1. How Low Can You Go?
When you find out you have an elevated cholesterol level you need to get busy finding ways to bring the bad cholesterol numbers down. Diet and exercise help, but sometimes your body needs a little boost. Cholesterol lowering medications have some undesirable side effects; so many people give natural supplements a try. Not all natural supplements provide the same benefits to each person, but if you're hesitant to take medication, natural supplements are a great alternative.
2. Down With the Bad
Artichoke Extract taken at a rate of 1,800 to 1,920 milligrams a day divided in two doses may lower total cholesterol and LDL or bad cholesterol. Artichoke extract produces excess gas in some people and some report an allergic reaction. Barley is a great alternative and lowers both LDL and total cholesterol levels with no known side effects. Take 3 grams of barley oil or add 30 grams of barley bran flour to your diet each day. Fish oil at 4 grams per day works to lower triglyceride levels which usually accompany high cholesterol. Fish oil causes bad breath and diarrhea in some people. Some well known natural cholesterol lowering remedies include oat bran and garlic.
3. Up With the Good
Not only is it important to lower your bad cholesterol, LDL, but it's also a good idea to raise your good cholesterol, or HDL. Omega 3s, found in walnuts, fatty fish and dark green leafy vegetables are great natural ways to raise HDL levels. Exercise also raises your good cholesterol levels.
4. Good Things in Small Packages
All natural supplements provide the good stuff found in the natural cholesterol lowering foods without the large amounts. Supplements like CholestOff claim to absorb some of the cholesterol found in food while still in the stomach. That's why you take CholestOff 15 to 20 minutes before eating for the maximum benefit. Niacin is a natural supplement showing great results in many people for lowering total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Niacin does not appear to have any effect on raising good cholesterol. Most health food and whole food stores sell supplements made up of the natural cholesterol fighters like oat bran, red yeast, green tea and omega3s.
5. Keep Checking
The only way to know if your cholesterol lowering regimen is working is to have your cholesterol level checked periodically. Most doctors give 3 to 6 months for a particular treatment to work. There are home cholesterol tests available in most pharmacies if you want to see how you're doing along the way.
