Though body cholesterol can be reduced through medication, there are certain healthy habits which can make the task easier for you. (Image: Shutterstock)
High cholesterol affects the blood flow in the body and prevents your heart to send the required amount of blood to the other parts of your body.
The high cholesterol level in the human body depends on several factors. Apart from your unhealthy lifestyle, your increased body weight, growing age and other underlying diseases can increase your cholesterol level, resulting in heart-related issues. Compared to persons with normal cholesterol levels, those with high cholesterol are twice as likely to develop heart disease. Your chance of suffering from a heart attack decreases by 20-30 per cent for every 10 per cent reduction in your cholesterol level.
Though body cholesterol can be reduced through medication, there are certain healthy habits which can make the task easier for you. Here, let’s take a look at some of those effective ways to keep your cholesterol level in check:
Opt for a healthy diet:
Bread, pasta, and cereal made from whole grains keep your blood sugar levels stable and help you stay full for longer. The fibre present in many of these foods helps to cut down LDL levels. To make the process more effective, you should add more fruits and vegetables to your regular diet.
Keep track of fat intake:
Foods high in saturated fats should be avoided since they raise unhealthy LDL cholesterol levels. Trans fats must also be avoided because they boost LDL and lower beneficial HDL. As an alternative, you can consume healthy unsaturated fats, which are present in fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.
Daily exercise:
Gaining even a little excess weight promotes your cholesterol level. Together with a good diet, keeping a normal weight and staying active reduces your risk of developing health issues like diabetes and obesity. If you are overweight, even a small weight loss of 5 to 10 per cent can greatly reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Quit smoking:
Vaping and smoking both reduce HDL cholesterol, also referred to as good cholesterol. And to make matter worse, smoking increases the risk of coronary heart disease more than it would normally do. It increases the risk of heart disease in combination with other risk factors including diabetes and high blood pressure. Along with raising HDL cholesterol, giving up smoking may also aid with artery protection. If you are a nonsmoker, you should avoid smoke inhalation.
Limit alcohol consumption:
Frequent consumption of alcohol can take a toll on your body’s cholesterol level. Hence, if you have a habit of drinking, you should set a limit for it. Drinking too much alcohol increases the risk of developing significant health issues such as high blood pressure, heart failure, and strokes. Though moderate alcohol consumption has been associated with greater HDL cholesterol levels, the benefits aren’t significant enough to advocate.
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