Lowering cholesterol may seem like a daunting task to those who struggle with it on a daily basis. Low fat diets, high starches, more exercise...vegetables? There's no reason why it shouldn't feel so pressuring. The thing is, though, it's important, so you can't just give up on yourself. A huge part of your every day life is based on cholesterol, and keeping it at a healthy level consistently through a young age will certainly help you keep it secure as you grow older. The trick is that you can't think of this as a temporary diet or some sort of quick fix. The best and healthiest way to level out your cholesterol is to make significant changes to your every day life, and sticking to them.

A proper diet is the first thing that should be adopted in your new lifestyle. If you have high cholesterol, avoid excessive amounts of high cholesterol foods such as animal meats and dairy products. It is also important to avoid foods that are high in saturated fat, such as butter and cookies. Luckily, this isn't a diet where you completely omit all of these foods, because they aren't all bad for you, meats and dairy certainly have their benefits. What needs to be taken in to account, though, is the amount you take in, and how you could regulate that amount. Sometimes, finding substitutes or making small changes in how you even cook the food can help. For example, bake and broil your meat instead of frying it. Use non-stick spray instead of butter, and eat fat-free yogurt instead of regular yogurt.

Once you have mastered the art of a low cholesterol diet, you should turn your focus to increasing your physical activity. Whether you are overweight or not, physical activity will boost your body's production of HDL (good) cholesterol, while at the same time lowering your LDL (bad) cholesterol through burning fat. This is, in the truest form, killing two birds with one stone. Exercise routines aren't easy to get in to, though, especially for people that already have a busy schedule. Again, the best idea is to start off small. Waking up 20 minutes earlier will give you some time for a routine push-up/sit-up work out. While this isn't all that you'll need, it is certainly a start to go with your new healthy breakfast of egg whites (yolks are very high in cholesterol) and say, a bagel instead of that Boston cream donut. As you become used to this scheduled workout session, it is time to set more time aside. Even walking two miles (instead of running, if you can't) a day will put you in to a significantly better position. If you are overweight, slightly or otherwise, more exercise is recommended to not only speed the process, but also to quickly lower your LDL cholesterol levels.

Finally, try having a glass of wine with dinner every night. This seems absurd, but alcohol (1-2 drinks daily) can actually raise your HDL cholesterol. You have to be careful though, because too much alcohol can also raise LDL cholesterol.



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