By making lifestyle changes, you can improve your cholesterol in more ways than one. The following are critical habits to follow for better cholesterol.
Having high cholesterol can put you at risk for heart disease and heart attacks – but you can change that! By practicing these five critical habits to follow for better cholesterol, you’ll be on your way to better health.
1. Eating Healthily
You can reduce your cholesterol by making heart-focused changes to your diet. For example, you can reduce saturated fats, eliminate trans fats, and eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids instead. Moreover, you can increase your soluble fiber and whey protein intake, as they help lower your cholesterol and boost your heart health.
2. Increase Your Physical Activity
By doing at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercises or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercises per week, you’ll increase your HDL (“good”) cholesterol, which helps remove excess LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Consider taking a brisk walk during your downtime, playing your favorite sport, or riding your bike to work.
3. Don’t Smoke
If you don’t smoke, then don’t start. If you do smoke, find ways to quit smoking, as this quickly improves your HDL cholesterol. In fact, within 20 minutes of quitting, both your heart rate and blood pressure recover from the smoking-induced spike. Furthermore, within a year of quitting, your heart disease risk is 50% less than that of a smoker.
4. Lose Any Extra Pounds
Being only a few extra pounds heavier than recommended can already contribute to high cholesterol. If you’re finding it hard to lose weight, consider making small changes like drinking water instead of sugary beverages. You can also take the stairs instead of the elevator and park farther away from the grocery store.
5. Drink in Moderation
If you don’t drink, this doesn’t mean you have to start drinking. However, if you do drink, then it’s time to limit how much alcohol you drink. Women and men older than 65 should limit themselves to one drink per day (two drinks for men age 65 or younger). Drinking too much can result in high blood pressure, heart failure, strokes, and more.
The Outlook
Through these lifestyle changes, you should be able to make some pretty significant improvements in your cholesterol. However, sometimes lifestyle changes are not enough, which is where prescription medication comes in.
If you do need to take medications, don’t turn away from these healthy habits. In fact, by leading a healthy lifestyle, you may be able to keep your medication doses low.
In addition to healthy habits and medication, you can also take supplements like L-arginine Plus for an extra boost. Its ingredients are effective at promoting cholesterol health, circulation, blood pressure health, and more. Give your heart the support it needs by making these healthy lifestyle changes and taking L-arginine Plus.