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What Can Cause a Sudden Lowering of Cholesterol Levels?

High blood cholesterol is one of the leading risks for heart disease. You can use a number of options to reduce cholesterol levels, including medication, diet, exercise and supplements. Many of these remedies will take at least six months before you start seeing the effects of a change in your cholesterol numbers.

  1. Cholesterol

    • Not all cholesterol is bad. Understanding which is which can help you make better lifestyle choices. Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in blood lipids. It helps form cell membranes and some hormones. Cholesterol cannot dissolve in the blood. Lipoproteins have to transport cholesterol--the last L in LDL and HDL. LDL cholesterol tends to clog arteries while HDL cholesterol is an effective transporter of cholesterol. In blood tests, both types of cholesterol are measured individually and added together. Your doctor won't be concerned if your HDL is high, only if the LDL is.

    What Should the Number Be?

    • The measurement of blood cholesterol levels tells your doctor how much cholesterol and lipids are in your blood. The measurement is in milligrams per deciliter, or mg/dL. Your measurement should be less than 200 mg/dL. Borderline high is considered between 200 and 239 mg/dL. High is considered 240 mg/dL and above. If your measurement is high or borderline high, you'll need to lower your cholesterol level.

    Weight

    • Being overweight is a risk factor for high cholesterol. Most likely this is because a diet that leads to high cholesterol also tends to make a person overweight. However, being overweight can also be a genetic issue. Losing weight is one of the fastest ways to lower your cholesterol numbers. The rule of thumb is that for each pound of weight you lose, your cholesterol number should come down by one. You can lose weight by exercising and adopting a healthy diet, which in and of itself can help lower your cholesterol. However, people who are not overweight can have high cholesterol also.

    Diet

    • Food can increase your blood cholesterol. Diet alone won't create a quick lowering of your cholesterol, but a healthy diet will add to the effectiveness of your exercise program. This will help you lose weight quicker, which will help you lower your cholesterol numbers quickly. By eating foods high in saturated fat you raise your LDL. Trans fatty acids from hydrogenated vegetable oil increase your cholesterol. Cholesterol is also found in foods that come from animal sources like meat, eggs and dairy products. Choose foods low in saturated fats like fruits, vegetables and grains and you reduce the amount of cholesterol going into your body and your blood.

    How Quickly Can You Lower Your Cholesterol?

    • A safe guideline for weight loss is considered to be no more than two or three pounds a week. This allows you to lose fat and not muscle or just water. At two pounds a week, that should lower your cholesterol number by two points each week or eight in a month. Lose three pounds a week and you should lower your number by 12 in a month.

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