Elevated LDL Diet
LDL is the "bad" type of cholesterol that at higher levels greatly increases your risk for heart attack or stroke. This is opposed to HDL cholesterol, which is beneficial at higher levels. Along with exercise, the best way to go about lowering elevated LDL cholesterol is with a healthy diet.
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Watch What You Eat
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The first step in lowering your LDL cholesterol is to reduce consumption of foods high in LDL. Saturated fats, which appear in meats and some oils, raise your total cholesterol. Trans fat, which is made when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil through a process called hydrogenation, is especially poor for health because it not only raises LDL but also lowers beneficial HDL cholesterol. Trans fat is found in many commercial baked goods and some fried foods. The Mayo Clinic recommends limiting the number of calories you eat daily to less than 10 percent from saturated fat, and trans fat should be cut out as much as possible.
Recommended Foods to Lower LDL
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The Mayo Clinic recommends a number of foods to include in you diet to improve cholesterol numbers. First, eat more foods with soluble fiber, which lowers LDL. These include oats and bran, as well as kidney beans, apples, pears, psyllium, barley and prunes. Next, consider eating more nuts, which are high polyunsaturated fatty acids and help lower cholesterol. Fish, which are high in omega-3 fatty acids, lower cholesterol and are good for your heart. If you can't get enough fish in your diet, you might consider a fish-oil supplement. Olive oil lowers LDL, but leaves HDL untouched, and extra virgin olive oil is even better and high in heart-healthy antioxidants. Last, look for foods fortified with sterols or stanols. These are plant-based substances that help block the absorption of cholesterol. Yogurts, orange juice and some margarines contain sterols or stanols.
Lifestyle Changes
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Changing diet alone may not be enough to lower cholesterol. Exercise is a must to lower LDL and raise HDL and has the additional benefit of helping to control weight, which is also a factor in heart disease. Consume alcohol in moderation, and favor drinking red wine, which has been shown to lower LDL. Also, avoid smoking, which is hard on the heart and decreases circulation. If diet and lifestyle changes do not lower your cholesterol numbers, medications may be required.
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