High Cholesterol Causes (and How to Fight Back)

Woody Short

7 years ago

Learn more about the most common high cholesterol causes and what you can do to prevent it.

Taking care of your health and your heart does not have to be such a tedious task, especially if you are aware of the most common high cholesterol causes and you can take the necessary measures to prevent it. Making small changes in your diet and the way you carry your life can make an outstanding difference.

Among the many things you can do, changing your diet and adding exercise to your routine are ways of baby-stepping without making the change too drastic, too fast.

For example, there are many foods to avoid with high cholesterol that, once they are cut back from your meal-plan, they no longer pose a threat to your system. And while this may sound complex, following a set of guidelines and a diet plan that is made just for you – in accordance with your doctor – can become a part of your regular lifestyle.

The main high cholesterol causes are an a unhealthy diet, smoking, lack of physical activity and excess weight. When left untreated, high cholesterol can lead to many grave diseases that can lead to heart attack or a stroke.

Unfortunately, even though there are many high cholesterol causes, the disease itself is called as a “silent” problem because it does not have a wide number of symptoms, which is why many people have it without knowing until it gets out of hand.

If you are wondering how to lower high cholesterol, there are several things that you can do starting today, among them:

Changing your activity levels, by adding at least 10 to 30 minutes of exercise a day you. Making this small but wise change will help you with weight control and by supporting your cardiovascular health.
Making adjustments to your diet, as the biggest contributor to high cholesterol is the bad and/or unearthly foods you put into your system.
Quitting tobacco as cigarettes damage the inner walls of your blood vessels, thus causing the accumulation of fatty deposits.

As part of your adjustments, knowing what foods to avoid with high cholesterol is important, as it allows for a better combination and preparation of meals that are focused on your wellbeing.

Among the recommendations, your Doctor will indicate that you should stick to foods with a lower sodium count, and may also advise to:

Limit foods that are high in saturated fats, and trans fats;
Include more fruits, vegetables and whole grains to your diet;
Lower your alcohol intake;
Chose lean sources of protein, such as fish, chicken and legumes;
Avoid processed foods, and those containing cocoa butter, palm oil and/or coconut oil;
Opt for baked, grilled, broiled or steamed foods instead of fried and breaded;
Avoid certain baked goods such as cakes, muffins, cookies, pies, etc.
Limit your intake of red meat and high-fat diary products like whole milk and yogurt.

As far as adding good supplements to your diet, nutritionists recommend certain ingredients that are a natural way to lower your cholesterol. These include: garlic, oat bran (from oatmeal) ground flax seeds, hawthorn, red yeast rice, plant sterol, stanol derivatives, astragalus, omega-3, amongst others.

It is important to know that as part of your treatment for high cholesterol your Doctor may also recommend and prescribed certain medications that will aid your fight against the disease and promote weight-loss as a supporting mechanism.

The important thing is that, with the small and easy changes described above, you can start working on your prevention plan right away, which is the safest and most healthy thing you can do to take better care of yourself and manage your overall health.