How to Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally
When the doctor tells us that we have high cholesterol, it is because our blood cholesterol is above the values considered normal. From 220mg / dl we must establish preventive measures, but from 250mg / dl, we should make serious changes of lifestyle to not suffer a cardiovascular disease. Our health is at stake.
It is also relatively common that there is a hereditary familial hypercholesterolemia, associated with the mutation of a gene that is responsible for removing blood cholesterol in the liver.
Types of cholesterol
Within two types of cholesterol, we must ensure that the level of good cholesterol or HDL, is significant because it carries cholesterol from the liver without depositing in blood vessels; instead the bad cholesterol or LDL , progressively accumulates in the blood vessels forming what is known as atherosclerosis, a condition in which the arteries are loaded of fat to produce plates that clog.
Risk Factors
- Sex: men have a higher risk for a coronary event, although women after menopause are also in danger.
- Age: from 50-55 years people are more likely to be exposed.
- Obesity.
- Lack of exercise and inactivity.
- A diet rich in saturated fats as well as trans fats.
- Diabetes.
- Excess alcohol.
Food to lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol
- Consume daily a variety of fruits and vegetables to lower bad cholesterol. These are especially recommended: eggplant, onion, apple, avocado, pear, tomato, kiwi and citrus.
- Take probiotics : kefir, yogurt or soy milk, tempeh, miso, horchata, because they inhibit excessive cholesterol synthesis in the liver and ncrease good cholesterol.
- Daily consume nuts, especially walnuts. A handful will raise the good cholesterol.
- Feed on whole grains to lower bad cholesterol. Oats and barley are very beneficial for lowering cholesterol.
- Please include in your diet the vegetables to lower bad cholesterol. Everyone is very useful, but introduces new legumes such as soybeans , which has many healing properties.
- Kitchen and seasoned with olive oil , one of the best cardioprotective we have in the Mediterranean diet.
- Enter garlic in your menus. Lower bad cholesterol.
- Forget about eating foods high in fat animals . Reduce the amount of meat you take a week to two or three portions, and always choose lean meat quality.
- Increase consumption of oily fish . 3 or 4 times a week is enough.