You had been sweating out at the gym, trying to steer clear of fast food and get complements on your perfect figure. But to your surprise, your lipid profile reports show that you have high cholesterol levels. Well, your genetic do play a major role in deciding how healthy your heart is going to be.

Another surprising fact is that, contrary to popular belief, not all cholesterol is bad. Doctors suggest that there are two different types of cholesterol HDL or the good cholesterol needed for building cell membrane and its dangerous twin LDL cholesterol.

Now here is something to cheer. It is possible to negate the dangers of high cholesterol using an effective combination of diet, exercise and certain changes in your existing lifestyle. Nature has presented us with numerous super foods to help us plan and execute a winning attack against high cholesterol levels.

So let’s get started and learn more about the food and exercise routine that will help us avert dangers of high cholesterol:

– Learn to control your portion size: People suffering from the problem are often seen consuming heavy meals. Just by controlling our portion size, we can eliminate a lot of trouble from our life, including obesity, diabetes, and cholesterol. Excess of anything is bad, be it the healthy and nutritious fruits and vegetables. The correct serving size for a plate of fresh fruits is defined as the quantity you can easily hold in your fist. The serving size of pasta, rice, or any other cereal should never exceed the quantity that will come in your cupped hands.

– Stack up vegetables and fruits: These fruits are rich sources of antioxidants that help in lowering bad cholesterol or LDL levels. Also when you eat more vegetables and fruits, you will feel fuller earlier and will automatically be able to control your portion size. It is also seen that the food fortified with naturally occurring plant sterols can help bring about a drop of about 10-15% in LDL levels. So include two servings of plant sterols fortified food and 5-9 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet and decrease the health threats posed by high cholesterol levels.

– For non-vegetarians, sea food is the best bet: If you love non-vegetarian food, now is the time to switch from red meat to sea food, especially fish. Fish is one of the riches sources of Omega 3 fatty acids that help decreasing tri-glyceride levels, which helps lower cholesterol and prevent plaque deposition in arteries. So enjoy your salmons and trout but don’t dip them in deep fryer so that you retain their health benefits.

– Wake up to a bowl of oatmeal or whole grain cereals: Bran and oatmeal contain soluble fibers that are found effective in dipping LDL levels without having any impact of HDL. These fibers rich foods are also complex carbohydrates that keep you feel satisfied for a longer period of time. So having a healthy breakfast can actually help you a long way in losing weight and lowering cholesterol.

– Snack on nuts: Research reveals that a handful of nuts, which are rich in mono saturated fats, are rich sources of antioxidants, selenium, and Vitamin E, all of which combine to lower bad cholesterol levels. So snack on them in between meals and nullify the dangers of high cholesterol.

– Walk off that bad cholesterol: If you abhor going to gym, then indulge in any physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day, which will lower the chances of heart stroke, strengthen your bones, increase oxygen levels in your blood, which will help you lose fat, and lower your cholesterol.

So wear your jogging shoes and make these suitable lifestyle changes, which will help you become healthy and live longer.

Author Bio: Mr.Colesterolo Alto

Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: High Cholesterol