Bad cholesterol, how do I avoid it?
LDL Cholesterol
Before avoiding bad cholesterol, you must understand what it is. Cholesterol is made up of High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL), Low-Density Lipoprotein and Triglycerides. Each type of cholesterol has a specific function. LDL(bad cholesterol) is known to stick to artery walls so that it can repair them while HDL scrubs off the LDL from artery walls. When a person has increased LDL levels, more LDL(bad cholesterol) sticks to artery walls and it does not get scrubbed off. With time, and if left untreated, artery walls thicken and blood flow gets clogged leading to heart disease or stroke. This is why LDL is called bad cholesterol and HDL as good cholesterol. Triglycerides are fats that are found in the blood. The body requires some amount of triglycerides for maintaining good health but when they are formed over the amount required, it leads to heart disease. Like high LDL (bad cholesterol)levels, high Triglycerides levels must also be avoided.
We now know that LDL (bad cholesterol) and Triglycerides are bad cholesterol and must be avoided and he is how you can avoid them:
Step 1: Check cholesterol levels
Get a lipid profile done. A lipid profile is a blood test that measures the different types of cholesterol in your body and benchmarks them against accepted limits. Here are some levels to watch for:
LDL (bad cholesterol) below 100 mg/dl* is desirable while 100 to 129 mg/dl is okay; 130 to 159 mg/dl is slightly high, 160 to 189 mg/dl is high and anything over that is very high.
HDL below 40 mg/dl is low and a risk factor. It is optimal between 40 and 60 mg/dl, while levels over 60 mg/dl really help lower risk of heart disease.
Triglycerides between 150 and 199 mg/dl are nominally high, while levels over 200 mg/dl need medical treatment.
*milligrams per deciliter of blood
Step 1: Alter your diet
Dramatically reduce intake of saturated fats. Saturated fats come from animal foods like meat and dairy, and increase LDL (bad cholesterol) levels. Cutting back on them will help. It is recommended that you must try and completely give up on foods that contain trans fats. Trans fats are made when unsaturated fats are hydrogenated to make food. Examples of food items containing trans fats are baked foods, packaged foods, fast food, toppings, dips, ice creams and cold desserts, chocolate and spreads.
Increase your consumption of monounsaturated fats, which are known to reduce LDL (bad cholesterol) levels – some examples of food containing monounsaturated fats are nuts, olive oil, canola oil and avocados. Eat more fruits and vegetables and omega-3 fatty acid foods like fish. Remember one thing – do not fry and spice up the good foods or have them with dips. Here’s an example: eating nuts is good and it will increase HDL and reduce LDL (bad cholesterol), eating fried nuts spiced with pepper is not a good idea and it will increase bad cholesterol.
Step 3: Reduce your weight (if you are overweight) by exercising
Fighting an overweight condition is very important because researchers have confirmed that an overweight condition increases the amount of small and dense bad cholesterol, which has far more potency to cause heart conditions than the bad cholesterol that is big, fluffy and less dense.
Now, many folks realize the danger of bad cholesterol and go on diets, which is a good thing to do. However, medical professionals say that diet is not enough – it must be accompanied by exercise. Exercise stimulates enzymes that help transport LDL (bad cholesterol) from the artery walls and from the blood back into the liver for reprocessing into bile or for excreting. They say the more you exercise the more LDL (bad cholesterol) your body will throw out. You will end up losing weight, looking trim and be without the small dense LDL(bad cholesterol) that puts you at grave risk of heart disease.
A daily dose of 30 to 60 minutes of exercising will help lower bad cholesterol. Try to perform some intense exercises that increase your heart rate and consult your physical trainer before exercising.
Quit alcohol and smoking
Alcohol is a known LDL (bad cholesterol) enhancer – quit it at the earliest. Cigarette smoking should be given up because cigarettes contain many deadly toxins and one such toxin, acrolein, increases LDL (bad cholesterol) levels.
The steps outlined above will help you get rid of high LDL and high triglyceride levels, which together make up bad cholesterol. However, you must consult your doctor and not indulge in self-treatment. Triglyceride levels can also increase because of diabetes, underactive thyroid, kidney diseases, reactions because of some medicines, and obesity. Make sure you describe every condition to your physician before starting on eliminating bad cholesterol.