Staying healthy can be quite the task! This may be the reason many people tend to overlook what they eat each day, and whether or not they get in that 30 minutes of cardio. However, as we age, it becomes more and more important to think about saturated fats and high cholesterol levels. Avoiding the issue altogether can mean something dire. So instead of writing off heart health and daily eating rituals, why not take a moment to better understand the causes of high cholesterol? This way you will not only be able to live a healthier lifestyle, but you will enable yourself to live longer as well.

One of the first things you need to understand about the causes of high cholesterol is that it centers around your daily routines. While genetics can certainly play a role in this, what you eat and how active you are should also be considered. The truth is these are the issues you can actually affect directly. Needless to say you can’t choose your genes. So, when it comes to eating, you should strive to avoid foods that contain high levels of bad cholesterol. These range from fatty meats like ham, beef, bacon, and sausage, to dairy products such as whole milk, cheese, ice cream. All of these foods contain heavy levels of cholesterol that can cause damage to your heart.

Once you better understand the causes of high cholesterol, you can adjust your diet to better suit your health. Foods rich in dietary fiber and whole grains are great for lowering your cholesterol. Think along the lines of whole wheat bread, oat meal, vegetables, and fresh fruits. If you desire meat products, focus more on fish and white poultry. These tend to be quite low in cholesterol. If your cholesterol is significantly high, you may need to consult a licensed physician about potential medications. This way he or she can get you going with an oral prescription.

Exercise is and always will be a part of staying healthy. If you can exercise for 30 minutes each day, then be sure to do so. Getting your heart rate up is essential. Finally, other causes of high cholesterol are not related to diet and exercise. I am addressing stress. It sounds funny to some people because they cannot physically see it, but stress can have an atrocious impact on the human body. It causes blood pressure to rise, hair to fall out, people to gain weight, and so on. Exercise can help you reduce stress, along with fun activities that keep your mind off of stressful work or finances. Congratulations; learning the main causes of high cholesterol is the first step to getting healthier.

For years, as the obesity crisis in America deep end and worsened, we as a society heard about the importance of maintaining a watch on our cholesterol. “Low cholesterol,” the theory held, “would lead to lower chance of heart disease, cardiac arrest, stroke, diabetes and a host of other inflammatory conditions.”

But monitoring your overall cholesterol is only part of the plan to a healthier and happier, not to mention thinner, life. It’s equally important to understand that cholesterol isn’t just a monolithic measurement of your health, but can be broken down into distinct parts itself.

One part is Low-density cholesterol (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol. Generally speaking, the lower this number is, the better for you. The other part is High-density cholesterol (HDL), or “good” cholesterol. You want to get this number as high as you can.

So what, then, is there to know about your ldl and hdl cholesterol levels? Well, generally speaking your ldl cholesterol levels should be 130 or below. If, however, you’re at higher risk for an inflammatory disease such as heart disease or diabetes – both of which have grown exponentially in the United States over the past four decades – your target should be 100 or below. There are ways to achieve this, starting obviously with diet. Cut out fatty foods, processed foods, and overeating. Instead, you should aim to keep your proteins lean – fish and chicken are the standbys here – and your vegetables fresh. It’s also important to remember that we evolved over four million years, and only in the last 50 have we been able to live a lifestyle that included more than one serving of meat a day. So yes, a salad or rice and beans for lunch several times a
week is a wise choice.

With hdl cholesterol levels, it’s not nearly as easy to improve. The only thing shown to consistently raise hdl cholesterol levels is steady aerobic activity. That’s right – regular exercise. Getting your hdl cholesterol levels up above 50 (above 60 if you’re in an at-risk group) means getting on an exercise bike, going for a jog, doing Billy Blane tae bow or the like for about 20 minutes a day four times a week. This is why there are no extensive books about hdl cholesterol levels diets and the like – there are no diets that have been shown conclusively to effect hdl cholesterol levels. Exercise is the only key here.

It seems that everywhere you turn these days, there’s another study that tells people what they should or shouldn’t eat in order to promote good health. Often, this advice conflicts with beliefs or practices that were widespread a decade or so before. For instance, bread and grains used to be at the bottom of the Food Pyramid, with experts recommending at least 5 servings per day. But now carbohydrates have become one of the most vilified food groups around, and are blamed for everything from potbellies to cavities. Give it another 10 years, and carbs will be in again!

One thing that all the experts do seem to agree on is that heart disease remains a major health hazard to Americans. Therefore, it’s important to try to lower your cholesterol any way you can. If you already have a serious problem, then your doctor probably has you on a prescription drug regimen to help regulate levels. If you’re just a bit on the high side and want to rein things in before they get out of hand, then there are lots of ways to lower your cholesterol naturally.

The best way to do this is by exercising regularly. Though doctors aren’t 100 percent sure what the connection is, current thinking suggests that exercise helps jump start the enzymes responsible for moving low-density lipoprotein (LDL) from your bloodstream to your liver, where it is subsequently turned into bile and excreted. So the more you exercise, the more stimulation those critical enzymes receive, and the lower your cholesterol becomes.

Another way to lower your cholesterol is by modifying your diet. Cutting out or greatly reducing your intake of red meat, fried foods, and other animal-based products can yield the desired effect of lowering the body’s LDL levels. You can substitute these fatty foods with healthier choices like chicken, turkey, or fish, and can also add whole grains, such as oatmeal, and nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, and pistachios.

If exercise and a better diet aren’t helping lower your cholesterol significantly enough, you can try taking some supplements as well. There are various herbal supplements on the market that are said to have a positive effect on LDL. Although these claims are not approved or endorsed by the FDA, many people have reported success with ingredients like garlic, turmeric, red yeast rice, artichoke leaf extract, and other herbs. In addition, fish oil supplements with EPA and DHA are widely regarded as effective products that can help lower your cholesterol.

As you can see, there are lots of things you can do to limit your risk of heart disease. By using these tips to lower your cholesterol, you can enjoy better health and a longer life. I think the tradeoff is worth it!