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For some, even maintaining cholesterol at the right levels and being fit and thin will still not prevent the development of high levels of bad cholesterol. Due to heart risk factors besides diet, some people require a very aggressive approach which includes cholesterol lowing medication. We will address this issue as we progress in 30 days to lowering cholesterol.
Lifestyle issues and high cholesterol:
When we opt for convenience in eating over nutrition, we are setting ourselves up for problems. Eating fast foods and convenience foods results in eating too many fats and salts, which can raise our bad cholesterol levels. In addition, a more sedentary lifestyle also contributes to unhealthy levels of cholesterol. If you want to see a graphic representation of this, consider renting the documentary movie Supersize Me. This documentary details the attempts of one man to live on fast foods and little exercise alone. The results on his cholesterol and body health in just 30 days are truly frightening.
A visit to a nutritionist or dietician can help us all better understand eating for the right reasons and for optimal health. It is never too late to start on this path.
Regular exercise will effectively lower cholesterol and will maintain your body strength to function best. Just 20 minutes of aerobic exercise, including walking, each day will lower cholesterol. Exercise does not have to be a large time or money commitment. Simple activities that get you moving and that you enjoy enough to repeat are almost always adequate.
Diet:
Fats & Cholesterol
For years we heard that a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet would keep us healthy and help us lose weight. And many of us jumped on the bandwagon, eliminating fat and high-cholesterol foods from our diets.
Well, unfortunately, we were doing it all wrong.
Instead of eliminating fat completely, we should have been eliminating the bad fats,the fats associated with obesity and heart disease and eating the good fats, the fats that actually help improve blood cholesterol levels. Before we examine the good fats and bad fats, lets talk about cholesterol.
Cholesterol - Its been ingrained into our ..
An important consideration in eating is choosing lower fat.
Buy cooking oils that are unsaturated. Use low fat cooking sprays to replace heavy oils whenever possible. Reduce your overall use of oils even further by using cooking techniques that require little or no oil.
Age and Gender:
Cholesterol levels increase with age. Women generally have a lower level than men from age 50 to 55. Once a woman starts menopause, the cholesterol level starts to increase.
While there is not much that you can do about your age, you can make sure that age does not threaten your heart health by sticking to a healthy lifestyle and diet and by getting your cholesterol levels monitored.
Heritage:
Genetics play a key role in a person's health and this includes the amount of cholesterol you might have.
What Increases And Decreases Good & Bad Cholesterol?Factors leading to and Increase in Cholesterol
Poor eating habits
Diet that is high in saturated fat tends to elevate cholesterol. Saturated fats are found mostly in foods that come from animals. Saturated fat raises you LDL (bad) cholesterol level more that anything else in the diet. Eating too much saturated fat is the main reason for high levels of cholesterol and high rate of heart attacks.
Smoking
Cigarette smoking lowers HDL (good) cholesterol levels and is one of the six major risk factors of heart disease. It also increases the tendency for blood to clot. Once a person quits sm ..
Find out if your family battles with high levels of cholesterol and then bring this to your doctors attention right away. If you have a family history of heart disease and high cholesterol levels, work harder and start earlier in adopting a healthy lifestyle and eating plan.
About the author:
Jim has been interested in health factors for most of his life. Most of his knowledge is from investigating the many faucets for a healthy being. You can learn more of his research on low carb dieting by visiting:
http://www.low-carb-dieting-secrets.com
jim ellisonFour Main Factors Causing High Cholesterol
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