In people with high cholesterol levels, the dangers are real. Due to the cholesterol build up in the arteries there is the danger of heart attack and stroke.
However, in most cases, there are many ways on how to lower cholesterol naturally. For convenience sake, they can be grouped into 2 categories:
1. Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC).
2. Nutritional Supplements.
In the following paragraphs you will find a brief description of various Lifestyle changes you can do and nutritional supplements you can take, and at least, you’ll find one or more than one way, on how to lower cholesterol naturally.
If you’d like to know more information on any specific way how to lower cholesterol naturally, click on the blue text link at the top of each paragraph.
Click here to view a Free Video presentation on “Lowering Cholesterol Naturally”..
First way how to lower cholesterol naturally.
Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC).
Lifestyle changes are sometimes difficult to make. It’s hard breaking a habit after all. However, knowing what you need to change is the first step towards that change.
Watch your diet and food.
Fitting in the recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables (2 of one group and 3 of the other) helps take the place of some of the more processed snacks. Fruits and vegetables are mostly fat free. Maintain a diet that is made of 2/3 of vegetables and fruits and 1/3 of other foods.
Latest research suggest that cholesterol lowering foods such as avocados, almonds, olive oil, soy beans, garlic, shiitake mushrooms, chili peppers, oat bran, beans (kidney, pintos, black, navy, etc.), onions, fatty fish, and flax seed play a crucial role in lowering LDL and sometimes raising HDL levels.
Stop Smoking
Ingredients in cigarette smoke are extremely oxidizing. High cholesterol is particularly dangerous when it is oxidized. Smokers have much higher need for antioxidants. The B Complex vitamins, including 2 forms of vitamin B3 (nicotinic acid and nicotinamide), can reduce nicotine cravings.
Exercise and Lose Weight.
Everyone knows that the keys to good cardiovascular health are exercise and maintaining your ideal weight. Just a few minutes per day can increase your level of high-density lipoproteins (HDL or “good” cholesterol).
Just 10 minutes of exercise first thing in the morning can increase your metabolic rate for the rest of the day. Consumption of water so that you are fully hydrated can increase your metabolic rate 24 hours per day.
Second way how to lower cholesterol naturally.
Nutritional Supplements.
I’m not talking about supplements that some “auntie” or “uncle” used and they got in top shape and never felt better. But there are clinically proven supplements on how tolower cholesterol naturally by 10 to 20 percent.
As you’ll see we are not anymore in that stage where nutritional supplements are recommended by friends, but there is solid proof and science backing up the claims on how to lower cholesterol naturally through supplements.
Policosanol.
Policosanol has been subject to numerous clinical trials, which have proven its effectiveness on how to lower cholesterol naturally.
Policosanol works by helping the liver control its production and breakdown of cholesterol. Clinical studies show that policosanol is as effective as prescription drugs on how to loweri cholesterol naturally, without side effects.
For example, in a study of 53 diabetic patients, policosanol lowered total cholesterol by 14.2 percent, LDL (bad) cholesterol 20.4 percent and even raised the levels of HDL (good) cholesterol by 7.5 percent.
Gugulipid or guggul-lipid.
Guggulipid is an ancient herb from India. Over recent years many clinical trials have proven its efficacy on how to lower cholesterol naturally and also it is one of the few substances that can effectively lower triglycerides.
In fact, these trials have shown this herb to be more effective in lowering cholesterol than the modern statin drugs, but with no side effects. Statin drugs do not lower triglycerides.
Click her for policosanol and guggulipid supplement, two in one, and how to lower cholesterol naturally .
Fish Oil Supplements.
A lot has been said about the cholesterol lowering effects of omega 3 fatty acids and fish oil. However, is it really true that they lower cholesterol!? By clicking here you will find out the naked truth that reveals whether fish oil supplements prevent heart disease and lower cholesterol.
Garlic Cholesterol.
In a large study of 220 patients, the garlic group took 800 milligrams of a powdered garlic for four months. This group experienced a 12 percent drop in cholesterol and a 17 percent drop in triglycerides. The placebo group had little change.
Flax Seed and Cholesterol.
Flaxseed is a whole grain that can be found in health food stores and some supermarkets.
In one study by Bahram Arjmandi, Ph.D., of Oklahoma State University, supplements of ground flax seed were given to 38 women with extremely high cholesterol levels were given bread and muffins containing 38 g of either sunflower or flaxseed four times daily.
After six weeks, flaxseed result on how to lower cholesterol naturally was: total cholesterol was reduced by 6.9 percent and LDL (bad) cholesterol by 14.7 percent.
Red Yeast Rice.
Red yeast rice has profound effects to lower cholesterol naturally.
A double-blind, placebo-controlled study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It demonstrates that “red yeast rice significantly reduces total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and total triacylglycerol concentrations compared with placebo and provides a new, novel, food-based approach to lowering cholesterol in the general population.”
The company that scientifically proved how to lower cholesterol naturally with red yeast rice is Pharmanex.
It discovered that red yeast rice contains a number of active compounds, including lovastatin, the ingredient in the hugely successful prescription drug Mevacor.
This helped to explain Mevacor’s success on how to lower cholesterol, but it was also the start of a tale of woe and intrigue for the company, which put red yeast rice in pill form and named it Cholestin.
Instead of supporting a company that was spending money to standardize, sterilize and study its natural remedy, the FDA decided Cholestin was an “unapproved drug” on how to lower cholesterol and tried to ban it. Click here if you’d like to know more about the FDA ruling and how to lower cholesterol naturally with cholestin.
There you have 2 main ways on how to lower cholesterol naturally.
There’s a third way on how to lower cholesterol, but that’s not natural. It is through the use of statin drugs, which have adverse side effects on your health, such as muscle weakening or liver damage.
Supplements can lower cholesterol naturally without side effects and more or less with same results as drugs. The only difference if there’s any, would be the time: it may take a bit longer to lower cholesterol naturally through supplements.
This article was originally published at http://www.all-about-lowering-cholesterol.com/how-to-lower-cholesterol-naturally.html
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