Do these practical things to lower your cholesterol
High cholesterol levels are lowered by changes in dietary or food intake, exercise and with drugs. There is much more advantage in changing your diet and exercising as a means to lower cholesterol than depending on drugs all the time.
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Some people take drugs, gets the cholesterol levels lowered and after a few weeks the levels increase again. They then have to take the drugs again.
Also the cholesterol lowering drug does a lot more than just lowering the cholesterol especially for people who have a high risk of getting stroke. For example, diabetes patients.
Those who are able to work hard to change their diet completely are able to lower and maintain normal cholesterol levels for life. The difficult part is the ability to remain on a healthy eating diet plan for a long period.
The choice is often yours to make; to eat well to keep the cholesterol down always or to eat any-how to allow the levels go up at will, and then reach for the drugs again.
In deciding on what to do, always think of the potential effects of these drugs on overall health and wellness; some of these drugs even cause diabetes. Think also of the potential harmful effect of cholesterol on your health and wellness - stroke, heart disease, among others.
Some people also take the drugs as and when they feel like taking them. This is not a good practice. They are supposed to be taken daily for a stipulated period. Your doctor will definitely specify the duration.
Please adhere religiously. If you are going to make any changes, do so in consultation with your doctor.
Exercise is key
Get some exercise throughout the week. Walking briskly 30 minutes three times to five times a week will help lower your cholesterol levels. Exercise helps increase good cholesterol (HDL) levels; a protector for your heart.
Seize little opportunities that come your way daily to exercise, for example; when going into a storey building, choose to climb the staircase rather than riding in the lift.
Set time aside your busy schedule and do some exercise every day. Just don’t be too busy and refuse to exercise.
Choose food right
Do not eat fatty meat. It is best to grill or smoke your meat to remove all fat from them before using it for stew or soup. Do not even fry that meat at all.
Reduce amounts of fried foods that you take. Boil, grill and roast much more. Just do not fry.
Eat early in the morning if you wake up. The food should be taken before work starts. If you zoom into the day’s activities without food, you force your body to feed itself the energy it needs to move. The end result is high cholesterol.
During the day, make it a point to respect good meal times. Eat lunch and eat supper early enough. Those who eat a good times tend to have good cholesterol levels. The food should however be healthy.
Cook healthy meals and send them along to your workplaces to eat as lunch and even supper. This will help you avoid buying food. Most of what you find at food joints will give you high blood cholesterol. So be careful.
To be continued.
The writer is a dietician at Trust Hospital and author of “Diet, Health & Wellness Book" and. “Answers for your diet”.
For copies, Contact: Tel- 0244090262, Email- [email protected], Whatsapp: 0244090262.
