10 Tips For Lowering LDL Cholesterol Naturally

Over the time, our food patterns and living style have undergone a drastic change, due to which we have become susceptible to lot of diseases. We need to keep our calorie consumption in check along with ensuring that we regularly exercise, sleep adequately and we must also have a positive mental attitude to keep ourselves healthy. But what about cholesterol check? As we reach the 40s, we tend to have many problems related to blood pressure and heart diseases because we actually have never taken care of our cholesterol levels. Most of us are actually not aware of the importance of keeping the cholesterol levels within control.

LDL (Low Density Lipoproteins) cholesterol is popularly known as bad cholesterol because these insoluble cholesterols are carried into the body by the proteins in the blood, which causes deposits in the wall of arteries, thus blocking the passage of blood flow. This leads in thick and hard deposits that makes the arteries less flexible. Gradual deposits can cause heart attack, stroke and when arteries tend to become narrower, then a person can suffer from a condition called peripheral artery disease.

To keep your heart healthy and for lowering LDL cholesterol naturally, medical studies have said that the gradual accumulation of cholesterol in the body should be tackled at first. This means, while you are young, you must understand the importance of keeping yourself healthy from inside so that you enjoy great health condition in the old age. If you ignore your cholesterol consumption in your young age, then, before you reach the age of 50, you already will suffer from various diseases.

To know how to keep your LDL levels below 100, you must read these 10 tips for lowering LDL cholesterol naturally and prepare a strategy for keeping your heart in great condition:

1. Increase Intake Of Fibre Rich Food

Medical studies have proved that food with rich source of fibre are capable of lowering the level of cholesterol in the body. You must consume corn flakes, oats, oat bran, peas, potato, yams, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, apricots, oranges, pears, etc so that your body gets increased amount of fibres to fight away the bad cholesterol.

2. Try Your Best To Keep Weight Under Control

Keeping weight under control requires you to keep yourself alerted from high calories food stuffs while compelling yourself to work out daily. Losing excess weight and maintaining ideal weight is very essential to keep yourself protected from diabetes, heart problems, cancer, strokes, gout and high blood pressure.

3. Limit Consumption Of Food Stuffs With Saturated Fats, Trans Fats & Dietary Cholesterol

Food stuffs with saturated fats include low fat and full fat diary products, red meat, beef, butter, palm oil, coconut oil, etc. Trans fats can be easily looked for in the ingredient list and mostly it is mentioned in the name of partially hydrogenated fat. Major sources of dietary cholesterol include shellfish, organ meats and egg yolks. All these food items must be consumed within limits so that the LDL cholesterol levels are in the optimum level.

Recommended: Interesting Facts About Cholesterol You Didn’t Know

4. Take Psyllium

Psyllium is a bulk forming natural edible fibre, which is proven to be effective in lowering LDL cholesterol naturally. It looks like a fine powder and is easily available in health food stores. One spoon of psyllium is mixed with one glass of water or juice and when consumed, it forms a thick gel in the body and helps in removing excess cholesterol deposits, bile acids and waste in gut.

5. Consume More Of Legumes, Lentils & Pulses

Consuming more of legumes, lentils and pulses such as green gram, kidney beans, white beans, black eyed beans, soy beans, etc are considered to the best alternative for meat, pork, beef, etc as they have high content of protein. They help in overall reduction of cholesterol while lowering LDL cholesterol naturally along with lowering blood sugar levels, risk of cancer and maintaining insulin levels in the body.

6. Drink Green & Herbal Tea

In comparison to many medications, it has been found that the tannins found in green tea and herbal teas are highly effective in lowering LDL cholesterols naturally. It has been revealed that the catechin compounds found in green tea actively helps in decreasing cholesterol absorption in the gut.

7. Replace Your Cooking Oil With Olive Oil

As per the recommendation made by US Food & Drug Association, a person must consume two tablespoons of olive oil in a day to replace their consumption of other fats as they are rich in oleic acid, which is a kind of mono-unsaturated fatty acid that aids in lowering LDL cholesterol naturally. But the consumption must be kept minimum as any fat is dense with calories and can lead to weight gain.

8. Consume Fish With High Omega-3 Fatty Acids

You can easily substitute your meat and poultry consumption by replacing them with fish that are high in omega-3 fatty acids. It helps in warding off heart diseases and dementia while augmenting the production of HDL or good cholesterol. Fishes such as salmon, sardines, trout, mackerel and herring must be consumed at least twice a week to lower your LDL cholesterol levels. In case of vegetarians, they can prefer consuming omega-3 fatty acids in the form of supplements and these are easily available at health food stores.

9. Eat Chocolate Too

You are surely happy to hear this! But for keeping your LDL cholesterol levels under control, you must consume dark or bitter-sweet chocolate instead of milk and sweet chocolates as it contains more of cocoa powder that helps in boosting the HDL or good cholesterol levels. It consists of 3 times more antioxidants that helps in keeping the arteries unblocked and prevents sticking of blood platelets.

Recommended: 8 Health Benefits Of Dark Chocolate

10. Garlic – Heart’s Best Friend

In many Asian countries, people make it a practice to eat overnight soaked garlic in the morning on an empty stomach. They believe that eating garlic keeps them healthy from inside and protects them from infections. Besides giving an exotic aroma to the food, garlic is also known to lower LDL cholesterol levels while preventing blood clots and regulating blood pressure. New researches have claimed that garlic helps in preventing clogging of arteries and therefore, everyone must consume 2 to 4 garlic cloves a day to keep their heart healthy.

You may like this

• 6 Ways To Reduce Your Cholesterol And Lose Weight
• Fascinating Facts About Cholesterol You Must Know