are among the most common used today. It is, however, important to keep exercising regularly and eating a diet low in saturated fat and high in fruits, vegetables and fiber, in order to maintain a healthy heart and maximize the drug's cholesterol lowering benefits.
4. Reduce Stress, Lower Cholesterol
It may be possible to improve cholesterol levels by lowering the amount and intensity of stress in your life. In some, stress increases lipid levels in a person over time. Those who respond greatest to emotional situations tend to be the ones most affected by stress and also are the ones who benefit the most from stress reduction. This can be as easy as taking a hike on your favorite trail, going fishing, doing meditation, yoga or just taking a moment to relax and breathe.
5. The Best Gift: Quit Smoking
Quit smoking and you are giving yourself and all your friends and family the greatest gift you could ever give, the gift of health. HDL levels can increase by five points if you quit smoking, and your chances of developing lung cancer and other diseases also drops dramatically the longer it has been since your last cigarette.
