In this age of efficiency and fast food, obesity is a disease everyone faces throughout their lives and has become a common health problem. Often, obese people are also people with high cholesterol. Cholesterol is a naturally occurring waxy substance in the body that helps build healthy cells, and produce hormones and vitamin D. In addition, cholesterol is needed for the production of bile acids, which are used to aid in digestion.
Although it is an essential substance, too much cholesterol in the blood can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. For adults 20 years and older, a healthy cholesterol level should be between 125 mg/dL and 200 mg/dL.
An unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, age, weight, and genetic factors contribute to high cholesterol. While cholesterol levels can be controlled with medication, supplementing it with positive changes in diet and lifestyle can make a difference.
Types of Cholesterol:
Similar in nature to fat, cholesterol does not move easily in the bloodstream and therefore requires the help of lipoproteins to move freely. These lipoproteins that attach to cholesterol include high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and very low-density lipoprotein (VDL).
- HDL: Also known as “good cholesterol”. It transports cholesterol from different parts of the body back to the liver to be broken down and excreted from the body.
- LDL: This type is considered “bad cholesterol” because it hardens and deposits on the walls of arteries, causing plaque, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- VLDL: This is another type of “bad cholesterol” that also causes arterial plaque. But unlike LDL, which carries cholesterol, VLDL primarily transports triglycerides. Triglycerides are the most common fat in the body. High triglyceride levels may increase the risk of heart disease.
In most cases, following a low-carbohydrate diet will improve cholesterol levels, but the effects of this healthy diet are different for each type of lipoprotein cholesterol as well as triglycerides.
Ways To Lower Your Cholesterol
When you find out you have high cholesterol, in addition to medication, you can lower it more safely by changing your diet. In addition, weight control and regular exercise can help.
Refuse Trans Fats
Trans fats are unsaturated fatty acids produced during the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils. They are sometimes labeled as partially hydrogenated vegetable oils on food labels.
Trans fats are commonly found in margarine, commercially available cookies and cakes, potato chips, and other snack foods. In addition to raising cholesterol levels, eating too much of these foods is more likely to cause inflammation in the body, leading to inflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular disease, breast and colon cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
Limit Saturated Fats
Saturated fats have been controversial for years. While the American Heart Association does not say they should not be consumed, it still recommends that people limit their saturated fat intake to 5 to 6 percent of their total daily calories. Research data show that saturated fats increase LDL, putting people at higher risk for heart disease.
Most saturated fats are naturally found in fatty beef, lamb, chicken skin, butter, cheese, and other dairy products. In addition, some baked goods and fried foods are high in saturated fat. Vegetable oils such as coconut oil and palm oil also contain saturated fat, but they do not have cholesterol and are therefore healthy fats.
Choosing Healthy Fats
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are considered healthy fats, and they are an important part of a balanced diet. These types of fats can help lower LDL levels in the blood and reduce the risk of certain diseases.
Monounsaturated fats are found primarily in plant foods and their fats, such as nuts, avocados, olives, olive oil, peanuts, safflower, and sesame oils.
Polyunsaturated fats are found in sunflower corn soy, flaxseed, linseed oil, walnuts, and fish. They are especially helpful in lowering LDL levels.
Eat Fiber-Rich Foods
Fiber is the carbohydrate found in plant foods and is divided into soluble fiber and insoluble fiber.
- Soluble fiber helps to slow down the digestion of food so that blood sugar does not spike as quickly. Foods rich in soluble fiber include oats, legumes, cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli), and fruits (such as apples and pears).
- Insoluble fiber helps food pass smoothly through the digestive tract, thus promoting regular bowel movements and preventing constipation. Foods that contain high amounts of insoluble fiber include whole grains, nuts, legumes, and vegetables (such as cauliflower, potatoes, celery, and cucumbers).
In addition to aiding digestion, and promoting gut health and weight control, eating enough dietary fiber helps balance blood cholesterol levels.
Weight Management
Our daily diet directly affects the way our bodies process cholesterol. For example, a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that regular consumption of walnuts can lower LDL and increase HDL.
In addition, weight loss can also have a significant positive impact on cholesterol levels. In a study involving 401 overweight and obese adults between 2003 and 2011, those who lost 5.10% of their body weight had significantly lower LDL, triglyceride, and total cholesterol levels.
Appropriate Exercise
In addition to a healthy diet, proper exercise is important. You should stick to 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, 75 to 150 minutes of aerobic exercise, or both, each week. Even if you are usually too busy to exercise, you can still use the odd hours to improve your metabolism and control your weight through NEAT (non-exercise thermogenic exercise). It’s also a good idea to do strength training at least twice a week.
Physical activity has many benefits, including weight loss and helping to lower cholesterol. Some studies have shown that exercise enhances muscles’ ability to use lipids and fats (rather than glucose), thereby lowering blood lipid levels (including triglycerides cool and cholesterol). A recent study suggests that exercise can improve HDL and its function, while it can lead to lower LDL levels and have a positive effect on the ratio of HDL to LDL.
Conclusion
While these natural methods and suggestions for lowering cholesterol are not a complete substitute for medical treatment, maintaining a healthy diet, eating foods that help lower cholesterol, controlling your weight, and exercising properly can improve your overall health.
