How to Reduce Bad or Unhealthy Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a soft wax-like substance in the blood stream. Too much of it can cause it to stick to the artery walls, as cholesterol plaque. There is good and bad cholesterol, but even too much good cholesterol can put you at risk for heart disease. Good cholesterol is high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which helps protect against heart attacks. Bad cholesterol is low-density lipoprotein, which is the type that forms into plaque.

Instructions

• 1

  Eat plant-based foods such as vegetables, fruit, grains, nuts and seeds. These contain no cholesterol.

• 2

  Choose complex carbohydrates (i.e. wheat bread and pasta).

• 3

  Limit total daily fat to 25 to 35 percent of the calories you consume. Try to take in as little saturated fat as possible and replace what you can with unsaturated fat.

• 4

  Eat less than 200 miligrams of dietary cholesterol per day.

• 5

  Become more physically active.

• 6

  Maintain a desirable weight. People who are overweight tend to have higher cholesterol levels.

• 7

  Eat more oatmeal and bran. They contain soluble fiber, which can reduce bad cholesterol (i.e. apples, pears, kidney beans).

• 8

  Add omega-3 to your diet in foods such as fatty fish (i.e. salmon). Omega-3 is heart healthy all around. If you don't like fish you can substitute it for fish oil supplements.