Janet J
Cholesterol is generated in your liver and has several significant functions. For instance, it helps in keeping the outer walls of the cells flexible and plays a vital role in making several hormones.
However, just like any other thing in the body, too much cholesterol can create health issues.
Like fat, cholesterol does not get dissolved in water easily. Rather, it gets transported in the body with the help of molecules known as lipoproteins, which carry fat, cholesterol, and fat-soluble vitamins in the blood.
Different types of lipoproteins have various health effects. For instance, a high level of Low-density Lipoprotein (LDL) results in deposits of cholesterol in the blood vessels, which in turn can lead to clogged arteries, heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure.
On the contrary, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) helps to carry cholesterol away from the vessel walls and helps avoid these diseases.
Here, in this article, we are discussing a few tips to reduce cholesterol.
However, before getting into the tips to reduce cholesterol, let us find out the different types of cholesterol:
- Low-density lipoproetin (LDL)- This cholesterol is what many consider as the “bad ” cholesterol. High levels of this type of cholesterol can increase the chances of cardiovascular disease, heart issues, and clogged arteries.
- High-density lipoprotein (HDL)- This is known as “good” cholesterol which helps in removing cholesterol take it back to the liver. High level of HDL may reduce an individual’s risk of cardiovascular disease.
How much time does it take to reduce cholesterol?
It takes time to reduce cholesterol. If you are thinking that after following these tips to reduce cholesterol you can get rid of cholesterol within a day, then you are mistaken. You have to follow a strict diet and a healthy lifestyle to control cholesterol.
Cholesterol drops with time, if not suddenly, after a few days of following a healthy lifestyle. There is no specific time in which the cholesterol is going to drop.
Cholesterol-lowering medicines generally produce an alteration in LDL within six to eight weeks. Lifestyle changes can reduce cholesterol levels within a few weeks. However, it may take some time, not less than 3 months. Sometimes, it can even take some more time.
There are some doctors who even recommend adding a cholesterol-reducing medicine if an individual has not reduced their LDL cholesterol after nearly 12 weeks of lifestyle changes.
Important Tips to Reduce Cholesterol
A. Focus on Monosaturated Fats- It is one of the important tips to reduce cholesterol. As opposed to saturated fats, unsaturated fats have a double chemical bond that alters the way they are usually used in the body. Monosaturated fats have a double bond.
Though you must have come across people who while suggesting important tips to reduce cholesterol recommend choosing a low-fat diet for reducing weight.
A study was conducted on 10 men in which they were given a low-fat diet. After 6 weeks, they found that the level of harmful LDL was reduced, but it even reduced the level of useful HDL.
On the contrary, a diet that is high in monounsaturated fats reduced the harmful LDL, but also safeguarded the high levels of healthy HDL.
A study conducted on 24 people with high blood cholesterol reached the same conclusion, where consuming a diet high in monounsaturated fat raised beneficial HDL by a total of 12% when compared to a diet that is low in saturated fat.
Monounsaturated fats may also lessen the oxidation of lipoproteins, which leads to clogged arteries.
A study on 26 people found that replacing the polyunsaturated fats with the monounsaturated fats present in the diet lessened the oxidation of cholesterol and fats.
As a whole, monounsaturated fats are healthy as they reduce harmful LDL cholesterol, improve good HDL cholesterol, and at the same time also reduce harmful oxidation.
Here are some important sources of monounsaturated fats. Some are also great sources of polyunsaturated fats:
a. Olives
b. Tree nuts, like walnuts, almonds, cashews, and hazelnuts
c. Avocados
B. Eating a Balanced Diet- It is another one on the list of important tips to reduce cholesterol. There are several foods that contain cholesterol. Certain foods like eggs are high in cholesterol.
However, studies have found that the cholesterol an individual gets from consuming food does not increase blood cholesterol.
Instead, what you should do is eat a balanced diet with different nutrients.
You can do the following:
- Eat different kinds of nutrient-dense foods, like fruits, vegetables. lean proteins, and whole grains.
2. Try to avoid trans fats, and restrict foods that are high in saturated food content.
3. Restrict foods with extra sugars.
4. Have a low sodium diet. Several processed foods contain high sodium levels, even if you do not feel salty while eating them.
5. Eat high-fiber foods like fruits, oatmeal, beans, and vegetables.
As cholesterol intake does not correlate directly with the cholesterol levels in most people, it is not mandatory for people to avoid foods that have cholesterol.
Instead, if you are looking for tips to reduce cholesterol, you must focus on a balanced diet that is low in saturated fats and trans fats.
B. Maintain a moderate weight- Another one on the list of tips to reduce cholesterol is to maintain a moderate weight. Maintaining or attaining a moderate weight that is within the correct BMI range can help in reducing cholesterol, while also lessening other heart disease risks.
An individual must focus on attaining and maintaining a healthy weight with a combination of healthy eating and too many physical activities, as both these can reduce cholesterol.
C. Make changes in your lifestyle- Quitting or stoping habits like excessive smoking or drinking can reduce cholesterol while improving the overall health condition.
D. Intake more soluble fiber with kidney beans, whole-grain bread, quinoa, and much more- All of us consider fiber as something that can help improve your digestive condition.
It is probably true, but if you thought that fiber was just for digestion, think once again. It also helps in building your cardiovascular health.
A list of less-cholesterol food is rich in soluble fiber. Soluble fiber grabs cholesterol in the gut and helps to reduce bad LDL cholesterol levels. Some of the popular foods that are rich in soluble fiber are:
- Barley
- Oats
- Whole-grain bread
- Lentils
- Quinoa
- Kidney beans
Include more of these kinds of foods in your diet. Try whole-grain toast and oatmeal during breakfast, curried lentils during lunch, and turkey chili with kidney beans for dinner.
E. To boost unsaturated fiber and fats have strawberries, walnuts, peas, or avocados as snacks-There is nothing wrong with grabbing a snack between two meals to improve energy or cure the rumbling sound in your stomach that your coworker may have heard sometimes back.
But common snack foods like cookies, chips, microwavable popcorn, nuts, and vegetables not just help you avoid bad fats, but also attains good fiber and fats.
F. Raw nuts are high in unsaturated fats- These are the best types of fats. They increase your good HDL cholesterol level and lessen your bad LDL cholesterol levels.
Other examples of foods that are high in unsaturated fat include olives and avocados.
G. Nuts- Along with different kinds of vegetables and fruits, nuts too can be an excellent source of soluble fiber.
Adding as many of these food items as you can to your daily diet can be a double dose of cholesterol-lessening impact.
Foods that can reduce LDL cholesterol
Different foods reduce cholesterol in different ways. Some deliver soluble fiber, which binds together cholesterol and its precursors in the digestive system and drags them out of our body before they even start circulating.
Some provide polyunsaturated fats, which directly lowers LDL. And some specific plant stanols and sterols, which block the body from absorbing too much cholesterol.
Along with following the above-mentioned tips to reduce cholesterol, there are different tips to reduce cholesterol fast. One among them is the intake of foods that lower cholesterol.
- Oats- One of the easiest and simplest tips to reduce cholesterol fast is to to have a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. It contains 1 to 2 grams of soluble fiber. You can add some strawberries or a banana to it to make it tastier and filling.
According to doctors, one must consume 20 to 35 grams of fiber in a day, with nearly 5 to 10 grams from soluble fiber.
2. Whole grains and barley- Like oats bran and oats, barley and other whole grains can help in reducing the risk of heart disease, mainly through the soluble fiber they offer.
3. Beans- Another one, in fact, one of the significant tips to reduce cholesterol is to increase the intake of beans, especially those that are rich in soluble fiber. They take some time for the body to digest, which means you may feel full for a long time after having a meal.
This is one of the reasons why beans are one of the significant foods for people trying to reduce weight. With so many options- from kidney beans to lentils, black-eyed peas, and many more- and so many different ways to cook them, beans are considered a versatile food.
4. Okra and eggplant- These are two low-calorie vegetables that are great sources of soluble fiber.
5. Nuts- Different studies show that eating almonds, peanuts, and walnuts is beneficial for our heart. Consuming 2 ounces of nuts every day can reduce LDL, nearly to 5%. Nuts have extra nutrients that protect the heart in various other ways.
6. Vegetable oils- Utilizing liquid vegetable oils like sunflower, canola, safflower, and other different kinds of oils instead of lard, butter, while cooking helps reduce LDL.
7. Soy- Eating foods and soybeans made from them, like soy milk and tofu, was once regarded as one of the important tips to reduce cholesterol. Studies show that the effect is more modest- having 25 grams of soy protein every day can reduce LDL by 5% to 6%.
8. Fatty Fish- Another one added to the list of tips to reduce cholesterol is to include fatty fish in your diet. Eating fish two to three times a week can lessen lower LDL in two different ways: by replacing meat, which contains LDL-boosting saturated fats, and by delivering LDL-reducing omega-3 fats.
Omega-3 reduces triglycerides in the blood and at the same time protects the heart by helping avoid the onset of unusual heart rhythms.
9. Supplements of fiber- Fiber supplements provide the least appealing method to achieve soluble fiber. 2 teaspoons of psyllium a day, found in Metamucil and different bulk-forming laxatives, offer nearly 4 grams of soluble fiber.
Conclusion
If your report shows high cholesterol, there is no need to panic. Follow these simple tips to reduce cholesterol and you can lead a healthy lifestyle without stressing about cholesterol.