Keep Cholesterol In Check through Lifestyle Changes
By Jude Emery, for Revive Your Life
Photo by PurpleGecko
Editor’s Note: This is the first article in a planned series on cardiovascular health which will publish over the coming weeks. I would specifically like to point out the link to the “Cardiovascular Risk Factors” tool. As part of the continued enhancement of the Revive Your Life community, we are proud to introduce the first of what will be many professionally-designed, interactive tools meant to improve the user experience and quality of information provided by this site. In the coming weeks, look for additional interactive tools to be introduced as well as a dedicated “Tools” page where all will be located.
Disclaimer: I am NOT a doctor, I don’t play one on TV, and I didn’t even sleep at a Holiday Inn last night. So, what qualifies me to write a series about how to protect yourself from heart disease?
- For starters, I am a walking poster child for cardiovascular risk factors. Family history? Check. High blood pressure? Check. Cholesterol issues? Check. As a result, I’ve developed a vested interest in educating myself about the key issues surrounding heart disease in an effort to stave off the seemingly inevitable.
- Statins, ACE Inhibitors, Beta Blockers…been there, done that. Since the ripe old age of 19, I’ve been on some type of prescription medication to control my blood pressure and/or cholesterol. Recently, I decided to tackle these problems using lifestyle changes instead of relying on pills. Perhaps I was motivated by the long list of potential side effects printed in the prescription literature, or the fact that I still felt like garbage despite being numerically “normal”. At any rate, I turned myself into a human guinea pig for the next several months and dove headfirst into changing my health by changing my habits.
- Throughout the course of my experiment, I found that making some small changes in how you live can have a huge impact on how you feel, not to mention your overall health. Many individuals are able to take a lower dosage of medication, or even get off of it completely by committing to a healthier lifestyle (check with your doctor first before stopping any medications). If you’re not currently taking medication, you may be able to keep it that way by making some changes now.
Click to estimate your cardiovascular risk using our interactive tool!
Lifestyle change can be difficult because it often centers around restrictions; things you can’t do, foods you can’t eat, etc. I think a better approach is to focus on getting more of certain things instead. You’ll feel less like you’re depriving yourself and more like you’re making progress. Without even realizing it, you’ll probably end up replacing many of those bad habits with new healthy ones.
Despite its bad rap, cholesterol itself is not entirely evil. Your body actually needs it to make important things like hormones and cell membranes. In fact, your liver is able to produce all of the cholesterol your body needs, even if you don’t take in any cholesterol as part of your diet. The dark side of cholesterol reveals itself when you have more of it in your blood than your body needs to function properly.
You probably know that there are “good” and “bad” kinds of cholesterol. LDL, aka “bad cholesterol”, is carried to the various cells and tissues where it is needed. It is also the kind that can get deposited on the walls of your arteries. Over time, these deposits can build up enough to restrict the flow of blood, causing a heart attack or stroke. HDL, the “good cholesterol”, never gets a chance to build up on arterial walls because it is carried straight to your liver so it can be removed from the body. By increasing your HDL and lowering your LDL, your body will eliminate excess cholesterol instead of storing it in your arteries. With that goal in mind, let’s look at six changes you can make right now to start protecting your heart.
1. Eat More Fiber
When it comes to controlling cholesterol, all forms of fiber are not created equal. Insoluble fiber (roughage) works in the digestive realm, helping to keep you “regular” by passing through the intestine relatively intact. Soluble fiber, on the other hand, binds to LDL molecules (the bad kind of cholesterol) and helps the body get rid of it. Getting 5-10 grams of soluble fiber each day could result in a 5% reduction in your LDL. The easiest way to get more fiber is to eat plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Oatmeal, beans, apples, pears, barley and prunes are especially good sources of soluble fiber. These foods (like any others that come from plant sources) are also cholesterol-free, so you’ll probably end up taking in less dietary cholesterol too. High fiber foods also help you to feel full, so you may even drop a few pounds in the process (an added bonus in the battle against heart disease).
2. Eat more fruits and veggies
Besides being cholesterol-free and full of fiber, fruits and vegetables are also loaded with antioxidants, another important weapon in the battle against heart disease. Antioxidants prevent molecules called free radicals from damaging the LDL cholesterol in your body. Research shows that LDL is relatively harmless to our bodies until it is damaged by an attack from free radicals. Damaged LDL is actually the stuff that clogs up your arteries and sets the stage for cardiovascular disease down the road. To minimize the damage caused by free radicals, load up on antioxidants by adding fruits or vegetables to each meal or snack. Fill your shopping cart with a colorful variety of produce to take advantage of all the antioxidant power nature has to offer.
3. Eat more fish
Studies have found that the Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are effective in lowering LDL and triglycerides (another type of fat found in the blood that can cause problems). Evidence suggests that they may also raise your HDL level as well. Experts recommend you eat at least 2 servings of fish per week to see results. Some fish with high levels of Omega-3’s include mackerel, sardines, herring, albacore tuna and salmon. Of course, it doesn’t make sense to negate the heart-healthy effects of fish by slathering it in butter or deep frying it, so your best bet is to bake or grill it. Don’t like fish? Consider flaxseed as an alternative source of Omega-3’s. A spoonful of ground flaxseed added to your oatmeal or yogurt is an easy way to get your daily dose of Omega-3’s. Getting enough Omega-3’s could drop your triglycerides by as much as 25%.
4. Eat more olive oil
People living in Mediterranean regions tend to consume a fairly high percentage of their calories from fat, yet have a much lower rate of heart disease than most other regions of the world. The reason? Much of their fat intake is in the form of olive oil, which contains a high percentage of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. Using olive oil in place of unhealthy saturated fats can help cut your LDL significantly. Leave the butter in the fridge and dip your bread in an herb-infused olive oil instead. Drizzle your salad with a vinaigrette of olive oil and balsamic vinegar in place of your usual dressing. When choosing an olive oil, go for the extra-virgin variety whenever possible. It is more flavorful, so a little goes a long way and it’s got more heart-healthy antioxidants than other types of olive oil which are more highly processed.
5. Eat more nuts
Because of their high calorie count and fat content, most people who are watching their diet avoid nuts like the plague. By doing so, they are overlooking one of nature’s most powerful cholesterol busters. Like olive oil, nuts are loaded with healthy monounsaturated fats. Even better, eating a handful of nuts will boost your fiber intake as well. Make walnuts your nut of choice, and you have just added a healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids to the mix. This three-pronged attack might make the humble walnut the ultimate weapon in the battle against cholesterol. Two servings of walnuts a day may cut your LDL by a whopping 12%. Other nuts, like almonds and pecans, have also proven to be effective at slashing cholesterol levels. Chopped nuts are great additions to cereals, salads, rice dishes and baked goods, or you can just snack on them instead of munching on chips or pretzels.
6. Get more exercise
You didn’t think we’d go through this whole “more is better” thing without dropping exercise on you at some point, did you? Unfortunately, there’s no way around this one. When it comes to warding off heart disease, physical activity is one of the best weapons you have at your disposal. Exercise strengthens your heart muscles, lowers your LDL, and is one of the few ways you can raise your good cholesterol. Studies suggest that the length of your exercise session is more important than the intensity when it comes to raising HDL, so start slow. You don’t need to run a marathon to see positive results. A 30-40 minute walk a few times a week may be just the thing you need to add a few points to your HDL score. Even a small spike in HDL translates to a significant drop in your overall cardiovascular risk.
Unfortunately, there is no “magic bullet” when it comes to warding off heart disease. Keeping your cholesterol in check is an important first step, but it is just one piece of the puzzle. In coming installments of the series, we will look at some other steps you can take to reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
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Nice article , i will make my father read it.
Perfect timing since they just reported in our newpaper that our state is getting…umm “heavier”.
Great article.
Good stuff.
Have you explored Atkins or The Zone? What’s interesting to me is that in both cases, they doctors behind them were more focused on blood and hormone levels, rather than food. They treated food as a drug that could positively or negatively impact your results.
@ Michele - I read that report as well…quite scary that the health of our nation continues to deteriorate.
@ J.D. - I haven’t explored either of these two in great detail, but your description makes sense. Food contains most of the natural substances that we need to keep our bodies healthy, we just don’t get enough of the good stuff! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the article. Actually i’m wondering if my cholesterol is high or no because i feel something wrong in my life-chest. Now, i’m in practicing healthy life style and i’m consume deep sea shark liver oil, people said it’s good to get your cholesterol loss
[...] changes you can make to help you to keep your blood pressure in check. Like our approach in the first post in this series, let’s look at these from the perspective of what we should be adding to our daily routines [...]
My family has a history of heart problems and diabetes. So these tips are very helpful. Been eating a lot of high fiber foods. Like eating wheaten breads instead of the white ones. And eating a lot of yogurt, fruits and veggies.
i started to shift from a less-worry man into a health concious individual when i had gastritis half a year ago. my mother has vertigo and my father is suffering from the effects of diabetis. as a boy who lived with people with such illness, i started to be more acquainted with how to keep my health as good as possible and even share some advice to my friends who need it…
fibers are good cleaner of our colon, especially the non-soluble one… my daily intake of fiber is quite heavy for the reason that i have to flash out toxins and excess foods brought about by my sickness…
exercising regularly really help alot not only on your health but also on your confidence. when you look in the mirror and see your nice figure, who who will not be confident anyway?….
[...] now, you’ve probably heard about the dangers of cholesterol and high blood pressure (if not, check out the first 2 posts in this series). I’d be willing [...]