Julia Carmichael asked:


The need to lower cholesterol arises because the presence of excess cholesterol in blood serum can lead to a whole range of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. These diseases include high blood pressure, narrowing and hardening of arteries, heart disease, stroke, and paralysis.

These diseases spring up because the liver dumps excess cholesterol on the inner arterial walls. Later, these fatty deposits harden up to form a plaque, thus narrowing the arteries and obstructing blood flow to the heart and other organs. Other diseases can also result if the affected arteries normally supply blood to organs other than the heart and brain.

The good news, however, is that it is possible to lower cholesterol simply by making some therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC) and following a healthy TLC diet. In fact, these measures are the first line of defense against hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol). If the TLC measures don’t reduce your cholesterol level enough, then your doctor could prescribe cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins.

The most important lifestyle changes you must make to lower your cholesterol are:

Reduce excess body weight

Exercise regularly

Follow the TLC diet

Quit smoking

Excess body weight because of obesity not only increases the overall cholesterol level but also reduces the protective HDL (high-density lipoproteins) cholesterol, making the problem of high cholesterol worse. HDL is responsible for the transport of excess cholesterol from the tissues and arteries back to the liver for breakdown and disposal and therefore some people call it the good cholesterol.

Regular physical activity, especially aerobics, plays a twofold role in lowering cholesterol. First, it reduces obesity; second, it increases the HDL level. In other words, fat loss causes a drop in the total cholesterol, and your body does a better job of lowering your cholesterol because of the higher HDL level. A moderate-intensity aerobic activity like walking, cycling, dancing or swimming for 30-40 minutes, 5 days a week is an effective way to lower cholesterol.

Your diet plays a direct role in keeping your cholesterol levels. The richer the diet is in cholesterol, saturated fats and trans fats, the higher will be the cholesterol levels. While the liver makes most of the cholesterol in your body, cholesterol that comes from the foods you eat does play an important role.

In fact, for many people, a diet rich in soluble fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, when combined with regular exercise, can just as effectively lower cholesterol as do statin drugs. You would normally get these healthy nutrients from like oats, walnuts, almonds, fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, whole grains, cold-water fish, olive oil, peanut oil, and canola oil. On the other hand, this diet would exclude red meats, alcohol, fried foods, whole-cream dairy products, refined foods, and commercial bakery items.

Today, everyone knows smoking causes a whole range of deadly diseases affecting almost every organ of the body. Smoking is a major cause of cardiovascular diseases because of its role in hardening of the arteries and reducing HDL levels. So, quitting smoking will not only lower your cholesterol levels and raise the HDL level, it will also reduce the risk of getting other deadly diseases.

It is perhaps better to have several different avenues to lower cholesterol because high cholesterol could show up for different reasons in different people. So, you could, in addition, also resort to natural remedies like Guggul, Pantethine, Beta-Sitosterol, Policosanol, Curcumin, red yeast rice, and so on. You can get these supplements at health food stores at a lower price compared to prescription drugs.

Andrew Bicknell asked:


There are two types of cholesterol that circulate through the body’s blood stream; LDL or low density lipoproteins and HDL or high density lipoproteins. LDL is considered bad and HDL is considered good because of the way they work in the body.  High levels of LDL cholesterol are a leading factor for increasing the risk of heart disease while HDL cholesterol is known to reduce this risk.

One of the easiest ways to control this is by choosing food to eat to lower cholesterol. It really can be that easy; just some simple dietary changes can have a profound effect on your cholesterol and your health. But then your mom always told you you are what you eat.

In this “fast food” world there has never been a truer statement. There are many foods that you can eat to significantly lower bad LDL blood cholesterol levels.

1. Eat more fiber rich foods, particularly oat bran, barley, and wheat bran. These high fiber foods are not only key to helping lower cholesterol levels but they are also good for proper bowl function and help to lower the risk of colon cancer. Most fruits and vegetables also contain good amounts of fiber and they are cholesterol free.

2. Beans and lentils are also high fiber foods that contain a substance known as lecithin, which has been shown to help reduce LDL’s.

3. Snack on raw carrots. Carrots contain a large amount of a fiber called pectin which has been shown to lower cholesterol. Fruits such as apples, citrus fruits, strawberries, and raspberries also contain pectin.

4. The Japanese have long used shitake mushrooms in many of their meals, and for good reason. Rich in a compound called lentinan that not only helps in the fight against high cholesterol it also helps boost the immune system.

5. Use more garlic in your recipes. Garlic has many health benefits, one of which includes the substance allicin which is believed to help rid the body of LDL cholesterol. Scientific studies have shown that eating one clove a day can reduce cholesterol levels by 10%-15%.

6. Nuts such as walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, and almonds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids which are known to significantly lower levels of LDL cholesterol while raising good HDL levels.

7. Sesame seeds, celery, lettuce, asparagus, spinach, tomatoes, ginger, squash and strawberries contain a cholesterol fighting compound known as phytosterols.

8. Omega-3 fatty acids. These are some of the most powerful natural cholesterol reducers health researchers have found. Seafood such as salmon, tuna, and sardines are rich in omega-3s. It can also be found in safflower, canola, soybean, and olive oil which are all also good sources of monounsaturated fats.

9. Saponin, a substance found in alfalfa sprouts, is thought to reduce and inhibit the formation of cholesterol forming plaques in the arteries.

These are all food to eat to lower cholesterol naturally and in most cases simply eating healthy and exercising will give you the results you need. Only in extreme cases where cholesterol is dangerously high will your doctor prescribe drugs. But it is important to consult with your doctor to determine the best course of action if you do suffer from high cholesterol.