Tips to Cut Your Cholesterol Fast

Tips to Cut Your Cholesterol Fast

If you have high cholesterol, you’re also at higher danger for heart disease. But the good news is, it’s a risk you can contain. You can bring down your “bad” LDL cholesterol and raise your “good” HDL cholesterol. You just have to make some changes.

“I tell patients that you suffer to start somewhere and just keep going,” says Suzanne Steinbaum, DO, an attending cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “As you adopt lifestyle modifications, everything starts shifting, and the improvements you see at 6 weeks often increase by 3 months.”

You still may need to study medicine to get your cholesterol back on track. Only if you make just a few, small changes, you might be able to lower your dose and chance of side effects.

Stick with these tips to cut your cholesterol and get back on the road to good health.

Ban Trans Fats

“They raise your LDL, lower your HDL, and increase your risk of developing heart disease and stroke,” Steinbaum says. But it’s difficult to avoid them. They’re found in fried foods, baked goods (cakes, pie crusts, frozen pizza, and cookies), and stick margarines.

That’s why the FDA is studying steps to remove them from the food supply. How can you obviate them in the meantime? When you go shopping, read the labels. Simply be careful if you see “partially hydrogenated oil” on the package. That’s simply a fancy name for trans fat.

Scale Back

You don’t have to misplace a lot of weight to lower your cholesterol. If you’re overweight, drop just 10 pounds and you’ll cut your LDL by up to 8%. But to really sustain off the pounds, you’ll have to do it over time. A reasonable and safe goal is 1 to 2 pounds a week. Eating plans that allow 1,000 to 1,200 calories a day will help most women lose weight safely. Plans with 1,200 to 1,600 calories a day are safe for most men who want to lose weight.

Get Moving

“Exercising at least 2 1/2 hours a week is enough to raise HDL and improve LDL and triglycerides,” says Sarah Samaan, MD, a heart surgeon in Plano, TX. If you haven’t been active, start slowly -- even 10-minute blocks of activity count. Choose an exercise that you enjoy. And buddy up: An exercise partner can help keep you on course.

Fill up on fiber aFoods like oatmeal, apples, prunes, and noodles are high in soluble fiber, which keeps your body from absorbing cholesterol.cholesterol. Inquiry shows that people who ate 5 to 10 more grams of it each day saw a drop in their LDL. Eating more fiber also makes you feel full, so you won’t crave snacks as much. But beware: Too much character at one time can cause abdominal cramps or bloating. Increase your fiber intake slowAttempt to eat it two to four times a week. two to four times a we“Not merely are the omega-3 fats in fish, heart-healthy, but replacing red meat with fish will lower your cholesterol by reducing your exposure to saturated fats, which are abundant in red meat,” Salmon says.ays. The catch ySome characters, like shark, swordfish, and king mackerel, are high in mercury.mercury. That can increase your risk for nerve disease. Alternatively, choose wild salmon, sardines, and bluefin tuna.

Opt for Olive Oil

“Substituting olive oil for butter may reduce LDL cholesterol by as much as 15%, which is similar to the result of a low dose of medication,” Salmon says.The “good” fats in olive oil benefit your core.. Choose extra-virgin olive oil. It’s less processed and contains more antioxidants, which help prevent disease.

Go Nuts

Most cases can lower LDL. The reason: They contain sterols, which, like fiber, keep the body from taking in cholesterol, Steinbaum says. But don’t go overboard: Nuts are high in calories (an ounce of almonds packs 164!).

Did you recognize that when you’re stressed, your cholesterol can go through the roof? Relax. Become lost in a good book, meet a friend for coffee, or take to your yoga mat. It’ll facilitate keep your cholesterol in check.

Spice It Up

If you don’t already dust your cappuccino with cinnamon or shake pepper on your pasta, listen up: Spices like garlic, curcumin, ginger, black pepper, cilantro, and cinnamon do more than flavor your food, they can also improve cholesterol. Inquiry shows that eating a half to one clove of garlic each day could lower cholesterol up to 9%. Bonus: Adding extra seasoning to your food also reduces your appetite, and then it’s easier to drop excess pounds, Steinbaum says.

Tail Out

“Smoking can raise LDL and lower HDL, and quitting often improves those numbers,” Samaan says. In one subject area, people who stopped smoking saw their “good” cholesterol rise 5% in one year. Simply if you’re regularly around smokers, take heed: Breathing secondhand smoke every day can also raise levels of bad cholesterol.

Laught

Laughter is like medicine: It increases HDL, Steinbaum says. Need to add some comic relief to your lifespan? Check out silly pet videos online, contract up for a joke-a-day email, or watch funny movies.