High cholesterol is a common concern among adult Americans. Also known as hypercholesterolemia, the condition is often associated with heart problems and is considered to be the common cause of strokes. Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is naturally produced by your body. Its function is to keep your body’s cell wall healthy. However, being diagnosed as having high cholesterol levels, it is necessary to work on lowering it to acceptable levels. This article will show you how to lower cholesterol naturally.
Eating healthy foods is your key to lowering your high cholesterol levels. Having hypercholesterolemia is sometimes synonymous to being obese. However, there are unsuspecting individuals that are not obese yet but when tested will yield high levels of cholesterol in their bodies.
If you want to know how to lower cholesterol naturally, take a look at this list of essential foods.
- Ensure you have fiber in your daily meals. High fiber foods include Oatmeal and apple barley. Foods rich in fiber aim to decrease the absorption of bad cholesterol into the body. Fibrous foods are also excellent anti-oxidants.
- Fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids which reduces the risk of developing heart conditions. Fish that you need to add to your daily diet include tuna, sardines, and salmon. Avoid frying in cooking oil, instead steam or bake the fish for a more healthy meal. Knowing how to lower cholesterol naturally will be essential to your overall well-being, not just lowering your bad cholesterol levels.
- Keep your body active by maintaining a daily exercise regimen. You don’t need to enroll in a gym just to exercise. Brisk walking or jogging daily is a good workout session already. If you cannot afford to go to the gym, try utilizing the things that you have in the house. You can still get some exercise while at work. If there is a need for you to go to another department that is not on the same floor as yours, use the stairs instead of the elevator. Exercise is not just to lower your cholesterol; the activity is also an effective weight loss regimen.
- You can do away with smoking and consuming too much alcohol. It is common knowledge that cigarette smoking will not do your body any good. Smoking is a big contributor to heart disease so you need to quit immediately. You will sometimes hear from doctors that alcohol can actually lower cholesterol levels naturally. You can drink alcoholic beverages; however, you will need to do it in moderation. Also it is good to increase your water consumption.
- Avoid fatty foods – such as those that contain saturated fats, fried foods, and other fast food staples. You have to understand that your body produces cholesterol naturally; lack of proper nutrition in the food that you take will also cause you to have high cholesterol problems. If you need to fry something, make sure that you use olive or vegetable oil.
- As an added bonus, you should shy away from processed meat, chicken skin, and pork.
Now that you know how to lower cholesterol naturally, there is no reason why you should not become healthier in no time.