Top 10 things you can do to reduce your cholesterol
1. Try to get in at least 30 minutes of daily aerobic exercise. It will increase your metabolism, build your good cholesterol levels (HDL), and help you burn off fat and lower bad cholesterol levels (LDL).
2. Cholesterol is mainly found in animal products, so switch to low-fat animal products or plant-based food to significantly decrease your daily cholesterol intake.
3. Eating more fruits and vegetables in your daily diet will increase your intake of soluble fiber, which has been known to decrease cholesterol levels. It also makes you feel full, so you won’t eat as much at one sitting, and you’ll feel satiated longer. Either kind of fiber is beneficial (soluble or insoluble), so also look for whole grain products with more than three grams of fiber per serving.
4. Go fish! (not literally). But many fish are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, which means that eating them helps lower bad cholesterol and raise the good kind. Don’t like fish? Buy some fish oil capsules, store them in the freezer for longer preservation, and take them 2-3 times daily with meals.
5. If you do decide to stick to the beasts that roam the land, try to find lean cuts of meat (<2 grams of saturated fat/serving), and make sure they are no bigger than the palm of your hand.
6. Consuming dairy products is important part of the daily diet to prevent osteoporosis and lower blood pressure, but be sure to keep it low fat or non-fat.
7. Read nutrition labels carefully. Select items that contain less than three grams of saturated fat/serving. Remember that monosaturated fats are the good kind.
8. In addition to fish, snacking on nuts and seeds throughout the daily will help decrease your bad cholesterol levels and keep you full.
9. If you consult your doctor, he/she may recommend that you take 2g supplemental stanol or sterol esters (pill or food-fortified).
10. Cook for yourself! At restaurants, it’s hard to know exactly what goes in some of these dishes. When you cook for yourself, you control 100 percent of the items in your meal.
To learn more about how cholesterol can affect you, look at the resources from the American Heart Association.
Sources: Erin Palinski, RD, LDN, CDN, CPT (Franlkin, New Jersey) & Angela Lemond, RD, CSP, LD (Plano, TX); American Heart Association.
Originally published by Consumer Insurance Guide
