Cholesterol is secreted by your liver and performs many important functions in the body. For instance, it keeps the walls of your muscles flexible and helps make several hormones. But high cholesterol is not good for your health and should be treated ASAP. Here is how you can naturally reduce the levels of cholesterol in your body.
1. Exercise
Experts suggest that if you combine aerobic exercises with a low intake of fat, the levels of cholesterol in your body plummets significantly. Even if you are on a diet at the moment, you will wait for a long time to see the desired results unless you do some exercise.
There are no specific aerobic exercises that one can do to reduce cholesterol in the body. However, if you are not sure what needs to be done, consider hiring a personal trainer to offer some suggestions. For the best results, you are encouraged to engage in physical exercise for at least 150 minutes a week, as recommended by the NHS.
2. Drink Alcohol with Moderation
Moderate use of alcohol has been shown to have a close relationship with improved levels of LDL (Low-density lipoprotein). However, these benefits are not strong enough to recommend alcohol to an individual who is not already drinking.
If you are already drinking alcohol, you are encouraged to do so in moderation. Healthy adults are recommended to consume no more than one alcoholic drink per day.
Taking too much alcohol might affect your health and must, therefore, be avoided. Unless you are careful, you will increase the risk of developing health conditions such as strokes, heart failure, high blood pressure, etc.
3. Avoid Trans Fats
Trans fats can also be referred to as unsaturated fats. These types of fats are modified through a process known as hydrogenation, which makes unsaturated fats in vegetable oils more stable so that it can be used as an ingredient.
Most shortenings and margarine have semi-hydrogenated oils. Trans fats are always semi-saturated and exist in solid form at room temperatures. This explains why most food companies use trans fats in products such as cookies, spreads, and pastries.
Trans fats have been shown to not only increase LDL cholesterol but also decrease levels of HDL (the good cholesterol). To avoid consuming trans fats, before buying any product, be sure to go through the label. If you notice that a certain product has partially hydrogenated oil, it’s best to avoid it.
4. Use Low-fat Milk, Yogurts, and Cheese
Just because you want to reduce high cholesterol does not mean you should sacrifice everything you enjoy. You are safe as long as you try to make smarter dietary choices whenever you can. Those who love dairy can always pick products that do not contain high levels of fat.
If you are into yogurts, cheese, and milk, be sure to go for the ones with low-fat levels instead of the regular types. In case you want to try a new thing, we suggest soy milk. Maybe it will become the next best thing.
5. Lose Weight
Being overweight means you have high levels of cholesterol in your system. Thus, you should come up with a plan to make some small changes. Try switching sugary beverages with tap water.
Also, having a physically active lifestyle is one of the best ways to lose weight and reduce cholesterol levels in the body. Start by using stairs instead of elevators or parking your car further from the office, forcing you to walk a little more.
Final Thought
You can see that you can naturally get rid of excess cholesterol by changing your lifestyle. However, if you see a doctor and they recommend medication, it is because they have evaluated your situation and decided that it is the best way to go. However, with the tips above, your cholesterol levels should decrease gradually.