How to Keep High Cholesterol Levels at Bay

High cholesterol numbers are rapidly becoming a source of concern among a young upwardly mobile demographic of white-collar workers as well as for the active middle-aged workforce. Sedentary lifestyles, high-fat and high-sugar diets as well as spiraling stress levels combine to raise the levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides—a form of fat found in the blood—to dangerous levels. While awareness about beneficial high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and detrimental low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol exists, few take active steps towards monitoring their personal cholesterol levels and fewer still consistently work at managing them, leaving the door open for harmful effects such as heart disease or coronary artery disease.

The management of cholesterol levels cannot be achieved by crash diets or over-exercising. Here are a few sustainable steps to help you manage cholesterol levels:

Measure and Understand

Awareness is an important step in the management of your cholesterol levels. Checking your total cholesterol, HDL and LDL levels can help you understand your current level of cardiovascular risk. The minimum frequency for the measurement of cholesterol by a lipid profile test is at least once every five years if you are over the age of twenty. This frequency increases as you pass milestones such as 35 and 45 years of age. A lipid profile will indicate the levels of total cholesterol, HDL, and LDL. An LDL level greater than 190 is a sign of concern.

Diet Control

In more cases than not, poor dietary intake is to blame for high cholesterol levels. The effect of salt-heavy, high-fat junk foods, fatty red meats, and sugary drinks may not be apparent, but will begin to show effects in the medium to long term. Changes in your diet such as a switch to foods that are rich in soluble fiber—oat bran, porridge, kidney beans, apples, pears, fish, nuts and the use of olive oil strengthen your HDL counts while lowering your LDL counts to safe levels. Plant sterols and stanols—chemicals that help block the absorption of bad cholesterol are often added into orange juice, margarine, vegetable oil sandwich spreads, snack bars and mayonnaise. These products can help you pamper your taste buds without the fear of increasing your LDL. Increasing your intake of avocados, apples, dried plums, and leafy green vegetables that have high fiber content also goes a long way in the effective control of your cholesterol levels.

Exercise

A structured and disciplined regimen of cardio, weight training, and calisthenics are beneficial to the control and continued management of high cholesterol levels. Infrequent exercise patterns have the potential to trigger binge eating or a high sugar intake and are counterproductive to managing your calorific intake as well as LDL levels. When combined with a healthy diet, weight loss is one of the surest ways to stay within your cholesterol limits.