Even though it has a bad rap, especially among health enthusiasts, cholesterol has a lot of important functions in our bodies. For example, its primary function is to keep our cell walls more flexible, and it’s a key ingredient to several hormones in our body. But of course, just like any other substance in our bodies, too much cholesterol can be bad for your health.
Like fat, cholesterol doesn’t simply dissolve in water. Instead, for it to move around our bodies, it depends on molecules like lipoprotein. Lipoproteins is a carrier that carries around fat and related substances in our blood. That said, there are different lipoproteins in our bodies, and they also have different effects. However, too many can cause problems like clogged arteries, heart attack, kidney failure, and stroke.
That said, how exactly can we reduce the cholesterol in our bodies? Thankfully, it’s quite simple, albeit most of these tips are more related to changing our daily habits and lifestyle. But with discipline and perseverance, it’s nothing too big to handle. With that in mind, here are some tips to lower your cholesterol.
Choose Foods with Lower Saturated Fats
Is your fridge looking emptier by the minute? Before you go to the grocery store and restock, you might want to review your shopping list first and see if you can go for an easy protein switch with a few choice food items to help you reduce your cholesterol.
For starters, you should go easy on red meats. A lot of red meats contain very high saturated fats, which can instead increase your cholesterol. Instead, you can go for chicken and fish, but regarding chicken, make sure it’s skinless as most of its fat is found in its skin. Of course, this should also go for turkey.
You could also go for alternative proteins in the market. Not only that, but you could also talk to your doctor about some medications to reduce your cholesterol levels. There are a lot of medications out there, like Ezetimibe that can help with high cholesterol levels. If you want to check the Ezetimibe drug pricing without insurance, you can check their prices online or ask your doctor.
Eat More Soluble Fiber
Soluble fiber is a group of compounds commonly found in plants that aren’t dissolvable by water and that humans can’t digest easily. However, there are beneficial bacteria in our stomach that can digest it, and it’s their main food source. And the best part is that these good bacteria in your stomach, called probiotics, are very beneficial for your body since they can reduce cholesterol.
But which food items have soluble fiber? There are a lot of them actually like whole grains. Whole grains reduce bad cholesterol levels but do nothing about the good ones. The benefits of soluble fiber also stretch to other diseases.
Exercise
Of course, exercise. Exercise is very beneficial if you want to keep your heart healthy, and not only that, but it also reduces your LDL (bad cholesterol) and increases your HDL (good cholesterol). Ideally, if you want to start exercising, your aerobic activities should increase your heart rate by 75% to enjoy its full benefits. If you prefer strength training, your exercises should raise your heart rate by at least 50%.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
Your healthy weight depends on the type of body you have and your height. That said, having excess body weight or being obese can increase your risks of developing a myriad of diseases, especially with your heart. It can also further increase your LDL levels, which is, of course, a pathway to many diseases. Regular monitoring of your weight and a cholesterol level check at home can help you stay informed about your health status and take necessary precautions.
Avoid Smoking
Smoking gives you a huge risk of having a lot of diseases, but most importantly, in terms of cholesterol, it can change how your body handles cholesterol. One of these would be that your immune system would fail to return cholesterol from your vessel walls to your blood, preventing it from transferring to the liver. This damage is done due to tobacco tar.
Of course, if this happens, your risk of clogged arteries will increase, furthering your risk of having a stroke. Also, cigarettes contain a toxic chemical compound called acrolein. Acrolein is absorbed through our lungs. It’s believed to impair our body’s ability to transport HDL in our bloodstream. This causes an imbalance, making LDL more prevalent. We already know where this is going.
Drink Moderately or Not at All
It’s believed that drinking moderately is beneficial for heart health, although that topic is still highly debated in the health community. It’s commonly known that drinking alcohol moderately can increase the HDL found in your body.
However, this is achievable through exercise. The main problem in this debate is how moderate drinking is a slippery slope to misuse. So unless you’re disciplined with alcohol, it’s better not to drink.
Final Words
There are a lot more ways to reduce cholesterol in your body. However, the ones discussed above are the most common, although they are not easy to do. That said, if you have perseverance and discipline, reducing the cholesterol in your body would be a walk in the park. It’s all in the mindset, after all.