What You Need to Know about Lowering Cholesterol without Medication

High cholesterol is something of a medical bogey-man. People are scared of it, without understanding what it is or why it isn’t as big a problem as they think.
There are two kinds of cholesterol – LDL and HDL. LDL is the bad cholesterol, the stuff you don’t want to have. HDL is the good cholesterol; in fact, many people don’t have enough HDL. It gets a bit more complicated than that – for instance LDL that is in small clumps is worse than LDL that is in large clumps, but doctors usually don’t test to determine how large the LDL is, so people just need to assume they have dangerous LDL.
The thing is, to a point, the dangers of cholesterol are blown out of proportion. While it is true that people with high cholesterol tend to have more heart problems; it is also true that almost 75% of people with high cholesterol can control it without medication, and without turning their lives upside-down.
There are three key things to lowering cholesterol levels – diet, physical activity and stress.
Diet – every time people hear the word ‘diet’ they think about denying themselves all the things they love. In this case, diet is less about restrictions, and more about changes. Simply put, where ever possible, replace foods that are high in animal fat, with foods that are either low in fat, or use fats from plants. Replace butter with vegetable oil, high marbled steaks with lean cuts, and whole milk with skim. There isn’t even a need to do without fried foods – just fry them at home in vegetable oil, and leave them in the oil just long enough to cook, not an instant longer.
Physical activity – nope, no one don’t needs to join a gym, start running marathons or turn into Mr. Fit. All that is needed to do is get the heart rate up. In fact, 5 minutes of activity twice a day has been shown to create a measurable improvement. One good trick – when watching TV, get up and jog in place during commercials. One hour of TV will equal about 15 minutes of physical activity. Other options are parking at the far end of the parking lot, using stairs instead of the elevator, and walking to the corner store.
Stress – no one can get rid of the stressors in their life – the things that cause stress. Finding a job, work trouble, school trouble, even family troubles are largely out of anyone’s control. However, stressors don’t need to cause stress. By learning new ways to react to and cope with stressors, it is possible to reduce stress. Yoga and meditation are popular ways to do this, but they aren’t the only options. People used to go out back and chop wood when they were angry or upset, and it worked. So does boxing, martial arts, and being able to throw things (basketball, anyone?). Basically, stress can be deflected through calming techniques, or channeled through physical activity. Either option will leave less stress, and in time, lower cholesterol.