Lowering Cholesterol Without Drugs

Drugs for treating cholesterol have proved to be very effective and popular in reducing total and ldl cholesterol. The most popular variety of drugs is known as the Statin family of drugs. There are many different brand names for Statin drugs but they all have the same basic effect. Statins cause the liver to produce less low density lipoproteins that act as a transport for cholesterol throughout the body. If there is too much low density lipoprotein then excess cholesterol tends to stick to artery walls and leads to atherosclerosis. However taking drugs to lower cholesterol is often seen as a last resort. If a patient has high cholesterol, a doctor will often advise that the patient alters his/her diet and takes on a regular exercise program. This will continue for 6 months and if no alteration has been made to the cholesterol reading then the drugs may be prescribed. This article will discuss lowering cholesterol without drugs.

The first thing that a person with high cholesterol has to look at is their diet. Foods high in saturated fats and trans fats should be avoided. Saturated fats are things like animal fats. This means fatty meat. You should always trim excess fat off any meat you are planning to eat. You should remove the skin from things like chicken and turkey. You should stop using lard and pork fat for cooking. Consumption of full fat dairy products should also be reduced. Try low fat alternatives or non-dairy alternatives.

Trans fats are a man made product. It is vegetable oil infused with hydrogen. It was very popular in the food industry because it gave extra flavor to processed foods and acted as a preservative too. It was also cheap to make. Recently it was found to increase cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the body and many food companies are trying to limit the use of this type of fat. However you will still find it in many products so it is a good idea to look at food labels before you buy something. Try to avoid products with trans fats in them.

Another way to reduce your cholesterol level is to eat foods that limit the amount of cholesterol that gets into the blood. Spreads and yogurts that have plant sterols in them compete with animal cholesterol for absorption into the intestine. They can limit the amount of cholesterol that gets into the blood. Soluble fiber, like oatmeal and vegetables, limit the absorption of cholesterol and ldl cholesterol sticks to the fiber and is excreted with it.

Eating fresh food is the best guideline for lowering cholesterol, along with cooking with polyunsaturated and unsaturated oils.

In terms of exercise, the idea is to reduce weight and use up excess calories. If you consume more calories than you use, you will end up putting on weight and more cholesterol will be created. Concentrate on aerobic exercise and try to do it as regularly as possible. This could be a light walk each day to begin with and gradually build up to longer exercise times or more strenuous activities. Check with your doctor before starting the program and ask for advice on the best type of exercise to start with.

Get more details on lowcholesteroldieting.com/Cholesterol_Diet.html diets for people with high cholesterol and lowcholesteroldieting.com/Low_Cholesterol_Food.html food low in cholesterol at lowcholesteroldieting.com lowcholesteroldieting.com - Adrian Whittle writes on issues related to reducing cholesterol and how to monitor cholesterol levels.