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Lower Cholesterol Naturally and Improve Your Health

At last, it is possible to learn how to lower cholesterol naturally and live longer as a result. Heart disease is a killer: in the last year alone, millions of lives were lost to cardiovascular problems. One of the main causes of heart problems is a high cholesterol level, due to consumption of processed foods, with high fat and refined sugar content.

Fortunately, studies have shown that if you can lower cholesterol naturally, your risk of heart disease is reduced by as much as forty percent. 

Before examining how cholesterol can be lowered, it is important to understand what it is. Cholesterol is often regarded as bad for the body, and in large quantities, this is certainly the case. But consuming a certain amount of cholesterol is important for your overall health and body functioning.

Cholesterol is produced by the liver and is a fat-like waxy substance. Every cell within the body is formed to different degrees from cholesterol. It works to build and repair cells, produces hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, and produces bile acids proven to aid in the digestion of fat.

"there are actually two types of cholesterol ‘good’ cholesterol and ‘bad’ cholesterol."

However, just to confuse things, there are actually two types of cholesterol, HDL (‘good’) cholesterol and LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol.

LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol: Blood cholesterol produced in low density lipoproteins (LDLs) is transported from the liver to other parts of the body where it can be used in all sorts of useful ways The problem starts when too much LDL cholesterol is produced and it starts to build up in the body and blood stream, clogging the arteries and leading to increased risk of heart disease. This is why LDL cholesterol is often called ‘bad’ cholesterol.

HDL ‘good’ cholesterol: Cholesterol is also packaged in high density Lipoproteins (HDLs). HDLs play a crucial health role as they carry cholesterol back to the liver for processing or removal from the body. HDLs help remove cholesterol from the blood, preventing the accumulation of cholesterol in the walls of the arteries. This is why they are often referred to as ‘good’.

It therefore follows that to help maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, the body requires low levels of LDL and high levels of HDL cholesterol. But can this best be achieved? How can an individual lower cholesterol naturally, as well as increase it naturally? It’s actually easier than it seems.

Diet plays a key role

The main ways of lowering cholesterol naturally, focus around lifestyle changes, such as altering what you eat, avoiding any damaging habits and often, adapting your state of mind. The good thing is that these changes also help your body fight off other diseases such as cancer, so you are drastically improving your health through adopting these recommendations.

The diet change should be the first and most important. Eliminate all the foods that add to your high LDL cholesterol levels. These especially include hydrogenated oils, found in most margarine products and virtually all baked goods such as cookies, crackers, pastries, and so on. Also reduce saturated animal fats, such as those found in beef and other red meats. Other evils include processed foods, as they are often full of hydrogenated oils and saturated fats as well as preservatives, colourings and flavourings. Almost all processed foods will increase levels of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol. Don’t eat them!

"there is a group of foods taking the health world by storm because of their superior cholesterol reducing properties."

The second change should involve the incorporation of healthy foods into your diet. That is, foods that will not only help lower ‘bad’ cholesterol but also increase the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol, as well. These will definitely help you to lower cholesterol naturally. They include foods containing the healthy oils, sometimes called ‘good fats’ (omega-3 and omega-6 oils), found in deep water fish. Fruits and vegetables that are not processed or overcooked are also vitally important. Whole grains, such as whole grain oats, can also help reduce cholesterol by giving you extra fibre that helps prevent the absorption of cholesterol-promoting fats.

It isn’t difficult to lower cholesterol naturally. To make it even easier, there is a group of foods taking the health world by storm, for their superior cholesterol reducing properties. They also help increase levels of ‘good’ HDL cholesterol.

These magnificent fruits and herbs come from the rainforests of the world, nature’s own medicine chest, and should be consumed by those keen to lower cholesterol naturally. These ‘superfoods’ are fruits such as the acai berry which has been shown to help lower cholesterol naturally. In fact, the acai berry has been such a revelation that Sports Illustrated for Women called it one of the “41 Best Things On Earth" (September, 2003).