How to actually lower your cholesterol

Lifestyle changes can help you keep your medication dose low.

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A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Top 5 lifestyle changes to improve your cholesterol. Free E-newsletter Subscribe to Housecall Our general interest e-newsletter keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics. Top 5 lifestyle changes to improve your cholesterol Lifestyle changes can help improve your cholesterol — and boost the cholesterol-lowering power of medications.

By Mayo Clinic Staff. References Your guide to lowering your cholesterol with TLC. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Accessed May 22, Kumar P, et al. Lipid and metabolic disorders. Kumar and Clark's Clinical Medicine. Tangney CC, et al. Lipid lowering with diet or dietary supplements. Catapano AL, et al. Department of Health and Human Services and U.

9 Simple Ways to Lower Cholesterol

Final determination regarding partially hydrogenated oils removing trans fat. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed June 28, Cooking to lower cholesterol. Fekete AA, et al. Whey protein lowers blood pressure and improves endothelial function and lipid biomarkers in adults with prehypertension and mild hypertensions: Results from the chronic Whey2Go randomized controlled trial.

Top 5 lifestyle changes to improve your cholesterol

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Exercise and fitness in the prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Accessed May 30, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; Braun LT, et al. Effects of exercise on lipoproteins and hemostatic factors. Accessed May , Cardiovascular benefits and risks of moderate alcohol consumption. Accessed May 31, Bonow RO, et al. Risk markers and the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. Products and Services Book: The Mayo Clinic Diet Book: Mayo Clinic Healthy Heart for Life!

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Top 5 lifestyle changes to improve your cholesterol - Mayo Clinic

Get moving Cholesterol concerns? Lose excess pounds Cholesterol level: Can it be too low? Consider the options Cholesterol ratio or non-HDL cholesterol: Which is most important? Top foods to improve your numbers Cholesterol-lowering supplements may be helpful Coconut oil: They are high in unsaturated fats and lower in saturated fats, a mix which can help to keep your cholesterol in check. Choose unsalted options because salt raises your blood pressure. Where possible, go for the kind with their skins still intact and unroasted, as they contain more nutrients.

Oats and barley are grains which are rich in a type of fibre called beta glucan — which can help you to lower your cholesterol. When you eat beta glucan, it forms a gel which binds to cholesterol and bile which is made from cholesterol in the intestines. This helps limit the amount of cholesterol that is absorbed from the gut into your blood. Your liver has to take more cholesterol out of your blood to make more bile, which also lowers your blood cholesterol.

The beta glucans are in the outer layer of the grain — one of the reasons whole grains are so good for you. The term whole grain simply means that the entire grain is included in the food product — so it includes all the nutrients. Refined grains have had the outer layer removed which means they lose some of the nutrients, for example white bread and white pasta. This will give your around 3g or beta glucans which should help to lower your cholesterol.

Many products now contain oats, which makes it easier to get your two to four servings. Foods which have a claim on the label saying they lower cholesterol contain 1g or more of beta glucan. Sterols and stanols are plant chemicals which are a similar size and shape to cholesterol. They are absorbed from the intestines into the blood stream and block some cholesterol from being absorbed.

This lowers the cholesterol in your blood. We get a small amount of sterols from plant-based foods such as vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. So, food companies have developed foods with plant sterols or stanols added to them, such as mini yogurt drinks, fat spreads, milk and yogurts.

These fortified foods lower your cholesterol gradually, over a few weeks. And how much depends on the amount you eat.

Some experts believe they are the most effective single food for lowering cholesterol. Sterols and stanols have been thoroughly researched — they can be added to foods and are safe to eat. This will give you 1. To get the most from these foods, eat them with a meal, rather than on their own, and eat some every day.

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They can be branded, such as the Flora ProActive and Benecol ranges, as well as supermarket own products. Fruits and vegetables can help protect against heart disease, stroke and some cancers. They contain little or no fat and are low in calories too so they can help you to stay a healthy weight. And if you are eating more fruit and veg chances are you are eating less of the other more energy-packed foods.

Fruit and vegetables are also high in fibre, some of which can help to lower your cholesterol. It helps block some cholesterol from being absorbed from the intestines into the blood stream. Pulses such as beans, peas and lentils are particularly high in this kind of fibre. An adult portion is around 80g, or a handful.

Make at least one of these beans, peas or lentils.