How can I lower my bad cholesterol?
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Dr. Mehmet Oz answered:Everyone should know their cholesterol number since high cholesterol is dangerous.
Dr. Oz reveals simple ways to lower cholesterol in this video.
Helpful? 4 people found this helpful
Everyone should know their cholesterol number since high cholesterol is dangerous. Dr. Oz reveals simple ways to lower cholesterol in this video. More -
Dr. Michael Roizen answered:LDL, the cholesterol carried by low-density lipoproteins, is the "bad" kind of cholesterol—the kind that breaks apart easily and builds up on your artery walls wherever there is a nick or hole. High LDL levels can be the result of eating a lot of foods like MacLard Ribs or croissants—foods laden with cholesterol, simple carbohydrates, and trans and saturated fats. Or it can be partially determined by genetics: A tendency to have high LDL can run in the family.
Exercising, losing even 10 pounds of weight, avoiding simple carbohydrates (avoid all white foods), and restricting saturated and trans fats to less than 20 grams a day will lower your LDL. You don't have to be a calorie-counting addict to benefit. Just have eyes good enough to read labels. The payoff to being just this smart can be substantial: A 55-year-old with a LDL of 180 mg/dL who lowers it to 100 will make himself three years younger.
Avoiding more than 20 grams of saturated and trans fats every day has another benefit—it maintains your arteries' ability to dilate, providing you with more energy. Saturated- and trans-fat-laden meals lead to saturated- and trans-fat-laden blood that keeps your arteries' muscular middle wall paralyzed. And you want that artery muscle to be functional so when you ask a leg muscle to move, it gets enough energy to move you. So keep energetic, and keep your saturated fat and trans fats to less than 20 grams a day.
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LDL, the cholesterol carried by low-density lipoproteins, is the "bad" kind of cholesterol—the kind that breaks apart easily and builds up on your artery walls wherever there is a nick or hole. High LDL levels can be the result of eating a lot... More -
Dr. Robert S Kaufmann answered:The main goal of cholesterol-lowering treatment is to lower your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) level enough to reduce your risk of developing heart disease or having a heart attack. The higher your risk, the lower your LDL goal will be.
There are two main ways to lower your cholesterol:- Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) – includes a cholesterol-lowering diet (called the TLC diet), physical activity, and weight management. TLC is for anyone whose LDL is above goal.
- Drug Treatment – if cholesterol-lowering drugs are needed, they are used together with TLC treatment to help lower your LDL.
To reduce your risk for heart disease or keep it low, it is very important to control any other risk factors you may have such as high blood pressure and smoking.
This answer from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has been reviewed and/or edited by Dr. Robert S. Kaufmann.Helpful? 2 people found this helpfulThe main goal of cholesterol-lowering treatment is to lower your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) level enough to reduce your risk of developing heart disease or having a heart attack. The higher your risk, the lower your LDL goal will be. There are... More
