Many factors play a part in determining if your cholesterol levels are healthy. You have little control over some of these factors, such as how old you are, whether you're male or female, or whether you have a family history of high cholesterol. But other factors, like what you eat, how much you weigh, how active you are, and even how much alcohol you drink and how you handle stress, can very much influence your cholesterol levels, and you have the option of working toward reducing their impact.
Here are five healthy choices you can make right now to help manage your cholesterol levels.
1. Maintain a Healthy Body Weight
Excess weight tends to increase your LDL ("bad" cholesterol) level. If you are overweight and have high LDL cholesterol, losing weight may help you lower it. Weight loss also helps lower triglycerides and raise HDL ("good" cholesterol) levels. Maintaining a healthy weight is especially important for people who have additional health factors that increase heart disease risk, such as diabetes or high blood pressure. Maintaining your weight and body mass index at a desirable level can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.
2. Stay Active
Regular physical activity may lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol, helping reduce your risk of heart attack or stroke. It can also help you lose weight if you are overweight, which may provide additional benefits to your heart. Please check with you doctor before starting an exercise program, especially if you've been inactive or have heart or other health problems. Need a quick, easy, and effective exercise plan? Try the RealAge 20-Minute Workout.
3. Kick Out Saturated Fats
Saturated fats and trans fats that increase cholesterol may have a negative effect on your heart. Learn how to find these fats on nutrition labels.
Trans fats are found in baked goods, such as cakes and pastries, and in fried foods. Saturated fat and dietary cholesterol are commonly found in foods of animal origin. Meat, egg yolks, whole-milk dairy products, butter, and lard are particularly high in saturated fat. However, saturated fat is also found in some plant-based items, such as cottonseed oil, coconut oil, and palm kernel oil.
Reducing your intake of these foods or replacing them with lower-fat alternatives can help improve your cholesterol levels. Read this article to learn some healthful substitution options.
4. Limit Your Alcohol Intake
Although moderate alcohol intake may increase HDL cholesterol, there are risks to drinking too much. It can damage the liver and heart muscle, lead to high blood pressure, and raise triglycerides. In general, women should have no more than one drink per day; men should limit themselves to no more than two drinks per day.
5. Take Time to Relax
In several small studies, stress has been shown to raise blood cholesterol levels over the long-term. One way that stress may do this is by affecting your habits. For example, when some people are under stress, they do not take time to eat healthful meals. Indulging in comfort foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol can contribute to higher levels of blood cholesterol. Try these relaxation strategies when you’re feeling stressed.
Although you can't control the way your genes affect your risk for heart disease, you can control other factors, such as your diet. So focus on what you can do for your heart -- eat right, stay active, and maintain a healthy weight.
From www.RealAge.com
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