How to Increase Good Cholesterol

Опубликовал Admin
29-09-2016, 08:10
4 722
0
Expert Reviewed When you eat fat, your body breaks it down into a variety of different components, such as cholesterol and triglycerides. These components are circulated through the body for storage, to make energy, and to make a variety of hormones and digestive juices. Your body makes both good cholesterol (HDL) and bad cholesterol (LDL). Lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) isn't enough to help get you healthy. You need to follow a few simple steps to increase your good cholesterol (HDL) in order to decrease the risk of heart disease.

Changing Your Lifestyle

  1. Exercise more. Lifestyle modification is recommended for any abnormality in cholesterol or triglyceride levels. To help increase your good cholesterol levels, you need to work out regularly. The American Heart Association recommends that adults should do at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiovascular activity for at least five days per week. This can include running, hiking, swimming, or bike riding. In addition to this, the AHA also recommends two days of moderate to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity, such as weight training or circuit training with weights.
    • You can substitute the cardiovascular workouts for at least three 25 minutes exercise sessions a week of vigorous aerobic activity. This includes activities such as high intensity interval training, spinning, and aerobics classes.
    • If this is too much for you at first, start with small workouts before you work up to the intensity level the AHA recommends. Start by walking or using an elliptical machine a few times a week. Then you can work your way to more and more activity each week until you can meet the guidelines.
    • It can take up to six to 12 months for the benefits of lifestyle modification to become evident.
  2. Modify your diet. Diet modification is crucial for helping with cholesterol levels. Reduce your intake of carbohydrates, especially those with a high glycemic and high fructose content. These are often referred to as bad or simple carbs because they have a high calorie content but create very little energy during metabolism. They are processed and used by your body extremely fast, plus they cause fat deposits and spikes in bad sugars and fats, which are metabolized into bad cholesterol.
    • Simple carbs include sugary and refined foods such as candy, cakes, white rice, processed cereals, cookies, white bread, sodas, alcohol, chips, and juices.
    • Have a diet that is balanced. This means you have an equal amount of vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and low fat dairy. Try to avoid any products with added sugars and high levels of fat, especially saturated and trans fat. Eat plenty poultry, fish, and beans.
    • Always avoid butter, fried foods, high fat cheese, and foods high in sodium.
    • Mix a healthy diet and exercise to help you lower your bad cholesterol and increase your good cholesterol.
  3. Lose weight. If you are overweight or obese, lose weight to help with your cholesterol. In order to find out if you are considered overweight or obese, calculate your body mass index (BMI). This scale estimates the weight range that is right for you according to your height and sex. If you follow a balanced diet plan and exercise, you should start to lose weight. If you are not losing any weight despite this, you might need to be more diligent and start counting your calories. This can be an easy and efficient way to lose weight. Cut your calories to an amount lower than what your body uses per day, which will help you lose weight.
    • The number of calories you need a day to changes depending on your sex, age, and daily activity level. Consult your doctor to see how many calories you need to eat to stay healthy but that will help you lose weight.
    • A normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9. BMIs below 18.5 are underweight, from 25.0 to 29.9 are overweight, and above 30.0 is defined as obese. There are multiple BMI calculators and charts online that you can use to find your correct BMI.
    • To stay healthy while you lose weight, only lose about a pound a week.
  4. Quit smoking. Smoking puts you at serious risk for cardiovascular disease. An individual who stops smoking can expect to increase HDL about 10%. Quitting smoking is an extremely hard undertaking. It is recommended that you discuss your options for quitting with your healthcare professional.
    • There are many ways you can quit, including a nicotine patch, nicotine gum, counseling, support groups, medication, and quitting on your own.

Taking Supplements

  1. Take fish oil. There are some supplements that you can take to help with your good cholesterol levels. Omega-3 fatty acids, specifically the DHA and EPA, are great ways to help your cholesterol levels. You can buy these oils in supplements over the counter at your local pharmacy. Take 1g per day to reduce your triglycerides levels and lower your risk of death from heart disease.
    • These acids are also found naturally in oily fish such as anchovies and tuna. Eat one to two servings of these kinds of fish to help each day as well.
  2. Ingest more soy protein. Soy contains isoflavones, which can act to raise your good cholesterol levels as well as lower your levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides. Get between 20 to 50 mg of soy protein a day. These soy proteins can be found in a concentrated form in a supplement at your local pharmacy or health food store. They come in 50 mg tablets and should be take once a day.
    • Also eat more soy products as well, which are lower in saturated fats than other types of proteins. Add tofu, edamame, and dried soy beans to your diet as an additional source of isoflavones.
  3. Eat plant stanols and sterols. Plant stanols and sterols are naturally occurring supplements that act by preventing the intestines from absorbing cholesterol. Take them as a dietary supplement once a day. There are also some products that have these supplements added to them to give you an extra boost of them a day. These can be found in certain margarine, juices, and rice milks.
    • You can also get them naturally in a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes. Eat both kinds of products to get the maximum amount you can in order to help with your cholesterol.
    • Although highly regarded as such, a large clinical trial showed that taking garlic does not have an effect on cholesterol levels compared to taking a placebo.

Taking Medication

  1. Learn about the medications. Currently, drug treatment directed specifically at raising HDL is not recommended because there is no convincing evidence that the medications improve cardiovascular outcome. However, there are two types of medications that are used to raise HDL, which are fibrates and Nicotinic acid, also known as niacin or vitamin B3.
    • These are mostly prescribed with other medications. This is because a few studies have suggested potential cardiovascular benefits when using these medications in conjunction with medical therapies to lower LDL, but the data is not convincing enough to definitively recommend their use in all cases.
    • Cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP) is a protein in your body that facilitates the transfer of lipids from HDL to other components in your blood. It has also been found to be associated with lower levels of HDL in some studies. As a result, there are several trials looking into medication that inhibit CETP, such as the medications torcetrapib, anacetrapib, dalcetrapib, and evacetrapib. Some of these show promise in the treatment of high cholesterol, but there is no generally consensus just yet.
  2. Take fibrates. Fibrates are one type of medication that helps raise your good cholesterol levels. They are prescribed in pill form and should be taken one to three times daily. There are some forms of this medication that must be taken with meals, so check the label on your prescription to make sure you follow directions.
    • These medications have been associated with muscle toxicity, especially when taken with statins, which is another type of cholesterol medication. They can also interfere with the metabolism of other drugs, such as warfarin. Ask your doctor about any drug interactions.
  3. Buy nicotinic acid. Nicotinic acid, typically called niacin, is a vitamin (vitamin B3) that is available over-the-counter that is used to boost good cholesterol levels. You can also get a prescription-strength dosage of niacin, which has been shown to increase HDL levels by up to 35%. Take it as a pill with a dose of 1g to 3g per day. The most common side effect is flushing of the skin. While undesirable, there is generally no harm experienced from this side effect. You can also consume niacin through foods as well.
    • To prevent flushing, aspirin can be taken 30 minutes prior or ibuprofen can be take 60 minutes prior to taking niacin. Certain slow release formulas of the vitamin can also be used to decrease incidence of flushing.
    • Toxicity to the liver is reported in higher doses of niacin, with doses ranging from 2g to 6g daily, especially when it is taken in conjunction with other medications. Check with your doctor about appropriate dosing to avoid this.

Understanding Cholesterol

  1. Learn about cholesterol. There are two major groups of these components. There are those that carry bad cholesterol, also known as low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and those that carry good cholesterol, also known as high-density lipoprotein (HDL). When a person consumes too much fat, LDL become elevated and can contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease. HDL has been shown to have remove of excess cholesterol from the body, which means HDL acts like a cholesterol hunter that seeks out the surplus of cholesterol in your blood and transports it to your liver to be destroyed.
  2. Understand the need for good cholesterol. Too much fat in the blood, which is caused by too much bad cholesterol, is directly associated with a higher risk of stroke and heart attack. It leads to atherosclerosis, which results in narrowing and stiffening of the blood vessels. This results in elevated blood pressures. Increased pressures in the blood vessels can result in fatty plaques breaking off and blocking smaller, narrowed vessels downstream. Blocking blood flow can lead to tissue death, which causes a heart attack or a stroke.
    • It can also lead to heart failure. Narrowing and stiffness of the vessels in the body forces the heart to pump harder to achieve appropriate blood flow. The muscle of the heart grows larger to compensate for this. Eventually, the work required of the heart may go beyond its capacity, leading to insufficient blood flow and fluid build-up, which is called heart failure.
  3. Avoid risk factors. Unfortunately, the symptoms of the conditions caused by high cholesterol frequently do not develop until there is a stroke or heart attack, which means the damage to organs is already done. There are a variety of things that can contribute to your risk of developing high fat content in your blood. These include poor lifestyle habits such as not exercising regularly and poor diet that frequently lead to being overweight or obese.
    • It may also be caused by a family history of the high cholesterol.
    • High cholesterol may also be caused by diabetes, alcohol abuse, hypothyroidism, pregnancy, smoking, high blood pressure, and older age.
    • Your levels may also be increased if you take certain medications, such as beta blockers, estrogen replacement therapy, or steroids.
  4. Get tested frequently. You must visit your doctor and have blood tests to check your levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. Screening can begin at any age, especially if you think you might be at risk. Start no later than age 45. The blood tests are generally checked at least every five years, but there may be shorter intervals if you have abnormal levels. During these tests, blood will be drawn after a period of 12 to 14 hours of fasting.
    • There are several different cholesterol levels reported from these tests. These include total cholesterol, which is normal below 200 mg/dL. Your doctor will also test for LDL cholesterol, which needs to be below 130 mg/dL or lower if at risk of heart attacks or strokes, and HDL cholesterol, which need to be above 60 mg/dL. It also checks non-HDL cholesterol, which is normal below 160 mg/dL, and triglycerides, which are normal below 150 mg/dL.
    • Any abnormality in these tests may be associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Most frequently, an abnormally low level of HDL is also associated with elevated levels of LDL and triglycerides. Sometimes a person may have cholesterol and triglyceride levels that are all normal, except for an isolated low HDL. This is still associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. In contrast, studies have suggested that having high levels of this good type of cholesterol is associated with prolonged life and significantly reduced risk of heart disease.
  5. Watch out for warning signs. Even if you are actively trying to lower your bad cholesterol and raise your good cholesterol, you may still suffer from a heart attack or stroke. Be aware of the the signs for a heart attack and stroke so that you can seek medical attention immediately when they arise. Heart attack symptoms include pain or a heavy feeling in your chest, nausea, vomiting, pain in your jaw, arms, stomach, or back, shortness of breath, sweating, lightheadedness, dizziness, and fatigue.
    • Stroke symptoms include sudden numbness, tingling, weakness, or paralysis in your face or extremities. It also includes sudden vision changes, confusion, trouble understanding others, severe headache, and trouble speaking.
Теги:
Information
Users of Guests are not allowed to comment this publication.