lower your cholesterol

​High cholesterol is one of the most common chronic health problems that can lead to several MORE serious issues. There are several different medications that can be prescribed to help lower cholesterol and while these medications are important, it’s also important to change your lifestyle and prevent yourself from needing them in the first place.









Side effects of cholesterol lowering medications called Statins (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) include:

• Muscle soreness/wasting
• Impaired muscle growth
• Rhabdomyolysis (severe muscle damage that can harm your kidneys)
• Liver injury
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• GI upset, excessive gas
• Lower sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG)
• Lower testosterone

My point in sharing these side effects is to bring awareness to the potential harm caused by these medications. Yes- they save you from heart attacks, strokes and other vascular emergencies so usually benefit outweighs the risk of taking them BUT what if you could delay or prevent your cholesterol from being high enough to need cholesterol lowering medication?!
There are several things you can do to help lower your cholesterol:

1. Eat healthy fats. These healthy fats help your body clear out the inflammatory fats. Olive oil, nuts, nut butters, flaxseeds, fish, Omega supplements, avocado, chia seeds and dark chocolate are all examples of foods with healthy fats.
2. Avoid high sugar/high carbohydrate foods. Many think their hamburgers and fried chicken are the foods causing their high cholesterol. While these do contribute to high cholesterol sweet treats, baked goods and other high carbohydrate foods may be contributing just as much. The high carbohydrate/high sugar foods also contribute to insulin resistance and can further increase your risk for vascular disease.
3. Exercise! In about 3-6 months of consistent exercise you’ll see lowering in your bad cholesterol levels. You need 150 minutes of moderately intense exercise per week. Exercise also helps you control other things like insulin resistance (diabetes) and high blood pressure.
4. Eat fiber. Your body uses fiber to bind to unhealthy cholesterol and remove it from the body via your bowels. Without fiber, less cholesterol can be eliminated. Aim to get at least 25g of fiber per day.
5. Achieve and maintain a healthy weight. If you’re in the process of losing weight when you get your cholesterol rechecked, don’t be alarmed if your cholesterol is the same or slightly higher. This is a common finding and could be a result of your body using your fat stores for energy. This is a transient change and you’ll soon have a decrease in cholesterol. Losing 5-10% of your body weight can have a big impact on your cholesterol.

(If you have normal weight, making sure you’re not eating too many calories will help prevent your body from making fat to be stored and thereby decrease your cholesterol.)

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If you’re needing to reduce your cholesterol or risk for heart disease and stroke, pick one of the five listed ways to decrease your cholesterol and start implementing changes to make it part of your daily life. Make a SMART goal about the item you choose. For example- I will eat 25g of fiber a day by eating 5 servings of vegetables a day and using acacia fiber for the next two weeks.
Once you get one item down, move on to the next until you have all five of these as part of your lifestyle. You’re much more likely to succeed at lifestyle changes when you have someone holding you accountable and encouraging you along the way. Find a friend that wants to make the same changes or hire a health coach to exponentially improve your chances of making permanent changes to your lifestyle. 

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