How to Lower Your Cholesterol Level Fast / Quickly
If you're reading this I am guessing you have been to your Doctor (GP) and been told that your cholesterol level is too high and that you need to get it back down to healthy levels. This hub aims to give you plenty of information in order to enable you to do just that and quickly get your cholesterol level back to within safe limits.
Before we start it is important you know what levels are normal so that you know what you should be aiming for, and how far you have to go to achieve your goal. Cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams (mg) of cholesterol per deciliter (dL) of blood in the United States and some other countries. Canada and most European countries measure cholesterol in millimoles (mmol) per liter (L) of blood. Consider these guidelines when you get your cholesterol test results back to see if your cholesterol falls in optimal levels.
UK.
Below 5 mmol/L healthy total cholesterol
5 to 6,5 mmol/L slightly elevated total cholesterol
6,5 to 8 mmol/L elevated total cholesterol
Above 8 mmol/L strongly elevated total cholesterol
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US.
Below 180 - your blood cholesterol level is ideal
180-199 - your blood cholesterol level is acceptable
200-219 - your blood cholesterol level is borderline high
220 or higher - your blood cholesterol level is too high
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Please be aware that not all cholesterol is bad, and actually your body requires cholesterol in order to perform many essential functions such as helping your body to make Vitamin D, keeping water from leaving your body too fast, providing the basis of important hormones produced in your adrenal glands, ovaries and testes and helping your cells to build their protective membranes, protecting them from various substances. Very low cholesterol can actually produce serious health problems also.
Good and Bad Cholesterol
- HDL cholesterol keeps cholesterol in a liquid state liquid and moves it safely through the body. It hangs on to the cholesterol, not letting it get loose and attach itself to your artery walls. In fact, HDL can grab on to and move cholesterol already stuck to your artery walls. This is why HDL cholesterol is often called "good" cholesterol.
- LDL cholesterol is not beneficial. Oxidized LDL cholesterol can damage artery walls and set the stage for mineral and fat deposits which lead to arterial blockages.
Therefore achieving normal cholesterol levels by reducing your LDL cholesterol and increasing your HDL cholesterol is obviously the recommended way to keep your arteries healthy.
How To Lower Your Cholesterol Levels Through Diet.
The obvious way to lower your Cholesterol levels is through your diet, which is going to mean cutting out completely, or at least cutting down, on certain types of food, whilst at the same time consuming more of other healthier foods. The majority of cholesterol in the body is produced by the liver from certain nutrients and saturated fats. The liver makes all the cholesterol the body needs on its own. Because all animals can make their own cholesterol, additional cholesterol comes from eating animals and animal products. These products include meats, eggs,milk and foodstuffs made from them. This cholesterol is absorbed through the intestines and acts as a supplement to the cholesterol the liver produces. A diet high in saturated fat also increases cholesterol production. Therefore, consuming less dietary cholesterol and fats helps blood cholesterol levels in the body stay within a healthy range.
Foods to Avoid.
Beef
Pork
Shrimp
Alcohol
Chocolate
Butter
Whole Milk
Cheese
Egg Yolks
Fried Foods
Cookies
Ice Cream
Margarine
White Bread
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Foods to Eat More Of.
Avocados
Oatmeal (Porridge)
Cranberry Juice
Pomegranate Juice
Pulses
Green and Black Teas
Vegetables (ideally steamed)
Fruit
Whole Grains
Raw Carrot Sticks (for healthy snacks)
Walnuts
Almonds
Kidney Beans
Vegetable Oil
Pasta
Brussels Sprouts
Olive Oil
Tofu
Oat Bran
Wholemeal Bread
Peanut Oil or Low Fat Peanut Butter
Cottonseed Oil
Fish (such as salmon, tuna, lake trout, herring and mackerel, preferably baked or broiled rather than sauteed or deep-fried).
How To Lower Your Cholesterol Levels Through Exercise.
Whether you are overweight or not exercise can be beneficial in lowering your cholesterol levels. In fact it can help raise the level of the HDL (good cholesterol). Exercise stimulates enzymes that help move LDL from the blood (and blood-vessel walls) to the liver. From the liver the cholesterol is converted into bile (for digestion) or excreted. The more you exercise, the more LDL your body expels. Exercise increases the size of the protein particles that carry cholesterol through the blood. (The combination of protein particles and cholesterol are called "lipoproteins;" it's the LDLs that have been linked to heart disease). Small protein particles are more dangerous because they can squeeze into the linings of the heart and blood vessels where they will stick, so by enlarging these protein particles the health risks are reduced.
Vigorous exercise is more beneficial as it actually does help to lower the Cholesterol levels but even moderate exercise is useful as it appears to prevent cholesterol levels from rising.
Ideal Exercise Includes:
Brisk Walks
Swimming
Bike Riding
Take Up a Sport
Jogging
Using Exercise Machines
Dancing
Skipping
Rowing
How To Lower Your Cholesterol Levels With Drugs.
If all your dietary changes and increased exercise have failed to reduce your cholesterol level sufficiently after about six months your Doctor may well look at putting on to one of the many cholesterol lowering drugs now available on the market. These work by either reducing the amount of cholesterol your body absorbs from your food, or by reducing the amount of cholesterol your liver makes. These drugs should be used in conjunction with the lifestyle changes you have already made in terms of diet and exercise.
Some of the drugs used to lower your cholesterol level may be as follows:
HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors also called Statins, are the newest medications available to lower cholesterol.
Frequently used HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors include:
Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
Fluvastatin (Lescol)
Lovastatin (Mevacor)
Pravastatin (Pravachol)
Simvastatin (Zocor)
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Bile-acid sequestrants. These medications help to limit the liver's production of cholesterol.
Common bile-acid sequestrants include
Colestipol (Colestid)
Cholestyramine (Questran).
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Niacin.
This B vitamin is found in foods and in multi-vitamin supplements. In high doses, available by prescription, niacin lowers LDL (the bad cholesterol) and raises HDL (the good cholesterol).
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Zetia, (generic name-ezetimibe)
Zetia is a new drug recently released to lower cholesterol. Zetia works by minimising the amount of cholesterol absorbed through the intestines after eating. Zetia appears to effect both the bad LDL type cholesterol as well as the good HDL cholesterol by lowering the bad cholesterol and raising the good cholesterol. The overall body cholesterol is also lowered, as are the level of circulating fats (triglycerides) in the blood.
Zetia is commonly prescribed together with one of the statin cholesterol lowering drugs because this combination has a stronger impact on lowering the cholesterol.
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Additional Research Sources Used
- Exercise To Lower Cholesterol
The most effective exercises for lowering your cholesterol levels. - Normal Cholesterol Levels - LDL Cholesterol vs. HDL Cholesterol
Learn what normal cholesterol levels are and the difference between LDL Cholesterol and HDL cholesterol
Comments
Beautiful photos and graphics. A lot to learn.
Hi Cindy. Ive been on a low carb diet for 3 years now. Been doing good but just found out my cholesterol was at 227!
GOOD ARTICLE.
Hi Cindy. What a wonderfully informative hub. So well researched and your presentation is absolutely tip top. Without doubt one of the very best hubs on these pages. Your wonderful illustrations are brilliant Well done indeed.
Graham.
I love this. Great job
how important information, thanks
My cholesterol was a bit on the high side when I was tested, however with the doctor giving me low dosage Statins which I have to take for ever and me now taking Skimmed milk and brown brown bread it is now a lot lower than it was. I exercise a lot and have a BMI of 24
Alan
Hello Misty,
I just found out that my cholesterol total was high (219) and I needed to lower it. I was freaking out until I read your hub. Your hub puts me at ease because I now know the foods to avoid and the food that I should eat to help lower my cholesterol. Also the list of exercises was motivating and helpful too. Thanks so much for your help. With the wonderful information that you have shared I know I can lower my cholesterol . :-)
Thanks for the info put so succinctly. I have used the advice here and my levels have gone down; not dramatically but still moving the right way. Thanks again.
Just clarifying - when you say to avoid "alcohol" I assume, given your lovely picture, that you do not mean wine? Is only red wine OK, if any, or is white OK too? Does "alcohol" include all types of alcoholic beverages?
Thanks.
Thanks for the excellent hub. I am living proof that this is spot on advise. I had a medical 6 weeks ago and had a cholesterol level of 6.9. Not hugely bad but a worry all the same. I did my own research which confirmed exactly as the blog says: what food groups to avoid and which to increase. For the last 6 weeks I have been eating a much healthier diet and drinking more water. Initially I missed the fatty stodge but that feeling soon goes away and it has just become a normal way of life now. Over the last 6 weeks I have lost weight and my cholesterol level is now at 4.7 I feel better physically and mentally, have more energy and sleep more soundly.
hey, sorry for not responding sooner; I just read this. Here's the link http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/
Hey from the U.S., I actually happened upon your blog on the Jersey vs Geurnsey milk and A2. I then read the ex-boyfreind stuff which made me feel physically ill as well as making want to just kick the crap out of this guy; anyways, regarding cholesterol, you are mistaken in a few ways. To start with, Coconut and Palm oil are actually extremely healthy. While they are technically Saturated fat, and 1/2 saturated-1/2 mono-unsaturated respectfully, the kind of saturated fat they contain is actually Medium chain fatty acid as opposed to short chain of other saturated fats, palm oil also contains one of the highest levels of Tocotrienols of any food. Instead of me rambling on a long list here I think you would benefit from the blog cholesterolandhealth. com - it is written by a molecular biology phd candidate (Chris Masterjohn) and every bit of information and argument is amply referenced and footnoted with the literature to back it up. Anyways, I wish you and your husband all the best and may God bless you and your family.
Hey Misty - very informative hub but your 'French Paradox' clickbank link din't work :-)
Zetia can cause horrific side effects. I am still sick, and I quit taking it 3 days ago. It caused severe burning pain in my lower body and fatique, not to mention chest pains. I found a site called Ask the Patient with so many complaints lodged against Zetia, it made me feel sad that my Doctor prescribed it so readily,when Lipitor had already given me nerve damage years ago. Good Hub--not many Doctors warn their patients about these side effects.
Wow! This is one of the best articles I have ever read in regards to lowering you cholesterol. Very informative with a ton of helpful hints. I struggle with high cholesterol and will be referring back to this hub.
Thanks so much for all your information. Great job!
Sage
good stuff. I never knew chocolate and shrimp are high in cholesterol. At least I only ea them once in a while like a cheeseburger, avocado.
Great hub to bookmark and save for frequent reference! Thanks!
Going to share this with my girlfriend...she was recently told hers was high!
Jeremy
Hi Misty,
My sister has a big problem with high cholesterol. I will give her this information and I am sure she will be eternally grateful. Thanks for sharing all of this very useful information. It is very much appreciated. BB
Cindy: I have bookmarked this hub, its so well written and informative, and visually appealing. I don't eat as much high fat foods these days, and if I do, its on occasion, as I lost 15 pounds over 5 months ago and want to keep my weight down, yet there is room for improvement in terms on nutrition.
Thumbs up!
Great Hub Misty...its great information as we are all need to watch what we eat...
Many Blessings
Good information, misty. Unfortunately, virtually everything you call "Foods to Avoid" make up 90 percent of my diet. No wonder my cholesterol is so high! I'll try to do better. Thanks.
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