Lowering Cholesterol Naturally Is The Safe Way

Lowering cholesterol naturally is becoming an increasingly popular alte ative to prescription drugs and their unwanted side effects. Lowering cholesterol naturally is possible with the right combination of diet, exercise, and attitude. For those with existing heart disease, the benefits of lowering cholesterol is a 30 percent reduction in total mortality, a 34 percent reduction in fatal and non-fatal heart attacks and a 37 percent reduction in the need for bypass surgery. The human body produces oils and other substances that circulate in the bloodstream. An example is insulin, which is secreted from the pancreas in response to the increase in the amount of sugar coming from the food that the person eats. The cells then absorb this, which gives the individual calories that are used as energy. Another substance that the body produces naturally is cholesterol. This is also ingested in the food people eat. There are two types of cholesterol namely LDL and HDL. LDL is better known as bad cholesterol. The reason why it is bad is because too much of this in the system may put the person at risk of suffering from either a heart attack or a stroke. HDL in simple terms is good cholesterol because its job is to regulate the flow the bad one so this can be filtered out of the person's system. There must be a balanced between the two so the individual is healthy. Whenever people get a blood test, the patient will see a breakdown of the LDL and HDL in the system. Though not that significant as the first two, doctors pay attention to two other figures namely the total cholesterol and the triglyceride level. In order to be given a clean bill of health, the patient must stay within a certain range. Those who have less tha 200mg/dl in total cholesterol are safe. The same goes for someone who has less tha 150mg/dl in the triglycerides. So what happens if the person goes beyond the limit? In simple terms, the individual is at risk of developing high blood pressure or a heart disease. The good news is that the person can still prevent such a thing from happening. There are three simple ways to do it and this must be done gradually before something bad really happens to the individual. The first is to change the diet. This means eating less of those that are high in saturated fats such as red meat and dairy products. This should be changed for fish, fruits, nuts, oatmeal and vegetables. Studies have shown that those who eat oatmeal regularly are able to reduce the LDL and trigylecerides level in just 2 weeks. Imagine what could happen if this is done even after just a month? The second is exercise. The body has stored fat after how many years of not engaging in any physical activity. Changing the eating habits can only go so far and sweating it out will increase the metabolic rate thus helping reduce the patient's cholesterol levels. The third, which doesn't happen often, is for the individual to take supplements to aid in the reduction of cholesterol. Examples of these are bible acid resins, ezetimibe, fibric acid, niacin and statins. These are available in different brands and studies have proven natural cholesterol supplements can lower the cholesterol from 15% to 30% when this is taken in regularly. Should exercise and dieting not work, the patient must remember that the intake of these drugs has certain side effects. The doctor should explain this before even prescribing this so the individual can choose from the wide range of drugs that can be used to lower one's cholesterol. Prevention is the best way to combat any disease. A regular checkup at the doctor's office will surely save money instead of being confined in the hospital.