You have probably heard about the heart-healthy Mediterranean Diet. You may have even heard of the DASH Diet which can reduce blood pressure. But you might not have heard of the Portfolio Diet. All three eating patterns are based on plant foods and are beneficial for your heart. If you want to know how to lower cholesterol levels, the Portfolio Diet is important to you. The Portfolio Diet can be helpful when you need to avoid taking higher doses of cholesterol-lowering medications to lower the risk of heart attacks.
Cholesterol is a fat-like, waxy substance made by the liver and necessary for your good health. Your body will need it for doing important tasks such as – digesting fatty foods and preparing hormones. The body will make all the cholesterol it requires and so, people eat little dietary cholesterol when they have a healthy eating plan. There is the presence of dietary cholesterol in animal foods such as poultry, eggs, dairy products, meat and seafood.
People with low cholesterol levels will not typically show symptoms. If they have symptoms, this may be from low cholesterol or underlying illness related to low cholesterol. Some symptoms are the following:
Your cholesterol numbers help you to understand the possible risk of heart disease. Cholesterol can help the body to carry out important functions and having too high cholesterol levels in the blood may be bad for you. It can enter into the artery walls and cause atherosclerotic plaque.
The accumulation of plaque is what you call atherosclerosis causing serious problems such as:
Cholesterol travels through the blood and becomes plaque in due course. You may not even notice its presence over a longer period. There may not be any symptoms until a stroke or heart attack. This is the time when plaque can cause extreme damage to the body.
You can live with higher cholesterol for many years without knowing about it. So, it is essential to check the cholesterol numbers daily. When your cholesterol numbers are very high, this is already a red flag for you to visit your healthcare provider. Higher cholesterol can be a major risk factor for heart ailments. By detecting problems at an early stage, there are opportunities for you to make the necessary changes to your diet and get your cholesterol to a healthy level.
Lower cholesterol may have several effects and help the body to prepare Vitamin D, steroid hormones like cortisol and sex hormones such as testosterone and estrogen. It may even affect the synthesis of these chemicals and can allow the body to produce bile which is essential for absorbing Vitamins A, D, E and K.
Different functions of the body may not work properly when you have low cholesterol and this can affect nutritional status, metabolic rate and physical and mental health.
This will depend on several factors, according to your healthcare expert.
Cholesterol has many important functions in your body including the following:
It is important to keep the cholesterol level low and protect cardiovascular health. Increased levels of cholesterol, like low-density lipoprotein (LDL), are related to the growth of arterial plaque which narrows down blood vessels and improves the risk of heart disease and stroke. These illnesses are the main causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide.
Most people can efficiently control their cholesterol level by doing physical exercise daily, eating a heart-healthy diet and preventing excessive amounts of saturated and trans fats. Controlling cholesterol will reduce the risk of growing serious cardiovascular problems, increase the flow of blood and decrease the workload on the heart. Knowing how to eliminate cholesterol is a priority for the step towards maintaining health conditions and preventing deadly cardiovascular diseases.
Restricting saturated fats in your diet by doing regular exercise and engaging in other healthy practices can lessen the amount of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in your blood. Lipoproteins have cholesterol, fat-soluble vitamins and fat in the blood.
You will find these are of two kinds:
The liver produces the amount of cholesterol needed by your body. Various factors might influence these levels which are the following:
People suggest an overall low-fat diet for weight loss and it can help to manage the cholesterol level.
In contrast, taking a diet which is high in monounsaturated fats such as the Mediterranean diet can increase levels of healthy HDL and decrease the levels of harmful LDL.
Here are some sources of monounsaturated fats:
Polyunsaturated fats lessen LDL cholesterol and decrease the risk of heart disease. It can also reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Omega-3 fatty acids are a heart-healthy kind of polyunsaturated fat present in fatty seafood and fish oil supplements including:
Trans fats are unsaturated fats modified through a process known as hydrogenation. This makes unsaturated fats in vegetable oils extremely stable.
Your body handles trans fats in a different way than other fats. It increases LDL and total cholesterol while decreasing beneficial HDL.
Foods which have trans fats in them are:
Soluble fibre is a kind of fibre present in whole grains and plants. Prioritizing whole grains can reduce LDL cholesterol levels and have a protective effect against cardiovascular diseases.
Some sources of soluble fibre are:
Exercise is extremely beneficial for your cardiovascular health. It helps to improve physical fitness and prevent obesity, increase beneficial HDL and lessen harmful LDL.
Healthcare experts suggest doing 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise in a week to lessen cholesterol levels. Regular strength training with aerobic exercise can offer several benefits to your health.
Excessive weight or obesity increases the risk of developing high cholesterol levels. By losing weight, you will be able to lower your cholesterol levels.
Weight loss has a double benefit on cholesterol by reducing harmful LDL and increasing beneficial HDL. You will have to work with the doctor for a nutrient-dense diet and a suitable plan for weight management that will work best for you.
Smoking tobacco enhances the risk of getting heart disease in various ways, which include:
When you stop smoking, it can reverse these harmful effects. A private doctor might help you to draft a suitable plan and quit smoking which is best for you.
Alcohol’s role in providing benefits for your heart is a controversial topic of discussion. When you consume alcohol in moderation, these drinks will increase good HDL cholesterol and decrease the risk of heart disease.
Drinking wine or any other alcoholic beverage won’t reduce your cholesterol or improve heart health. So, there is no link between alcohol and improved heart health.
If you have the habit of drinking, take only two drinks per day for males or one drink per day for females on the days you drink.
Different kinds of supplements can help to manage your cholesterol levels. Plant stanols and sterols are some plant versions of cholesterol as they resemble cholesterol and can be absorbed by your body like cholesterol.
Taking 1.5–3 grams of stanols or plant sterols regularly will lessen LDL concentration by almost 7.5–12%. Small amounts of sterols and plant stanols can naturally be found in vegetable oils and these are also added to butter substitutes and certain oils.
Certain kinds of supplements might improve cholesterol levels and promote heart health:
Fish oil has a high amount of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). There are certain fish oil supplements which can increase LDL despite lessening triglyceride levels.
Psyllium is a kind of soluble fibre available in the form of a supplement. It can help to know how to reduce cholesterol levels.
Coenzyme Q10 is a food chemical which helps cells to produce energy. It is quite similar to a vitamin, except that your body can produce its own Q10, which prevents deficiency.
It is advisable to seek advice from a medical professional before changing or starting with supplement regimens.
A cholesterol level of not more than 200 mg/dL is considered normal. A total cholesterol of 200 to 239 mg/dL is borderline high. Similarly, a total cholesterol level of 240 mg/dL or more than that is high.
Do you know changing the foods you eat daily can help to reduce cholesterol levels? It can improve the accumulation of fats into your bloodstream and adding foods to lower LDL, harmful cholesterol-carrying particles might contribute to artery-clogging atherosclerosis. This is the most effective way to know what to eat to lower cholesterol for your better health. Below are 13 foods to add to your diet for lowering cholesterol levels.
Various changes in your lifestyle may help to lessen your cholesterol level within 30 days including:
You might even consider taking certain supplements but always speak with a healthcare provider before changing or starting your supplement regimen.
Though food companies advertise products having low cholesterol levels, dietary cholesterol has a small influence on the amount of cholesterol present in your body.
Some foods high in omega-3 fatty acids, monounsaturated fats or soluble fibres may help to reduce cholesterol levels including:
There are generally no symptoms of higher cholesterol. But some signs or symptoms of high cholesterol include:
Eggs have cholesterol and managing your cholesterol is not only about cholesterol in the food you are eating. When you eat foods with cholesterol, it may not increase your blood cholesterol level. Eggs may be part of your balanced and healthy diet. But when you are at risk for getting cardiovascular disease, you may want to restrict the number of eggs you eat in a week.
Cholesterol has essential functions in the body though it may cause clogged arteries and heart disease when you do not manage it properly.
If your cholesterol level is higher, certain lifestyle changes seem to be the first line of treatment. Make sure you know what causes cholesterol to lessen it in the right way.
Unsaturated fats, plant sterols, stanols and soluble fibre may help to increase good HDL and decrease bad LDL. Besides, regular exercise and weight loss can also be of great help in reducing your cholesterol levels for a healthy heart.
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