Lowering Your Cholesterol For Heart Health.
Welcome Health Investigator, Caitlin, for this special cholesterol and heart health tip sheet.
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Cholesterol isn’t always bad. In fact, there are actually two main types of cholesterol.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is considered “bad” cholesterol. This is the cholesterol that causes plaque buildup in your arteries and can lead to atherosclerosis. This, in turn, can lead to a high risk of a heart attack or stroke. The second main type of cholesterol is a high-density lipoprotein (HDL) which can actually benefit your heart and protect you from a heart attack or stroke. When thinking about heart health and maintaining healthy cholesterol levels, you want to think about lowering your LDL and raising your HDL. So, what are some ways that we can do that?
Eat a Healthy Diet
Typically, people who eat a diet full of processed and fatty foods also suffer from high cholesterol. Foods high in LDL include foods high in saturated fats found in many dairy products like cheese and butter, red meats, and processed foods such as sausage or bologna. Trans fat as also to be avoided as they reduce your HDL and raise your LDL. You can find trans fat in baked goods or fried foods. While you should avoid these foods listed above, you should also be adding more healthy vegetables, beans, and whole grains to your diet. Look for foods that are high in soluble fiber and polyunsaturated fats. For more ideas, here are 11 foods that Harvard Medical School recommends to lower your cholesterol.
Exercise
Did you know that exercise can increase your levels of HDL in your body? It’s true! Research in the Journal of Obesity found that even in overweight or obese patients, frequent exercise can help lower high cholesterol levels. Consider finding an aerobic activity like walking, jogging, swimming, biking or even dancing to participate in weekly. Aerobic activity is the most frequently recommended activity for heart health. Strength training or yoga are additional forms of exercise to consider. These can be just as effective in reducing a person’s cholesterol levels and risk of heart disease.
Take Medications
In the event that you have dangerously high cholesterol, your doctor will certainly consider using medications to lower your cholesterol. Statins are most often prescribed to reduce high cholesterol. However, blood thinners are sometimes prescribed to patients with a history of blood clots. While both medications do their jobs well, they both also offer an added risk. Statins have a history of causing muscle and liver damage along with memory issues, and blood thinners have been known to cause severe bleeding. For example, thousands of patients taking the blood thinner Xarelto have filed lawsuits due to incidents of severe bleeding and death caused by the anticoagulant. It is also important to explore natural preventative measures like diet and exercise to reduce your cholesterol. This is, of course, in addition to other possible measures.
Making small changes to your daily diet and lifestyle routine can be incredibly impactful. As you make these changes, don’t forget to share your experiences with family and friends and encourage them to commit to similar healthy habits this year. With more awareness and effort to reduce risk factors, America has a chance to change our current heart disease statistics.
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Thank you very much
Nice post. PSC Result 2018
This was so interesting! I really appreciate it.
My pleasure
Thanks
Great post. Thanks for information such type of very informative and easily understanding article.
You are very welcome.
Useful post!! You’re correct, you are crazy. You become an idol for me. You always change the Way of my thinking . Your way of thinking is really amazing.
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Thanks
What a great article!. I am bookmarking it to read it over again after work. It seems like a very interesting topic to write about. Your posts is really helpful for me.Thanks for your wonderful post. I am very happy to read your post. It is really very helpful for us and I have gathered some important information from this blog,
HI Dr. Ho,
Thank you for this useful article! 🙂 This will help me get on track to a healthier lifestyle!
Best,
Christina
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Extraordinary things you’ve generally imparted to us. Simply continue written work this sort of posts.The time which was squandered in going for educational cost now it can be utilized for studies.Thanks
Elise and Caitlin, there are so many ways to improve heart health and lower disease risk, I hate to see people resort to meds before even trying any “healthy habits” you mentioned. I’m always happy to see an article that points at the risks of the popular meds.
Healthy Habits are a great first step. Thanks for reading.
You are right
Xarelto has made a lot of difference to the elderly who can’t manage to take different amounts of Warfarin every week though. Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next time.
Thanks for sharing that info.
Another insightful, informative post. Glad to have discovered your blog via the #KCACOLS linky, I’ll be sure to bookmark for further reading during the evenings. Thank you for sharing x
Thank you, that is great to hear.
You are very much right
What a great article!. I am bookmarking it to read it over again after work. It seems like a very interesting topic to write about. Your posts is really helpful for me.Thanks for your wonderful post. I am very happy to read your post. It is really very helpful for us and I have gathered some important information from this blog.My recent post SSC Result 2018!
I had a free NHS health check when I reached 40 and was told I had less than 1% chance of developing heart disease! I was very pleased! @kcacols
That is wonderful to hear!
Great post. Thanks for information such type of very informative and easily understanding article.
My pleasure, indeed.
You are right
This was so interesting! I never really used to pay much attention to the benefits or otherwise of what I was eating, but as I get older it’s becoming more and more important to me. #KCACOLS
As we age our focus tends to change. We look more towards what will keep us living a long and healthy life.
Yea. you are absolutely right