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Walking & Cholesterol

Diet and exercise are effective ways to lower cholesterol. Walking, jogging and aerobic exercise are all excellent ways to reduce LDL, or bad cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.

  1. What is Cholesterol?

    • The American Heart Association says that cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance found among the lipids (fats) in the bloodstream and in all the cells of the body. While it is important to the body, a high level of cholesterol in the blood is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, which leads to heart attack.

    Exercise and Cholesterol

    • Regular exercise increases HDL (good cholesterol) in some people. HDL is the cholesterol that escorts LDL out of the body. Increased HDL is associated with a lower risk of heart disease.

    Rate of Walking

    • The best way to lower cholesterol is to walk at a rate of 1.5 to 2.5 mph for 30 minutes or more at least 5 days a week. This speed is easy for most people and keeps the impact low on the joints. Any brisk speed can help lower cholesterol. Walking up and down stairs for 30 minutes is also very effective.

    What Kind of Walking?

    • Walking from the kitchen to the living room is not going to increase your heartbeat enough to help lower cholesterol. Effective walking must be at a brisk enough pace to cause the heart rate to increase substantially for a sustained length of time. Simply increasing the number of steps taken daily will not improve cholesterol numbers.

    When Walking Doesn't Help

    • While effective walking will improve cholesterol levels to a certain degree, extremely high cholesterol levels need medical attention and possibly medication. Speak with your doctor about other options besides walking that will contribute to lowering your cholesterol with the fewest side effects.

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