How To Lower Cholesterol through Diet and Exercise

If you are overweight, losing just Five to ten percent of your body weight can decrease your cholesterol levels. If you are using to your healthy weight, you've already taken the initial step.

Here are more ways you can decrease your cholesterol through diet and exercise:

• Limit fatty foods to less than 7 percent of total calories. Fatty foods are most often found in animal products, for example red meat and butter.

• Eliminate trans essential fatty acids from your diet. Trans fats are located in processed foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Even foods with under 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving could be labeled trans fat-free so check ingredient lists and steer clear of foods with “hydrogenated oil” in the ingredient list.

• Limit daily cholesterol intake to 300 mg or less. Anyone who has been diagnosed with heart disease or diabetes should limit cholesterol intake to 200 mg each day.

• Eat more foods with omega-3 essential fatty acids, including fish (such as wild salmon and lake trout), flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, and kale. Studies have shown that the biggest cholesterol lowering benefit includes eating fish.

• Eat more soluble fiber, especially in the form of dried beans, oat bran, barley, eggplant, apples, grapes, strawberries, and citrus. These food types contain soluble fiber, which has been found to reduce LDL cholesterol. Adults should eat 20-35 grams of fiber each day.

• Engage in 30 - An hour of moderate to vigorous exercise at least five days a week, preferably every single day. This amount of exercise can increase HDL (good) levels of cholesterol and lower LDL (bad) levels of cholesterol.

Make sure you discuss your plan together with your doctor. If you are at high-risk for heart disease, your doctor may recommend a strategy such as combining lifestyle changes with medication to enhance your cholesterol more quickly.