Your liver produces cholesterol which performs activities like keeping the walls of your cells flexible and production of hormones. Your body has two types of cholesterol, namely, good cholesterol and bad cholesterol.
Good cholesterol, also known as HDL (high-density lipoprotein), is beneficial for you. Whereas, bad cholesterol, also known as LDL (low-density lipoprotein), can harm you in many ways. It may get deposited in your blood vessels and disrupt the blood flow, hence leading to complications like;
High blood pressure
Heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Stroke
Thrombosis
Peripheral artery disease
Embolism
To prevent all these conditions, you must get your blood cholesterol levels checked annually if you are above the age of 45. If your blood cholesterol level is raised, you must visit the best medical specialist in Lahore.
In this article, we are going to discuss the lifestyle changes that can help in lowering blood cholesterol levels. However, it is not a substitute for medications. If your healthcare provider has prescribed you medicines to lower cholesterols like statins, you must not stop their intake on your own. You must incorporate these lifestyle changes along with medications.
Eat healthily
Eating healthy and clean is the first and essential step that plays a major role in lowering blood cholesterol levels.
Reduce the intake of saturated fatty acids, which you consume in the form of red meat or full cream milk. Instead, eat lean meat and skimmed milk. Moreover, you can incorporate chicken and fish into your diet. While eating an egg, avoid consuming the yolk as it is rich in cholesterol.
You must also try to reduce the intake of trans fat in the form of margarine, cookies, and crackers because it also plays a role in increasing blood cholesterol levels.
Incorporate foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. However, they do not help in lowering blood cholesterol levels. But it can serve as protecting your cardiovascular system by lowering blood pressure.
Incorporate exercise in your routine
Consult with your doctor about your workout routine. With their permission, try to incorporate 30 to 40 minutes of physical activity daily. It will help in increasing the levels of good cholesterol that is beneficial for you. Regular exercise lowers the risk of heart diseases, and stroke thereby keeps you healthy and functional.
If you do not get time to do that, you can make little changes in your lifestyle like
Walk to your office or go riding a bicycle.
Play your favorite sports with your friends.
Take the stairs instead of elevators.
Quit smoking
Smoking is injurious to your health, especially for the lungs and the cardiovascular system. It hardens your arteries, on which deposition of cholesterol becomes easy. Hence they narrow in size, leading to restricted blood flow. You must try to quit smoking as soon as possible. If it is hard for you, consult with a healthcare provider, they will give you substitutes like nicotine gum. It helps in getting rid of the smoking habit. It can also lead to other health conditions like emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis, and asthma exacerbation.
Lose weight
Losing even 10 % of your total weight can make changes to your blood cholesterol levels. Ensure that you have a healthy weight concerning the body mass index. It is an indicator that either you have a healthy weight according to your height and gender or not.
Try to replace fried foods and sugary items in your diet with protein and fiber-containing foods. You can eat chicken, egg, and fish instead of fatty and processed foods. Also, curtail products like chips, pastries, biscuits, and cheesy plates of pasta.
Incorporate fiber in your diet, as it helps in lowering cholesterol by absorbing it and eliminating it from your body.
Conclusion
Bad cholesterol gets elevated due to increased intake of fatty foods in your diet. To lower it, eat healthily, do physical activity daily, and lose weight. Increased levels of bad cholesterol, also known as low-density lipoprotein, can lead to heart attack, hypertension, thrombosis, and stroke.
If you are above the age of 45, get your blood cholesterol levels checked annually. Also, you can visit a medical specialist in Karachi for consultations.