Cholesterol, a word that most of the people would never like to face it. Most people don’t know that cholesterol is one of the most important building blocks in our body that helps with the secretion of hormones, formation of the cellular membranes, and secretion of the digestive Amino acids. Cholesterol is indeed necessary for your body, but overconsumption of cholesterol will sure invite unnecessary health-related problems.
Today, cholesterol is just like a taboo word for the people who are facing cholesterol related problems. The most recent Dietary guidelines issued by the U.S states that you must restrict yourself to the consumption of cholesterol food. If possible do not eat cholesterol-related food, as the human body is capable of producing the necessary amount. So, people are now adapting to new Tips for Managing High Cholesterol.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterols are the building block of the body that is largely derived from the food containing fat and animal products. The cholesterol we know is divided into there different lipid profiles. The profiles are given below.
- HDL- It stands for High-density lipoprotein. You can consider this as good fat that can be used by your body.
- LDL- It stands for Low-density lipoprotein. You can consider this as bad fat that cannot be absorbed by the body completely.
- Triglycerides.
All the above cholesterol levels are good for your health to a certain level. But the overconsumption of cholesterol can create plaque in your arteries, which can lead to health-related diseases.
There are several medications that help to control the cholesterol level in the body. But having a good healthy lifestyle and habit can also help you to fight cholesterol-related diseases.
Healthy tips for managing high cholesterol
With these simple tips, you can control your body cholesterol level without the consumption of the medicine.
- Reduce bad fat
It’s very important to get rid of the saturated and polyunsaturated fat from your body. As these fats increase the LDL level in your body. The main source of saturated fat are animals. So if you can restrict yourself from animal meat consumption, you will surely be able to control LDL levels.
Some of the high sources of LDL are:
- Red meat
- Dairy products like milk, butter, and cheese.
- Tropical oils like coconut oil, sunflower oil, and palm oil.
- Increase good fat
We all know that your bossy body needs a certain percentage of fat in your body to function properly. That good fat comes from a healthy diet. Consuming monosaturated fat can help you to have the necessary good fat in your body.
Some of the high sources of HDL are:
- Olive and canola oils are the natural oils that help you gain good fat n your body.
- Walnuts and Almonds are rich in HDL, these two can single-handedly accommodate the amount of HDL you need for your body.
- Eat Omega 3
Omega 3 fatty acids can help you to reduce the triglycerides from your body. However, omega 3 amino acid is not produced by the human body. We can only get Omega 3 from the marine-based diets.
Some of the high sources of Omega 3:
- Marine fishes.
- One of the easiest ways to get omega 3 is the consumption of flaxseed and walnut.
- There are several plats as well that are rich in omega 3.
- Add fiber to your diet
Fibers are the great way to reduce the absorption of cholesterol by your body. It is also a best way to replace all the cholesterol food with fibrous food. You can add fruits and vegetables in your diet, this can increase the consumption of the fiber intake and as well reduces the rate of absorption of the cholesterol.
Foods rich in fiber:
- Green leafy vegetables and fruits
- Oatmeal is also very rich in fiber.
- Do exercises
Doing exercise on a daily basis can really help you increase the HDL level. Exercise can burn out excess triglycerides. Doing exercise on a daily basis can activate all your muscles, thereby increasing the body heat. This body heat help you to reduce all the unnecessary body fats.
What you must aim while doing exercise:
- You must at least workout or do exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes every day.
- Also, add strength training to increase muscle endurance.
- Work on losing excess weight
It is very important to check your body weight on a regular basis. This is to make sure that you are not overweight. Having excess fat means an increase of triglycerides in your body. This reduces the HDL level in your body. Hence, you must make sure that you are not gaining any excess fat. And if that happens to make sure to do some exercise t lose it.
- Use margarine
Margarine used to contain transfat. And due this reason only it was banned from the New York city restaurants. However, today, there are many types of margarine that are rich in the heart-healthy plant sterols and stanols. Consuming only 2 grams of this heart-healthy plants can lower the LDL level in your body.
- Alcohol consumption
We all know that alcohol is injurious to health. And that is the reason many people restrict themself from having it. But what if I say that moderate consumption of alcohol can boost the level of HDL in your body. Yes, this fact is actually true. Consumption of moderate alcohol can boost HDL levels. However, you must make sure that you don’t overdo it. As the higher, the consumption of alcohol, the higher will be the triglycerides.
- Use medication if prescribed
Cholesterol medication is just not only for the patient having high cholesterol but it is also for the patient to have a lower cholesterol level. In times like this, medication can really help to reduce plaque in the arteries lowering the inflammatory diseases.
Conclusion
If you follow these healthy habits and implement them in your daily lifestyle then you are guaranteed to have a controlled cholesterol level. This article can be of use to all kinds of cholesterol patients. And I hope that you are not one of them.
Paula
Dhruval Patel
Sara Wales