How to lower LDL cholesterol fast?
I just got my blood work back and my LDL is 154 and my HDL is 28. That is scary. My cardiologist said to do low fat AND low carb, and diagnosed me with metabolic syndrome. I am 50 pounds overweight and he wants me to lose weight before trying any medication. So I am thinking South Beach diet would be a good choice. But then vegans seem to lower it quickly too?
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
You don't want to lower total cholesterol. You want to raise HDL. In fact, it's the total cholesterol to HDL ratio you want to lower. Mathematically you could try to lower cholesterol, but biologically that's bad.
Cholesterol isn't the bad guy in the body. In fact cholesterol is used for the growth and repair of every cell in the body. It's absolutely essential. And your body produces most of its own cholesterol.
When you have inflammation in the arteries your body produces LDL cholesterol to perform repairs. The LDL acts somewhat like band-aids over the inflammation. When the repair is completed it's the HDL that comes along to remove the "used" LDL. That's the proper function. But when you don't have enough HDL the LDL can't be removed so you end up with plaques - or Heart Disease.
Now the problem with reducing LDL should now be clear. Your body produces LDL when it has inflammation. So if you try to reduce LDL you are fighting your body's normal repair functions and so you prevent the repairs from taking place. That's bad.
Increasing HDL is the only healthy answer.
And guess what? After all these years of telling us that fat and cholesterol is bad, it's the saturated fat that helps to raise HDL cholesterol and that protects us from Heart Disease!
This is one of the reasons I enjoy bacon and eggs for breakfast every morning. Well, this morning I had a pork chop & eggs fried in a good dollop of duck fat. And my latest lipid blood-work results were fantastic!
The cause of the inflammation is carbs - sugars and starches. Avoid them. Try a paleo or low carb diet to fix your issues.
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It is always safe to follow the natural ways to lower your cholestrol rather than using the drugs Fitting in the recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables (2 of one group and 3 of the other) helps take the place of some of the more processed snacks. Fruits and vegetables are mostly fat free. Maintain a diet that is made of 2/3 of vegetables and fruits and 1/3 of other foods. Latest research suggest that cholesterol lowering foods such as avocados, almonds, olive oil, soy beans, garlic, shiitake mushrooms, chili peppers, oat bran, beans (kidney, pintos, black, navy, etc.), onions, fatty fish, and flax seed play a crucial role in lowering LDL and sometimes raising HDL levels. Ingredients in cigarette smoke are extremely oxidizing. High cholesterol is particularly dangerous when it is oxidized. Smokers have much higher need for antioxidants. The B Complex vitamins, including 2 forms of vitamin B3 (nicotinic acid and nicotinamide), can reduce nicotine cravings. Everyone knows that the keys to good cardiovascular health are exercise and maintaining your ideal weight. Just a few minutes per day can increase your level of high-density lipoproteins (HDL or "good" cholesterol). Just 10 minutes of exercise first thing in the morning can increase your metabolic rate for the rest of the day. Consumption of water so that you are fully hydrated can increase your metabolic rate 24 hours per day.