Raise HDL Cholesterol Levels In Your Blood
When your physician hands you the diagnosis that you have high cholesterol levels and you must change your lifestyle to reduce your cholesterol, you should also be striving to raise HDL cholesterol levels in your blood. When cholesterol is elevated, the HDL cholesterol has been proven to decrease the LDL cholesterol that is bad and help you prevent the problems that come with having a high cholesterol number.
The occurrence of heart disease is more of a probability in people with high levels of LDL cholesterol. HDL cholesterol is needed in the body in order to send the unwanted LDL cholesterol from the arteries directly to the liver. However, if the HDL cholesterol levels are not high enough, it will cause the bad cholesterol to accumulate in the arteries, ultimately obstructing them. To counteract the effects of LDL cholesterol, you must raise HDL cholesterol.
Being careful about the foods you eat is the first step that a doctor will take to attempt to reduce your overall cholesterol levels. You should go to see a nutritionist to get information about the foods that are helpful to raise HDL cholesterol, while decreasing LDL cholesterol simultaneously. Usually your diet will have limited fat and sugar and plenty of lean protein, vegetables and fruits.
You should do plenty of research and plan out a fun, easy exercise routine targeted to reduce excess weight and bad cholesterol. This will help you to raise HDL cholesterol and thus help to unclog your arteries. Daily attention to your health, by way of proper diet and exercise, can result in a decrease in your risk of most forms of heart disease.
Include your whole family in your plans for a low fat diet and exercise regimen. If everyone participates, you will get used to eating healthy food and you will have an easier time staying on this diet. If everyone eats the same way as you do they will become healthier in the long run. It is significant that your children learn that their health depends on how they eat and they should have nutritious food. If we instruct our children about this we can prevent problems that they could have in the future.
There are various sources from which you can get information on how to eat and live healthy. Eating healthy as well as tasty food is what everyone would like, and these recipes can be found in many cookbooks. With the help of these books, you can cook food which will help you lower your LDL levels and raise HDL cholesterol levels.
If you can lower your cholesterol solely by the way you eat, then you may not need to take medicine. Keep in mind however that you might not be able to decrease LDL cholesterol levels and raise HDL cholesterol with a diet only. You will need to discuss this with your physician and he will decide if you need to take medicine.