How to Beat High Cholesterol With a Diet

You have high cholesterol. How do you change that? A diet is an answer! In this post, we will discuss the best diet for high cholesterol and the health risks they might have. We will also discuss how to implement these diets into your life so you can see results as soon as possible!

What Does It Mean When You Say High Cholesterol?

The liver makes a hormone called cholesterol. It’s important for every cell in your body, but too much can be dangerous to your health. 

High cholesterol means that you have high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglycerides in the bloodstream compared with high-density lipoprotein (HLD). HDL is the good cholesterol that carries cholesterol to the liver. LDL is bad cholesterol because it can build up deposits in your arteries and risk of heart disease.

If you have high cholesterol, knowing what to do can be difficult and overwhelming. The first step is not as easy as taking prescription pills or having surgery: it’s about changing your diet.

 A healthy lifestyle requires making some big changes in the foods you eat every day and all week long rather than just counting on supplements or prescription medication. High cholesterol is a condition that you must start to treat before it gets worse and causes serious health problems.

Risk Factors Of Heaving A High Cholesterol Level

Genetics

One of the risk factors of having high cholesterol is genetics. If you come from a family with a history of heart disease, stroke, or blood pressure problems, your chances are higher to suffer the same fate if you ignore what and how much food you eat every day.

Smoking

According to the CDC, people who smoke and have high cholesterol are at higher risk of having heart attacks. Nicotine in cigarettes is a stimulant that causes blood vessels to narrow, which increases strain on your heart.

Obesity

The more you weigh or fat tissue means there’s less space for your body to use oxygenated blood from food and the heart has to work harder. It’s like a heavyweight that you carry around all day long and it can lead to high cholesterol.

Age Over 45 Years Old

The older you are, the more likely your body is not as strong or efficient at metabolizing fats from food because some of its functions start slowing down when we get older.

If you’re worried that your cholesterol levels are too high or you have other risk factors of heart disease, it is important to talk to a doctor and create a plan on how to treat this condition before it gets worse.  

Making major changes in your lifestyle is not an easy task, but it is important to live a healthy and happy life without worrying about having high cholesterol.

Alcohol

Alcohol is a depressant, and it can raise your cholesterol levels if you drink too much.

Saturated Fat

Foods high in saturated fats like butter, cheese, ice cream, or full-fat milk should be avoided because they will increase LDL cholesterol levels of your blood, which increases heart disease risk factors.

Trans Fat

These go hand in hand with saturated fats, and they are the worst for your health. Trans fat is a synthetic ingredient found in many processed foods like cookies, cakes, or snacks that can raise blood LDL levels, increasing heart disease risk factors.

Lack Of Physical Activity

If you don’t exercise at least 30 minutes every day, your body doesn’t use calories as well.

How Do You Start Your Diet?

The first thing to do is to make a plan. Decide what you want to do and how long for, be realistic about it. Is this something that you can accomplish in one month or will three months stretch your limits?  Firstly, decide what kind of diet you want to follow and when you would like to start.

Next, write down a list of reasons why your goal is important for you. It's very easy to lose motivation on the way, so it helps if you can remind yourself every day about how much this means to you and keep seeing all the benefits that come with your new lifestyle. Then set a start date for the diet and think about what you will do on that day. 

Finally, write down all of the things that are important to accomplish during this period. These can be little reminders or even specific steps in achieving your ultimate goal. Put them somewhere where you'll see them every day, like on your fridge or next to the computer.

The Best Diet For High Cholesterol Level

Diet is a key factor in cholesterol management. It's important to work with your doctor or nutritionist when you are planning your diet. It may be best to plan on seeing them regularly for the first few months after beginning your new eating program so that they can keep an eye on how quickly your levels move down into normal ranges. But for now, we provided you the effective types of diet that your doctors may recommend to you.

Low-Fat Diet

A low-fat diet is probably the most important step that can be taken to help manage high cholesterol levels and prevent further damage to blood vessels, heart health, as well as brain function. 

The American Heart Association recommends a fat intake of no more than 25 percent of total calories daily for those who have inherited at risk factors or who have already suffered a heart attack.

Atkins Diet

The Atkins diet is a very low carbohydrate diet, which limits consumption of high-carb foods such as rice, pasta, and bread. 

The Atkins Diet claims that cutting out carbohydrates and sugar from the diet will lead to weight loss while allowing people to eat more protein-rich meats.

Low-Sodium Diet

The American Heart Association recommends limiting sodium intake to no more than 1500 milligrams per day for those with high cholesterol levels or at risk factors.

Note: this is the same advice given by other health organizations like the American Heart Association, but they are not totally agree on this point.

Low-Cholesterol Diet

This is a type of diet that can help you to lower your cholesterol levels over time. It focuses on eating fewer foods high in saturated and trans fats like dairy products and those with excessive amounts of dietary cholesterol like egg yolks. 

As such, it is one of the best diets for high cholesterol and may be combined with others, depending on your situation.

Mediterranean Diet

This diet focuses more on consuming foods that are good to eat in moderate amounts rather than strictly limiting food intake or types of food eaten. 

It includes vegetables, fresh fruits, olive oil instead of other fats in cooking or salad dressings, and seafood such as tuna and salmon rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. 

It also includes foods like whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds to increase fiber intake, which is important when lowering cholesterol levels.

These diets should be combined with regular exercise and a reduced-stress lifestyle. They are not meant to be used in place of medical advice and supervision, especially during the first few months of beginning your new program.

What Are The Worst Foods For High Cholesterol?

The worst foods for high cholesterol are those that contain a large amount of saturated and trans fats, which increases the risk factors associated with heart disease. This includes any food in this category:

• Red meat
• Egg yolks
• Butter
• Ice cream
• Processed meat
• Dairy foods
• Fried foods
• Margarine and other butter substitutes
• Lard, bacon grease, or salt pork.
• Fatty cuts of meat

Additionally, cooking methods that involve high heat can also add to the fat content of food which should be avoided by those with cholesterol issues. This includes:

• Deep frying
• Frying in oil or butter
• Grilling, barbecuing, or broiling

Can You Treat High Cholesterol At Home?

No, you cannot. You need to be under a doctor's supervision if your cholesterol is high and being treated with prescription medication.

However, some ways can help lower the levels of cholesterol in our body without any serious side effects or health problems that may arise from using these treatments:

Exercise Regularly

This helps get rid of the cholesterol from our body through sweat. It is also a good way to lower stress levels and prevent diseases like a heart attack or stroke caused by high cholesterol levels in the blood vessels.

Eating Right

You need to eat less fatty foods, sugar, and salt so your body can function well without any problems related to your health conditions such as obesity, risk of heart attack, or stroke.

Reduce Weight

Obesity is one of the main reasons why people have high cholesterol levels in their blood vessels because they eat too much and don't take enough exercise which means, reducing your body weight can also be very helpful to prevent any serious health issues related to high cholesterol such as coronary artery diseases or heart attack.

Consult Your Doctor 

It is very important to have regular check-ups with a professional GP or medical expert, so you know exactly what you are going through and how to handle it properly in the future. This will also help prevent any health problems that may arise from high cholesterol levels like coronary artery diseases, stroke, or heart attack.

Sleep Well

This is very important because when you don't get enough sleep, your body releases cortisol that can cause the blood vessels to become stiffer and more likely to have a blockage. As such, getting good rest at night will help prevent any health problems related to high cholesterol like coronary artery diseases or heart attacks.

So if you want to prevent any health problems related to high cholesterol, you should start doing these things as soon as possible. Also, make sure that you are following a healthy diet plan and lifestyle because this is the only way for your body to function normally so it can heal itself in no time with less effort from your side.

Doctors and nutritionists may recommend several different types of diets and treatment options to help lower high cholesterol levels. 

These include a low-fat diet, the Atkins Diet (very low carbohydrate), a Low Sodium Diet, as well as an entirely Low Cholesterol Diet that includes foods with less saturated fat and dietary cholesterol. In addition, they will also likely suggest regular exercise and reduced stress to help with cholesterol management.

Remember to follow your doctor's advice carefully. If you manage to lower your cholesterol levels, then it may be possible to stop taking any medication and maintain a healthy lifestyle going forward with the help of these simple tips on how to lower high cholesterol naturally at home.