High Cholesterol

High levels of blood cholesterol are a primary factor in heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. In most people, elevated cholesterol levels are caused by a diet high in saturated and hydrogenated fats, and by a sedentary lifestyle. Simple dietary changes and exercise are usually all that's needed to bring cholesterol levels into a healthy range.

Eat fibre to lower cholesterol
A diet high in soluble fibre helps to absorb excess cholesterol in the intestinal tract and sweep it out of the body. Oatmeal, oat bran, barley, and cooked dried beans and legume are some of your best bets for lowering cholesterol. Eat at least one of these foods daily. In addition, eat five servings or more of fresh vegetables. and two servings of fresh
fruit every day. Apples, berries, oranges, peaches, bananas, broccoli, carrots, green beans, corn, prunes, spinach, and sweet potatoes are all excellent sources of soluble fibre.

Replace unhealthy fats with healthy fats
Saturated fats (found in butter, cheese, and meat) and hydrogenated fats (found in shortening, margarine, and many processed foods) raise
blood-cholesterol levels. But healthy fats, such as the mono-unsaturated fat found in extra virgin olive oil and the omega-3 fatty acids found in coldwater fish, walnuts, and flaxseeds, do the opposite.They help make arteries more flexible and lower cholesterol levels. Use extra virgin olive oil for cooking and salads, and eat at least one serving daily of a food rich in omega-3 fats.

Eat garlic to lower cholesterol
Garlic not only decreases levels of harmful low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, but it also increases levels of beneficial, heart-protective highdensity lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Just one clove of garlic daily is usually enough to help regulate cholesterol levels but the more you can eat, the better.

Exercise to prevent high cholesterol
Regular aerobic exercise is essential for preventing and reducing high cholesterol levels.This means you need to exercise at least 30 minutes every day, five days a week. Aerobic exercise lowers damaging lowdensity lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and raises healthful high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.Try to exercise outdoors in the fresh air as much as possible: sunlight, in reasonable amounts, helps your body to metabolize cholesterol and to lower cholesterol levels.