Reducing your cholesterol that natural way is easy when you understand the factors that influence it.  Cholesterol is essentially the amount of fat that is in your blood stream.  Your body makes around 1000 milligrams of cholesterol every day.  What you eat each day will contribute to anything above that amount.   Depending on what you eat, it can either positively or negatively influence your cholesterol levels. Food creates two types of cholesterol and they both behave differently in the body.

LDL is referred to as the bad cholesterol.  Your LDL cholesterol increases when you include meat and animal products into your diet such as cheese, dairy, ice cream and eggs.  This will add extra fats to your blood and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.  Pork and Parmesan cheese will dramatically increase your LDL (bad cholesterol).  These are some of the worst offenders. Having your cholesterol checked will give you a starting place to ensure you are making good decisions for you diet and health.  LDL results below 2 are considered excellent.

HDL is referred to as the good cholesterol.  It actually helps to remove the LDL (bad cholesterol) from the bloodstream.  As a result, it protects the circulatory system from damage.  Foods full of healthy HDL include leafy greens, fruits, green smoothies, vegetables, grapefruit, walnuts, almonds, salmon etc.  Make sure you are eating plenty of these.  HDL results above 2 are considered excellent.  An overall cholesterol reading of around 4 is fantastic. 

If you are not familiar with these numbers, please go and have your cholesterol checked and get to know what they mean for your health.  While you are visiting your doctor, ask them to also check your blood pressure as well.  Blood pressure and cholesterol work together and can maintain your health or put you at risk of serious health issues.

“The great new is that you can control your

cholesterol through diet and exercise.”

You can increase your HDL cholesterol and lower your LDL cholesterol by following these three simple steps. 

 1.  Reduce or eliminate meat and animal products from your diet. 

  2.  Choose a Mediterranean style diet with lots of leafy greens, fruits, green smoothies, vegetables, grapefruit, walnuts, almonds, salmon, sardines, tuna, garlic, olive oil, legumes, chickpeas, beans, peas, kidney beans, apples, pears, barely and prunes.

3.  Maintain a healthy body weight for your height.  Exercise for 30 minutes to 1 hour, every day.

You will receive all the protein and carbohydrates you need from following a Mediterranean style diet.  Removing meat and animal products from your diet will not leave you low in iron, provided you are eating plenty of leafy greens.  They are an incredible source of iron and also help to cleanse the blood.  Green smoothies are definitely the easiest and most delicious way to make sure you are getting enough daily greens.  Make sure you rotate your greens for a variety of nutrients, vitamins and minerals.

A healthy body weight is essential to maintaining good cholesterol levels.  If you are overweight, there is excess of fat in your bloodstream, which is toxic to your organs.  It is really important in this circumstance to reduce excess body weight through diet and exercise.  Exercise is the foundation for creating long term health. Further to this, it will help to oxygenate your blood, which is fantastic for good health, fitness and stamina.

These three simple steps will make all the difference for maintaining your healthy cholesterol levels.