Lower your cholesterol

More than 98 million adults in the United States struggle with high cholesterol. The foods we eat, our exercise habits, or body types and even our family histories can contribute to the buildup of cholesterol in our arteries – and that can lead to heart disease. To lower your cholesterol, doctors recommend a mix of dieting and exercise and sometimes the use of medications, herbal treatments or other types of natural and alternative therapies. Clinical researchers are constantly finding new ways to treat high cholesterol.

High cholesterol: society's problem

High cholesterol is a huge problem mainly because of the way Americans live their lives. Work takes up a large portion of the day, and more and more people are using the Internet, video games and social networking sites to fill their free time. All the while, the United States is still a nation that leans heavily on fast and processed foods. We claim we lack the time required to cook, and as more time passes, people grow to lack the knowledge to prepare healthy foods as well. Plus, there's a widely held -- and often accurate -- perception that healthy, organic food is more expensive than processed foods. Is it surprising then that so many people have high cholesterol, given the widespread inactivity and poor dieting habits of Americans?

The best way to prevent high cholesterol is to live healthy lives complete with whole foods and physical activity. Living a healthy life immediately removes you from many of the risk factors associated with high cholesterol. This condition is treatable with the right combination of dieting, exercise and medication, but it’s a condition that never needs to happen in the first place.

High cholesterol screening tests

There are various risk factors that may indicate whether you should worry about having high cholesterol. However, the condition has no symptoms. The only way to know for certain whether you have high cholesterol is to receive a screening test from your doctor. A simple blood test is all that’s needed to determine the levels of good and bad cholesterol in your body. Adults should be tested once every five years, though adults younger than 20 generally don’t need to worry about having cholesterol problems. The age demographics most at risk include men 45 and older and women 55 and older.

Many people are reluctant to be screened for high cholesterol because they're afraid of what they may find. High cholesterol is a leading contributor to various forms of heart disease, and learning that you have high cholesterol can be scary. However, as we'll discuss below, high cholesterol is a serious but treatable condition with the right combination of medication, dietary changes and other lifestyle changes. Proper treatment cannot be administered until you know for certain whether you have a problem with high cholesterol.

Also, don't refuse to get a cholesterol test just because you think you're healthy. It doesn't matter how thin you are, or how big your muscles might be. Even people who seem to be in prime physical shape can have dangerous amounts of cholesterol buildup in their veins. Cholesterol is sometimes referred to as a silent killer, because there are no outward symptoms for someone who has high cholesterol. If you have a lifelong history of eating poorly or not exercising, then you may be at risk of having high cholesterol no matter how good you look in the mirror.

Treating high cholesterol

Medication, natural remedies, dieting and exercise are all used in the treatment of high cholesterol. Healthy dieting is the best way to curb your cholesterol levels, as eating foods high in saturated fats causes your body to produce an increased amount of low-density lipoproteins – the so-called “bad” cholesterol. Removing those foods from your diet will help stabilize the natural production of good and bad cholesterol in your body. In addition, numerous food items have special properties that can help lower your cholesterol and break down buildup in your arteries. Fish, walnuts, avocados and oatmeal are among the foods that are recommended by doctors and dietitians.

Establishing regular exercise habits can also strengthen your cardiovascular system and break down the buildup of cholesterol. Being overweight is a large risk factor for high cholesterol, and exercise promotes weight loss and healthy weight maintenance. Cardiovascular exercise also strengthens your heart, which can help prevent heart disease. When you go from leading a sedate life to integrating exercise into your daily grind, your body begins breaking down foods and burning calories at a much higher rate. These around-the-clock improvements will help you maintain more normal cholesterol levels while also protecting you from various other health problems.

Medications are also used in the treatment of high cholesterol. Oftentimes, medications are used as a last resort after dieting and exercise haven’t produced the desired results. Some medications prevent cholesterol from being absorbed into your digestive system, while others curb the production of bad cholesterol from your liver. Other medications break down cholesterol that has built up in the arteries. Unlike dieting, medications can cause mild or serious side effects. However, when dieting fails, these drugs have shown to be successful in helping people achieve safe cholesterol levels.