Improving your heart health means taking care of heart disease risk factors like high cholesterol. Find out how to keep your cholesterol down.
High cholesterol can negatively impact your health by increasing your risk of heart disease and heart attacks. While medication can help, there are various lifestyle changes that can improve your cholesterol naturally. Learn how to keep your cholesterol down by practicing the following tips.
1. Eat Healthily
By making just a few changes to your diet, you can reduce your cholesterol and improve your heart health simultaneously. Start by eliminating unhealthy foods that contain saturated fats and trans fats like red meat, full-fat dairy products, store-bought crackers, and margarine. Instead, increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids, soluble fiber, and whey protein by eating salmon, oatmeal, and certain dairy products.
2. Exercise Regularly
By exercising 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week, you can increase your “good” HDL cholesterol which helps remove excess “bad” LDL cholesterol. If you don’t have time to set aside 30-minutes per day, break it into smaller increments of 5 to 10 minutes. Whether you’re taking a brisk walk during your lunch or playing your favorite sport, what matters is that you do it and stick to it.
3. Don’t Smoke
If you don’t smoke, then stay away from secondhand smoke. If you do smoke, then quitting will help improve your HDL cholesterol levels. In fact, within 20 minutes of quitting, you can expect your blood pressure and heart rate to recover from any cigarette-induced spike. Within three months, your circulation and lung performance will begin to improve, and within a year, your heart disease risk will be cut in half compared to that of a smoker.
4. Manage Your Weight
Being overweight by even a few extra pounds can contribute to high cholesterol, so it’s important that you keep your weight in a healthy range. You can start losing weight by cutting out sugary and salty foods from your diet. You can also enhance your weight loss and management by working out on a regular basis.
5. Limit Alcohol
While there are some links between drinking alcohol in moderation and higher HDL levels, the benefits are not strong enough for you to start drinking if you’re sober. In fact, too much alcohol can lead to high blood pressure, which is associated with high cholesterol.
6. Take Supplements
If you want to give your cholesterol health an extra boost, you can take supplements that enhance your system. For example, L-arginine Plus promotes nitric oxide production, which results in circulation, blood pressure, and cholesterol support.
By taking these supplements in addition to following a healthy lifestyle, you can give your health the support it deserves. If you want to work on your cholesterol, then follow these health tips and take L-arginine Plus.