How long does it take to reduce your cholesterol

Healthy Thinking,

If you have been told that you have high cholesterol, it’s time to do something about it. High cholesterol puts you at serious risk of heart attacks, stroke, and other dangerous cardiovascular events.

Fortunately, you can reduce your cholesterol relatively quickly and easily if you follow these five steps.

How to Lower Cholesterol – Tips from South Denver Cardiology Associates

Switch to a Mediterranean Diet

There are actually many dietary guidelines that you can follow to improve your cholesterol (for example, see our 10 Simple Steps to Lower Your Cholesterol), but if you’re looking for the easiest way to do it, you can’t beat the Mediterranean diet. High in fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts, fish, and olive oil, but low in red meat, this diet encapsulates many of the common dietary suggestions you’ll encounter.

Not only that, but Mediterranean diet recipes are easy and can use produce from your garden. Take advantage of our extended summer and use up some of the excess produce that’s still on the vine.

Increase Exercise

Increasing your exercise will do wonders for your cholesterol. If you haven’t been very active before, it’s a good idea to talk to your cardiologist before starting an exercise program. Even better, you can Walk with a Doc to enjoy a healthy social activity.

Ideally, you want to work up to 30 minutes of exercise five days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise three days a week.

Supplement Fiber

When you switch to a Mediterranean diet, you’re probably increasing your fiber consumption. However, it still might not be enough. Fiber is important because it can prevent fat and cholesterol from entering the bloodstream. In addition, it can encourage the liver to pull cholesterol from the blood.

Psyllium husk is a great choice for your fiber supplement. It’s commonly available in Metamucil and similar fiber supplements.

Lose Weight

And if you’re already switching to a Mediterranean diet and increasing your exercise, it’s not actually that hard to lose a significant amount of weight. Just keep eating reasonable portions and getting your daily exercise, and you should lose weight – unless you have other health problems you might want to talk to your doctor about.

Drink Alcohol in Moderation

Moderate alcohol consumption has been shown to increase your levels of good cholesterol, which, in turn, can reduce your levels of bad cholesterol.

The effects aren’t enough to encourage people to start drinking, but it does mean that perhaps it’s a good idea not to cut all alcohol from your diet just for the sake of reducing calories.

Let South Denver Cardiology Associates Help

If you are trying to improve your health by cutting down on your cholesterol, South Denver Cardiology Associates offers many programs that might be useful. This includes our gym and various exercise classes.

We can also help you assess the seriousness of your heart problems with extensive diagnostic testing options. For example, we offer a heart scan that looks at the calcification of your heart arteries. This can help you understand your heart risks in the near term.

To learn more about the benefits of working with South Denver Cardiology, please call 303-744-1065 or use our online form to schedule an appointment today.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Sign Up

As with any health concerns, your specific treatment program should be discussed thoroughly with your primary care physician as well as any specialists who may need to be consulted – like a cardiologist.

What is the fastest way to reduce cholesterol?

How to lower cholesterol naturally in thirty days?

What foods lower cholesterol immediately?

How quickly can you reduce your cholesterol levels?

How long does it take to flush cholesterol out of your system?

How can I lower my cholesterol in 30 days?

What is the fastest way to reduce high cholesterol?