Simple lifestyle changes can sometimes be enough to reduce LDL cholesterol back to the normal range.
This includes eatingheart-healthy foods, exercising regularly, and quitting cigarettes.
Get our printable guide for your next healthcare provider’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.
Verywell / JR Bee
As with monounsaturated fat, it helps reduce LDL cholesterol and providesantioxidantslikevitamin Ethat neutralizefree radicalsand help protect your cells.
Small quantities are found in the meat and dairy of ruminant (grass-eating) animals, including cows.
Artificial trans fats are commonly found inhighly processed, fried, and packaged foods.
Get our printable guide for your next healthcare provider’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.
Trans fats from artificial foods are known to raise LDL cholesterol levels and your risk of heart disease.
you’re free to avoid trans fats by searching for “hydrogenated oils” on ingredient lists.
Moderate-intensity exercise is when you’re able to talk but cannot sing during exercise.
Lose Weight
Being overweight or havingobesityputs you at risk of having high LDL levels.
Effective weight loss involves an improvement in both your diet and physical activity levels.
Before five years, there may be little movement in your LDL cholesterol levels.
After five years of quitting cigarettes, LDL levels can drop by as much as 50%.
As such, drinking moderately may be considered cardioprotective.
The fact that moderate alcohol consumption may be cardioprotective should not suggest that alcohol is “healthy.”
Is Coffee Bad for Cholesterol?
Coffee has been shown to increase LDL, total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.
Some experts recommend limiting your intake to no more than 3 cups per day to minimize the risk.
Sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, whole grains, and legumes are all excellent sources of soluble fiber.
Many studies have shown soluble fiber can lower LDL levels along with the risk of heart disease.
Furthermore, eating fiber can increase the effectiveness of thestatin drugsyou may already be taking to treat high cholesterol.
Take Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegaris a bang out of vinegar made from fermented apple juice.
It is thought to offer many health benefits, including the reduction of cholesterol in your blood.
Even so, the actual effect it has on LDL cholesterol appears mixed.
The benefits of apple cider vinegar may be different for people withtype 2 diabeteswho have trouble managing theirblood sugar.
Study participants without diabetes saw no such benefits.
Some vegetarian diets also include dairy products and eggs, while thevegan dietstrictly consists of plant foods.
Plant-based diets are also naturally rich inphytosterols.
These cholesterol-like compounds are thought to lower LDL cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Eggs are an excellent source of protein and other nutrients.
They are alsonaturally high in cholesterolbut not as high as other animal-based foods.
In the past, the AHA used to recommendlimiting your intake of cholesterolto 300 mg per day.
Try Supplements
From fiber to omega-3 fatty acids, you could get most cholesterol-lowering nutrients from foods.
Many of those same nutrients are also available in supplement form and may help lower LDL cholesterol naturally.
Regulations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bar any supplement manufacturer from making such claims.
Chief among these are cholesterol-lowering drugs calledstatins.
you might also try taking a supplement like red yeast rice or psyllium to help lower LDL cholesterol.
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American Heart Association.Monounsaturated fat.
Chan School of Public Health.Types of fat.
American Heart Association.Polyunsaturated fat.
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American Heart Association.What exercise is right for me?
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