Things You'll Need:
- Professional weight loss program
- Foods high in magnesium (spinach, long grain brown rice, halibut, avocados, bananas and raisins)
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Step 1
Lose Weight. This sounds much easier than it really is, but losing weight is one of the keys to keeping your bad cholesterol (LDL) level down. When we eat poorly and don't exercise, the LDLs carry all of the cholesterol we eat and basically lines our arteries with it because our bodies aren't functioning properly to get rid of it naturally.
High LDLs in an obese body is one of the main reasons for heart attacks and strokes. Lose the weight and allow your body to get rid of the bad cholesterol and raise the good cholesterol all on its own. -
Step 2
Stop Smoking. (This may not be applicable to you.) Those who are smokers need to be aware that the chemicals in the smoke they inhale can lead to high LDL. Smoking is an unhealthy habit that keeps the body busy fighting off toxins and not paying much attention to getting rid of bad cholesterol. The human body just doesn't function properly when battling toxin and trying to sustain life.
If you stop smoking, you allow your body to begin focusing on maintaining its health through ridding the blood of cholesterol. -
Step 3
Change Your Diet. This is actually a good way to accomplish step one, but if you do not have problems with your weight and still struggle with low HDL (good cholesterol), you'll want to consider changing your diet.
There have been hundreds of studies on which foods are best for raising good cholesterol and which foods are loaded with the bad LDL. In some cases all you have to do is walk around reading labels, especially for foods touted to be high in fat (butter, eggs, cream).
One food that is reported to be high in fat but loaded with good cholesterol is nuts. Nuts are high in mono and polyunsaturated fats, and also full of vitamins and minerals. Also, eating foods high in magnesium (spinach, long grain brown rice, halibut, avocados, bananas and raisins), has shown to increase the levels of good cholesterol.
