How you can lower your cholesterol levels quickly, safely and naturally

Heart disease kills more people than almost any other disease, and high cholesterol is the main culprit. In this article, you'll learn how to lower your cholesterol levels fast

Here is a brief summary:

1. LDL cholesterol is the "bad" cholesterol, as it is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, while HDL cholesterol is considered the "good" cholesterol, as it is associated with a lower risk of heart disease.
2. Despite everything else you may have heard, scientific research shows that one of the best ways to reduce your risk of dying from a heart attack is to lower your LDL cholesterol levels.
3. The four best things you can do to lower your total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels are:

a. Exercise
b. Quit smoking
c. Lose weight
d. Eat a healthy diet

Are your cholesterol levels higher than you would like?

Maybe they're at the upper end of the normal range, maybe they're already flirting with the dangerous range, or maybe they're already off the charts. The bottom line is that they are high enough that your doctor is starting to worry. Maybe your doctor has even said that if you don't get your cholesterol levels under control quickly, you'd be better off taking statins.

You decide to Google for a second opinion, but after a few minutes of searching the internet, you're more confused than ever.

Most people will give you the traditional advice: stop eating butter, cheese, bacon, eggs and anything high in saturated fat or cholesterol and start sticking to a diet rich in healthy olive oil, whole grains and seafood.

Some will take this even further and say that any cholesterol you eat puts you one step closer to your next heart attack. They say that the only way to keep your heart beating is to follow a cholesterol-free, vegan diet.

Dig a little deeper and you'll find the most surprising opinion of all.

Another group says the whole cholesterol hoax is a myth. High cholesterol is not bad for you, there is no such thing as "bad" cholesterol and trying to lower cholesterol levels by avoiding certain foods or taking medication will do more harm than good.

Some take this even further and say that statins are just an excuse for doctors to line their pockets and make the pharmaceutical giants even richer. Instead, they blame poor food choices, lack of exercise, smoking and genetics for heart attacks. They claim that the solution is to cut out foods like gluten, sugar and dairy and use the right supplements micronutrients and plants to keep your heart healthy.

So who is right?

Well, to make a long story short: If you have high cholesterol, one of the best ways to reduce your risk for heart disease is to lower your cholesterol levels. Losing weight is one of the most effective ways to lower cholesterol levels, but your activity levels, lifestyle and other choices will also make a difference.

By the end of this article you will know the following:

• What cholesterol is
• What the difference is between "good" and "bad" cholesterol
• How cholesterol affects your risk of heart disease
• When and why you should lower your cholesterol levels
• Whether or not you should follow a low cholesterol diet
• Whether you should avoid high cholesterol foods
• How to lower your cholesterol levels quickly, safely and naturally

. . . and more.

Let's get started.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a pale, waxy compound also known as a sterol and is a type of modified steroid that is chemically similar to fat. Cholesterol is found in all cells of the body and is used to make hormones, vitamin D and chemicals needed for digestion.

Cholesterol is often confused with triglycerides, which are another type of fat that come in liquid (unsaturated fats) or solid (saturated fats) form. Triglycerides can help you absorb vitamins, support the production of various hormones, keep your skin and hair healthy, provide your cells with energy and much more.

Cholesterol and triglycerides are not harmful on their own. The reason they are considered problematic when it comes to heart health has to do with how they are transported in the body.

Since both compounds are fats, neither cholesterol nor triglycerides are water soluble. This means that they cannot float on their own in the blood, which is largely made up of water. Instead, they have to combine with other molecules in order to be transported through the body via the bloodstream.

This is why the body combines cholesterol and triglycerides with protein to form lipoproteins. These molecules act like cabs that transport fat and cholesterol to the cells. So when people talk about cholesterol, they really mean lipoproteins, which contain a combination of cholesterol and triglycerides.

Let's take a closer look at how these lipoproteins affect your body.

The 5 types of cholesterol

There are 5 main types of cholesterol-containing lipoproteins in the body:

1. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)
2. High-density lipoprotein (HDL)
3. Very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)
4. Intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL)
5. Chylomicrons

The reason that most of these lipoproteins are named after their density is that this is a good indicator of what they are made of.

Lipoproteins with a higher density tend to contain more protein than cholesterol and triglycerides, while lipoproteins with a lower density tend to contain more cholesterol and triglycerides and less protein.

Let's take a closer look at each of these lipoproteins.

1. low-density lipoproteins (LDL)

Low-density lipoproteins contain a greater amount of fat than protein, which gives them a lower density (fat is lighter and more elastic than protein). The main function of LDL cholesterol is to transport cholesterol to cells throughout the body.

When people talk about "bad" cholesterol, they are referring to LDL cholesterol. High LDL cholesterol levels are associated with heart disease (2), which is why most discussions about cholesterol center around lowering LDL cholesterol levels.

And you're about to learn that this isn't the whole story.

2. high-density lipoproteins (HDL)

High-density lipoproteins contain a larger amount of protein than fat, which gives them a higher density (3). The main role of HDL cholesterol is to remove cholesterol from the body and transport it both to the cells that need cholesterol and to the liver for processing.

HDL cholesterol is often referred to as good cholesterol. High HDL cholesterol levels are not associated with heart disease in the same way as high LDL cholesterol levels (2) and higher HDL cholesterol levels are even generally considered to be protective against heart disease (4).

However, this is not entirely true and we will discuss this in more detail in a moment.

3 Very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL)

Very low-density lipoproteins have a higher proportion of triglycerides than cholesterol, which gives them a lower density than other types of cholesterol. The main function of VLDL cholesterol is to transport triglycerides from the liver to fat cells for storage or to other cells for energy production.

After it transports triglycerides to fat cells, VLDL cholesterol becomes LDL cholesterol. VLDL is generally considered another form of "bad" cholesterol, but LDL levels are a better predictor of heart disease risk, which is why VLDL levels are generally not measured.

4 Intermediate Density Lipoproteins (IDL)

Intermediate density lipoproteins have a similar proportion of triglycerides and cholesterol as LDL cholesterol. The difference, however, is that they have a slightly lower density than LDL cholesterol but a higher density than VLDL cholesterol. The main function of IDL cholesterol is to transport triglycerides from the liver to the fat cells for storage.

IDL cholesterol is considered a form of "bad" cholesterol as it is associated with a higher risk of heart disease (6). However, again, LDL cholesterol levels are a better predictor of heart disease risk (7), which means that IDL cholesterol levels are not usually measured.

5 Chylomicrons

Chylomicrons are composed almost entirely of triglycerides and contain only a small amount of cholesterol and protein. They are also known as ultra-low-density lipoproteins. The main function of chylomicrons is to transport dietary fats from the digestive tract to other cells in the body.

Chylomicrons are not a primary predictor of heart disease and the amount of chylomicrons in your body depends on the size and composition of your meals.

What are healthy cholesterol levels?

When your doctor performs a blood test, you will usually get four readings that are of interest for our considerations:

1. Your total cholesterol (an estimate of your total HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides)
2. Your LDL cholesterol
3. Your HDL cholesterol
4. Your triglycerides

Sometimes your doctor will also look at your non-HDL cholesterol, which includes LDL, VLDL and IDL.

Try using the internet to find out what healthy values are for these tests and you'll be more confused than before after just a few minutes. This is because these values are based on massive, complex studies (8, 9) and statistical calculations (10) that can vary widely based on a long list of factors. These factors include, but are not limited to ...

• Your age
• Your gender
• Your history of heart disease
• Your weight and body composition
• Whether you have ever smoked or still smoke
• Your current medication

And much more...

For example, if you are a young, non-smoking woman with no history of heart disease and a healthy body composition, then a healthy LDL cholesterol level for her could be very different from that of an old overweight man who has been smoking since the Flintstones first came on TV.

To make matters worse, scientists are constantly updating this range based on the results of the latest research. Sifting through all of this and figuring out where your mirrors should be would require a conversation with your doctor.

However, you can get a general idea of your heart health by looking at the accepted ranges for these levels that have been published over the last few years.

You should be aware that these values are only an estimate of your risk and not a direct measure of the health of your heart and blood vessels. It is possible to develop heart disease with low cholesterol levels and it is also possible not to suffer from heart disease despite high cholesterol levels.

For this reason, it is generally more accurate to think of these ranges as low, medium and high risk ranges rather than 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' ranges.

Finally, you can't look at any of these values in isolation. For example, if you have a high HDL cholesterol level, this would generally mean that you are at lower risk of heart disease, but if you also have a high LDL cholesterol level, you could still be at high overall risk.

With that out of the way, let's look at the actual values.

What is a good total cholesterol level?

The following table shows what good total cholesterol levels are for most people. These levels are expressed in milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dl) or millimoles per liter (mmol/L).

Classification	Total cholesterol (mg/dL)	Total cholesterol (mmol/L)
Low risk	< 200	< 5,2
Medium risk	200 to 239	5.2 to 6.2
High risk	> 240	> 6,2

What are good LDL cholesterol levels?

The following table shows what good LDL cholesterol levels are for most people based on their current health and history of heart disease. These levels are expressed in milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dl) and millimoles per liter (mmol/L), respectively.

Classification	LDL cholesterol (mg/dL)	LDL cholesterol (mmol/L)
Low risk for people with heart disease and/or diabetes	< 70	< 1,8
Low risk for people at increased risk of heart disease	< 100	< 2,6
Low risk for people without heart disease. High risk for people with heart disease	100 to 129	2.6 to 3.3
Medium risk for people without heart disease. High risk for people with heart disease	130 to 159	3.4 to 4.1
High risk for people without heart disease. Very high risk for people with heart disease	160 to 189	4.1 to 4.9
Very high risk for people with and without heart disease	> 190	> 4,9

What are good HDL cholesterol levels?

The following table shows what good HDL cholesterol levels are for most people. These levels are expressed in milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dl) or millimoles per liter (mmol/L).

Classification	HDL cholesterol (mg/dL)	HDL cholesterol (mmol/L)
Low risk	> 60	> 1,5
Medium risk	40 to 59	1 to 1.5
High risk	< 40	< 1

What are good triglyceride levels?

The following table shows what good triglyceride levels are for most people. These levels are expressed in milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dl) or millimoles per liter (mmol/L).

Classification	Triglycerides (mg/dL)	Triglycerides (mmol/L)
Low risk	< 150	< 1,7
Medium risk	150 to 199	1.7 to 2.2
High risk	200 to 499	2.3 to 5.6
Very high risk	> 500	> 5,6

In the second part of this article, I will go into more detail about how cholesterol can increase the risk of heart disease and what you can do to lower your cholesterol levels.

Source: https://www.muscleforlife.com/how-to-lower-cholesterol/

By Armistead Legge