There are medications that can help ameliorate your cholesterol but, there are a few natural ways to reduce cholesterol naturally.
What is Cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a fat-like, waxy substance that helps your body make cell membranes, many hormones, and Vitamin D. However, high cholesterol in the body increases the risk of heart attacks and heart disease.
Check out these five healthy activities:
1. Eat heart-healthy foods
When it comes to your heart, what you eat matters. Some changes in your diet can help reduce your cholesterol and increase your heart functions:
•Reduction in Saturated fats.
Saturated fats are found mainly in red meat and high-fat dairy products. So a limitation on these foods and others like pizza, burgers and gravy can help reduce your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
• Eat more soluble fiber.
Vegetables, beans, fruits and whole grains should be added to your diet. This will reduce the absorption of cholesterol in your bloodstream. Soluble fiber is found in foods such as oatmeal, apples, pears and kidney beans.
. Reduction on sodium (salt).
It is important to consider selecting foods that are lower in sodium by reading the nutrition facts label. Choose items with “low sodium” or “no salt added” labels. Foods like some canned vegetables and snack foods.
2. Exercise Regularly
Exercise also reduce cholesterol. With your Doctor’s approval, work out for at least 30 minutes, five times a week or 20 minutes of active aerobic activity three times a week.
Including physical activity into your daily routine, even for brief periods of time, can help you start to lose weight. Some of these physical activities are Brisk walk or jogging, Cycling and Swimming.
3. Stop Smoking
Smoking makes your LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) ‘stickier’ – as a result, it adheres to the artery walls and clogs them. Smoking cessation raises your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels which normally removes cholesterol from the arterial walls. The advantages occur sooner:
- Within 20 minutes of quitting cigarettes, your heart rate and blood pressure returns to normal, reversing the cigarette-induced rise.
- Three months after stopping, your blood circulation and lung function start to improve.
- Within a year of stopping cigarettes, your risk of developing heart diseases is reduced by half compared to a smoker.
4. Drinking Water
It is crucial for overall health and the health of the liver to regularly consume water and obtain enough of it. When the impact of hydration on metabolic health in older persons was examined, it was discovered that hydration was linked to increased HDL cholesterol levels.
This shows that drinking enough water may lower cholesterol levels in addition to being a healthy beverage option.
5. Moderation of Alcohol Intake
Drinking too much alcohol increases the risk of developing significant health issues such as high blood pressure, heart failure, and stroke.
Although, moderate consumption has been associated with greater HDL cholesterol levels, the benefits aren’t substantial enough to advocate alcohol to people who don’t already consume it.
If you do consume alcohol, do so sparingly.
CONCLUSION
Sometimes, natural remedies aren’t enough to reduce your cholesterol level. If your doctor recommends a medication to help reduce your cholesterol level, you should take it as prescribed while trying out the natural remedies.