Healthy Heart Tips
Small lifestyle choices can make a big difference
According to the American Heart Association, nearly 105 million Americans age 20 and older have total cholesterol levels of 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) or higher, many of them women, putting many at greater risk for heart disease and stroke.
While there are some cholesterol-boosting factors you have no control over - such as age, gender and heredity - there are lifestyle choices you can make to improve your cholesterol levels and potentially lower your risk of heart disease or stroke as a result.
"I tell my patients with high cholesterol to try, as best they can, to become slender, exercising vegetarians," says Scott Baron, MD, a Mercy-affiliated cardiologist. "If they wanted to be their best friend in life, they would do that."
While that may be a difficult pill to swallow for many people, there are a few relatively painless ways to help get you closer to Dr. Baron's ideal patient profile - and lower your cholesterol in the process.
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Exercise more ~ "Physical exercise does play a modest role in raising HDL levels - by as much as 5%," Dr. Baron says. Exercise also helps you to lose weight and reduces your risk of heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer. Try to do 30 minutes of aerobic exercise (like brisk walking) each day. If you can't muster that right away, try exercising 20 to 30 minutes at least three times a week.
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Lose weight ~ Losing even 5 to 10 pounds can increase HDL levels and lower your total cholesterol.
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Cut back the fat ~ If vegetarianism doesn't appeal to you, remember that high-fat diets are notorious for causing cholesterol levels to rise. Eat more poultry and fish. If you must eat red meat, choose lean cuts, such as tenderloin, or top and bottom round. Remove all visible fat from meats before cooking and toss out the frying pan. Broil or bake instead. Drink nonfat or 1% milk.
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Take a vitamin E (400 IU) supplement daily ~ Studies suggest that this antioxidant may enable cells in your arteries to more easily absorb fatty acids and LDL.
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Use cooking oil sparingly ~ And, make sure it's the kind that's liquid at room temperature (such as canola, corn, soybean, sunflower or cottonseed oil).
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Eat more soluble fiber ~ Such as that found in fruit, beans, peas and other legumes and oats.
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Eat two to three servings (3 to 4 ounces) of baked or broiled fish per week ~ Darker-fleshed fish, such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, salmon and halibut have more omega-3 oils, which help lower blood triglycerides.
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Quit smoking ~ Smoking cigarettes may lower HDL (good) cholesterol by as much as 15%, according to the Mayo Clinic. By quitting, your HDL may return to its higher level.
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Cholesterol-lowering drugs? ~ If none of the above helps you succeed, or if you are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, you may want to discuss the possibility of taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, such as lovastatin or another "statin" drug that reduces LDL cholesterol and slightly increases HDL. "In general, the statin family of drugs has a proven track record of safety and effectiveness and has been shown to reduce not only the risk of heart artery problems, but lower overall mortality, as well," Dr. Baron says. "In most cases, they also have no side effects."
