You Have High Cholesterol – Now What?

You’ve just come back from a check-up with your doctor, and you found out that you have high cholesterol levels. You know that high cholesterol can lead to dangerous health problems, including heart disease and strokes. You want to do something about it and avoid those bad health problems. What do you do?

First, remember that your doctor is there for a reason. Articles like this are great guidelines and sources of general advice, but discuss any lifestyle changes with your doctor first. It is important that you make these changes properly, so as not to cause other health problems. Proper planning starts there.

But there are some general guidelines that you can expect to have to follow when you are dealing with high cholesterol levels in your body. Many, if not most, people with high cholesterol levels can deal with it without the need for medication. This is great news, as it not only saves you the cost of filling prescriptions regularly, but it also promotes a much healthier lifestyle.

The first way to fight high cholesterol is your diet. Fat and cholesterol comes from a variety of unhealthy foods, and you need to limit your intake of them – no matter how great they taste! Meats and dairy products are prime suspects. Start eating lean cuts of meat with fat trimmed off, or increase your intake of fish and chicken. Avoid fried foods and commercially prepared and processed foods, such as cakes and cookies. Your intake of fruits, vegetables, breads, and cereals should all be increased. Make sure that you drop down to skim milk, or at least 1%. Limit your intake of egg yolks. Make sure the cooking oils you use are high in unsaturated fat, such as corn, olive, and canola oils. Switch from butter to soft margarine, which has less saturated fat.

The next way is weight loss, but do so gradually. Sudden weight loss can cause a host of other health problems. A simple drop in 5-10 pounds can drastically reduce your LDL levels.

Finally, regular exercise is crucial in fighting high cholesterol. Take a brisk 30-minute walk 3-4 times per week. This can drastically impact cholesterol levels and boost your health. Make sure, however, that you discuss any exercise programs with your doctor first. Get a physician’s approval before beginning.

Sometimes, however, medication can be prescribed to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels. HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, or statins, can reduce LDL cholesterol levels by 20%-40%, or more. Statins are taken once or twice a day, and usually can be well tolerated with few side effects. The body normally produces cholesterol at night, so statins are usually taken after dinner or during the evening hours. If taking a higher dose, you may take one in the morning and one in the evening.

There are other medications that can be combined with statins for very high cholesterol levels. Discuss these with your physician and determine your prescription needs, as any prescription may come with some side effects that you need to be aware of.

If you haven’t been diagnosed with high cholesterol, it is still important to follow the non-medication lifestyle changes as a preventative measure. A healthy lifestyle can fight off high cholesterol in nearly everyone.