The total cholesterol in a person’s body is made up of both good and bad cholesterol. Bad cholesterol (or LDL) is the one that sticks to the artery walls, and turns into plaque. When these plaques rupture, they pose a great threat to your health, leading to problems as severe as a heart attack. Good cholesterol (or HDL) is the one that pulls bad cholesterol out of the body.
1. Quit smoking
Smoking is one of the greatest enemies of healthy cholesterol levels. The great thing about quitting smoking is that your body starts to heal immediately after putting out your last cigarette. When you quit, your HDL cholesterol levels start to rise. One year after quitting, you will have a 50 percent lower risk of having a heart attack compared to a current regular smoker.
2. Watch your alcohol
Low quantities of alcohol can be beneficial for your health. For instance, if you have hypertension, drinking a glass of alcohol can help you relax, unwind, and therefore get a better night’s sleep. It can also help you fall asleep faster. However, drinking too much alcohol is bad for your health and for your sleep. You should, therefore, limit the amount of alcohol you drink every day.
There are drinks, such as red wine, that are good for treating high cholesterol, by increasing your HDL levels. This, in turn, reduces the risk of heart disease. One glass of red wine per day for women and a maximum two glasses for men should suffice. On another note, red wine is bad for people with a high level of triglycerides.
3. Dietary changes
This is the broadest topic related to how high cholesterol can efficiently be treated. Depending on your exact cholesterol readings, doctors may or may not choose to give your medication, but they will surely talk to you about the dietary changes that can lower cholesterol levels.
Thankfully, there are lots of tasty foods that you can eat despite having high cholesterol problems, so dieting isn’t as strict as some people imagine (unless you are also trying to lose weight, that’s a whole different story).
Fatty fish which are rich in omega-3 acids are excellent for people who can’t enjoy a meal without having meat. Nuts are also an excellent treat, because of their sterol content — sterols act by blocking the amount of cholesterol your body absorbs. You can consume Brazilian nuts, pistachios, peanuts, or almonds. You can either eat a maximum of two ounces per day as a snack, or integrate them as ingredients into different foods, such as salads.
Avocado is probably one of the best foods for treating high cholesterol. Not only is it super nutritious (meaning that you don’t have to eat lots of it to feel full), but it’s also rich in monounsaturated fats (such like olive oil). And speaking of olive oil, studies have shown that by consuming a couple of tablespoons of olive oil every day, you are giving your body polyphenols, which are antioxidants.
Other foods that you can consume if you have high cholesterol are:
- Whole grains, because they lower your bad cholesterol levels, and are also super-rich in fibers.
- Fruits that are high in fiber, such as strawberries, pears, bananas, apples, or raspberries.
- Chia seeds are rich in omega-2 fatty acids and fibers and can easily be combined with all sorts of healthy snacks, such as cereal or yogurt.
- Cocoa and dark chocolate — studies have shown that pure cocoa can help reduce bad cholesterol.
4. Start moving
Studies have revealed that high-intensity exercises will help increase good cholesterol levels, provided they are part of a strict routine. However, any form of exercise might help, including aerobic exercises, swimming, biking, jogging, running, or lifting weights.
5. Take your meds
Those that have really high levels of cholesterol, or those that have already made the required lifestyle changes, but to no avail, will most likely have to take cholesterol-lowering medication.
Some of the most common medication that works toward improving your cholesterol levels (either by increasing HDL or by decreasing LDL), are:
- Statins, which act upon your liver to prevent too much cholesterol from forming, and therefore from circulating inside the bloodstream. They work efficiently towards lowering bad cholesterol levels, but they are not efficient for people who have liver disease.
- Resins are sometimes referred to as “bile acid sequestrants”, and they make your intestines get rid of bad cholesterol more efficiently. The human body turns cholesterol into bile, an acid that aid the digestive system. Resins will bind to the bile, preventing it from being used in the digestive process, which naturally causes your liver to make more bile, using up more cholesterol, thus preventing it from traveling through the bloodstream.
- Niacin is also known as “nicotinic acid”, and it’s a “trickier” class of high cholesterol drugs, because it’s known to cause toxicity, and requires close liver monitoring when taken. Niacin also has more side effects compared to other high cholesterol drugs, particularly in the form of an upset stomach.
- Fibrates are prescribed to people that have a high triglyceride level, but in some cases, it was also efficient in raising good cholesterol levels as well. However, fibrates aren’t very keen on lowering HDL cholesterol levels.