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Most Effective Way to Lower LDL

Most people realize that their total blood cholesterol should be below the magic number of 200, but many fail to understand that blood cholesterol has two components. High-density lipoproteins (HDL) is the "good" cholesterol. Higher numbers are better. The "bad" cholesterol is low-density lipoproteins (LDL). Reducing your LDLs as part of a comprehensive health program is a wise idea. Fortunately, lowering LDLs is an easy task if you have the strength of will to do the work.

  1. Diet

    • The most significant way to lower LDLs without a prescription is to modify your diet. Cut out saturated fats and trans fats and eat a diet high in soluble fiber. Foods like oatmeal, oat bran, many nuts like walnuts, fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, olive oil and foods fortified with plant sterols, are all excellent sources of nutrition that will directly lower your LDLs.

    Exercise

    • Vigorous exercise of at least 30 minutes, three times per week, can affect a small but significant boost to your LDL levels. Exercise will have a negligible impact on LDLs, but it will boost HDLs, improving your HDL-to-LDL ratio and reducing your triglycerides.

    Supplements

    • Many supplements bill themselves as natural cholesterol fighters, but many of these claims are unproven by the medical science and not supported by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, supplements that are high in soluble fiber, like Metamucil, will improve your overall fiber intake, which has a positive benefit to lowering your LDLs.

    Lifestyle Changes

    • Although an improved diet and an aerobic exercise program will naturally fight obesity, maintaining a healthy body-mass index is a good step to ensuring that your LDL levels are appropriate. Likewise, although there is no direct impact on LDL levels, reducing excessive alcohol intake and stopping smoking contribute to overall health and make diet and exercise a more palatable option for many.

    Drugs

    • The most effective way of reducing LDL is through medication--statins, which affect your blood cholesterol chemistry. A statin, like Lipitor, is prescribed by a physician. Statins generally decrease your LDL rate by 60 to 70 percent, which is better than most aggressive diet-and-lifestyle-change strategies, which average a decrease of 20 to 40 percent. However, statins have side effects, and not everyone has means of affording the drugs.

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