A lot of people are living with several health disorders and have also lost lives due to abnormal cholesterol levels. If you aren’t doing anything to control the cholesterol levels of your body, you are inviting heart stroke, heart attack, arterial disease and many more.
All of these health risks are often associated with low HDL and high LDL cholesterol levels in your blood. So, this article specifies a few methods or ways to lower your body's cholesterol levels. Make sure you read along till the end without missing out on any method!
Understanding Cholesterol
Before you get along with the methods of lowering the cholesterol levels in your body or bloodstream, you should understand it with respect to your bodily functions. Cholesterol is better known as a fat that’s essential for your body to function correctly. It will aid you in producing Vitamin D, certain hormones, and various substances, which collectively help you digest the foods.
The liver is responsible for producing all the necessary cholesterol that your body needs to digest the food you eat. Apart from that, the food you consume can also fill the body’s cholesterol needs. To help you better understand this, cholesterol is divided into two different types, which include:
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LDL (Low-Density Lipoprotein):
LDL is better known as bad cholesterol, which carries out the particles all over your body and then deposits the same into your blood vessels. This might trigger heart problems in you.
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HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein):
HDL, or good cholesterol, is what carries the used cholesterol level back to the liver in order to protect you against any kind of heart disease.
To measure the healthy or unhealthy levels of cholesterol in your body, doctors will recommend you take a lipid panel test. In this, your HDL, LDL and overall cholesterol levels within the blood will be measured. As far as normal cholesterol levels are concerned, the total cholesterol levels in your body should be lower than 200 mg/dL.
If you categorise the normal range for LDL and HDL, it should be lower than 130 mg/dL for LDL and should be 40 mg/dL or higher for HDL.
If your doctors have recommended the procedure, you can book your slot for the lipid panel test with Agilus Diagnostics over our website.
Methods to Reduce the Cholesterol Levels in Your Blood
You will have to adopt a multifaceted approach to managing your body’s cholesterol levels. It combines your lifestyle modifications, dietary changes and medication changes as well. Some of the methods that you can adopt for a positive result in terms of reducing your bad cholesterol levels are:
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Increase the Intake of Soluble Fibre:
Soluble fibres are meant to act like sponges in your body, which will help absorb some or most of the bad cholesterol from the bloodstream. And then, along with the fibre, the cholesterol levels will also be dropped. To increase your soluble fibre intake, you must make some dietary changes and include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and other such health items.
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Cut Down on Consuming Trans and Saturated Fats:
Saturated and trans fats are considered the major culprits behind all the elevated LDL cholesterol levels. This cholesterol is mostly found in the processed foods or fried items you eat. All the commercially baked food items have it! You must avoid all of these food items, switch to fish or poultry for healthy protein, and use cooking oils that have a good amount of unsaturated fats, such as canola or olive.
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Lose Your Weight:
If you are too overweight, especially around the waist region, the condition is often associated with high cholesterol levels, specifically LDL. The risk of heart disease will be higher if you are overweight. So, you must do workouts to reduce your excessive body weight and bring it to a healthy level. Due to this, you'll see an amazing change in your cholesterol profile by reducing your LDL levels and increasing your HDL levels.
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Avoid Taking Too Much Stress:
One of the amazing ways to control the bad cholesterol levels in your bloodstream is by avoiding all forms of stress. Psychological stress is very much responsible for decreasing the levels of HDL or good cholesterol levels in your blood and giving rise to triglyceride or LDL levels, which will adversely affect your health. You can control your stress by socialising or attaining a good work-life balance.
Also Read: Diet and Lifestyle Changes for Cholesterol Control Tips and Strategies
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Lower Down Alcohol Intake and Quit Smoking:
Smoking has a bad effect on the blood vessels, which will decrease your healthy cholesterol levels. Moreover, it will also increase the chances of heart attack! By eliminating your smoking habits, you will take one productive step towards improving not just your cholesterol levels but also your overall health. Beyond that, you should also cut down on your alcohol intake, as too much of it might lead to an increase in LDL levels.
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Increase Your Physical Activity Quotient:
If you aren’t overweight, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t workout! You must maintain a habit of doing at least some form of physical activity. Due to this, you will be able to maintain good health for your heart and keep your cholesterol levels lowered as well. Make a target to do some physical activities for around 150 minutes a week, such as biking, swimming and brisk walking. You can also try doing aerobic workouts as they boost the HDL cholesterol levels!
Conclusion
This is a clear indication of some of the impactful methods that will help you limit the rise of bad cholesterol levels and lower it. You must be strict on these lifestyle changes as suggested to not just be free from cholesterol issues but also to ensure overall well-being.
If you have been to the doctor for any of the adverse symptoms such as fullness, chest pain, pain in the lower legs or others, they might suggest you go for a cholesterol test. You needn’t look anywhere else, as at Agilus Diagnostics, we offer quick reports on our diagnostic tests. You can book a slot for the cholesterol test either online or by connecting with us!
Agilus Diagnostics, a subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare Limited
