Many people can lower their cholesterol levels with lifestyle changes, diet, and supplements. Doctors may recommend these actions as the first line of treatment before prescribing medication.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Managing your cholesterol levels is important, as high cholesterol can be a key risk factor for cardiovascular events like heart attack or stroke. Doctors often recommend medication to help people with very high cholesterol levels bring their levels down.
However, if your cholesterol is mildly or moderately high, you may be able to lower it without medication. This article will explain strategies you can try at home to lower your cholesterol.
Avoid trans and saturated fats
Eating foods that contain saturated or trans fats can increase your cholesterol level.
Foods high in saturated fat include dairy, meat, and palm and coconut oil. You’ll find trans fats in fast food and processed food. However, since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)Trusted Source restricted the use of artificial trans fats, they’re less common now.
The American Heart AssociationTrusted Source recommends reducing saturated fat intake to less than 6% of your daily calories.
Trans fats are especially unhealthy, as they increase “bad” LDL cholesterol andTrusted Source decrease “good” HDL cholesterol. The World Health OrganizationTrusted Source recommends limiting trans fats to less than 1% of your diet.