If you’re trying to find the best way to lower cholesterol, you’ve probably already compiled a long list of articles touting Cheerios and low fat crap as your saviors. This is not that kind of article. Nutrition research is constantly evolving and we’ve officially turned the corner on demonizing eggs and following blindly behind billion dollar cereal companies with unlimited marketing budgets.

Here I’m sharing the most practical ways to improve heart health following current research and of course, some anecdotal evidence from my 13+ years working with cardiac clients.

If you’d rather skip the lesson and just start lowering your cholesterol TODAY, grab my FREE 7-day cleanse here!

So what is the BEST way to lower cholesterol?

Step One: Find out why it’s high in the first place

High cholesterol/lipids can be the result of a few different things like:

Thyroid issues- if this is the case, getting your TSH level in check through either medication or food (if your doctor OK’s it) is the best thing you can do to also help improve cholesterol.
Menopause / hormones- certain endocrine disorders like PCOS and life events like menopause can cause rising cholesterol levels.
Inflammation- the most common culprit is also the easiest to fix (see steps three and four below).
Genetics- this is the hand you’ve been dealt and high cholesterol is probably something you’ll have to deal with. What you can do, though, is really clean up your diet and see what you’re able to achieve through food.

Step Two: Talk to your doctor

Depending on your bloodwork results and medical history, your MD might want to start medication right away. If your lipids are just a little bit elevated and you aren’t otherwise high risk, you’ll probably get the green light to try lifestyle changes from now until your next cholesterol check in three to six months. This is where the next two steps come in.

Step Three: Change your diet (duh, this is a nutrition blog)

Please don’t panic-buy 75 boxes of Cheerios yet (or ever, actually). The best thing to do food-wise is to take inventory of the inflammatory foods you’re currently eating and then start distancing yourself from them ASAP. If you can’t bare to face the truth OR just want to scrap all the crap and start fresh with food, you can do exactly that with my 7-Day Cleanse.

Here’s how to to it:

Write down a typical day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks, booze, dessert, etc. Once you’ve done that, go back through it and highlight any of these things:

bread, pasta, rice, crackers, cookies, pizza, breading, corn, beer, pretzels, cereal
vegetable or canola oil (you may have to check a few ingredient lists to find these)
soda, candy, juice, processed meat, fried food, long ingredient lists, artificial sweeteners, sweetened yogurt, fast food
excessive amounts of cheese, bacon, red meat*

If your food diary is now completely pink (I only use pink highlighters), it’s time to make some changes. Everything highlighted is something that can be inflammatory (aka raise cholesterol) and should be limited.

Here’s how I’d help a client tweak their day, inflammatory foods in bold:

Breakfast: bagel with cream cheese, coffee with milk and sugar

Snack: Atkin’s bar

Lunch: turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread, potato chips, soda

Dinner: pasta with red sauce, glass of wine

Dessert: cookies and milk

Drinks: diet Snapple, water

Easy swaps to make:

Breakfast: Ezekiel English muffin with cream cheese, coffee with full fat milk or cream and stevia or no sweetener

Snack: Rxbar or Larabar

Lunch: turkey and cheese lettuce wraps, Jacksons potato chips, unsweetened iced tea

Dinner: red lentil pasta with red sauce, glass of wine

Dessert: Simple Mills cookies and unsweetened almond milk

Drinks: seltzer, lemon water or water

This doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can start small by cutting back a little bit at a time, or if you want/need faster results, I recommend cleansing to get a quick win under your belt.

Step Four: Get moving

Exercise improves circulation, mood, heart health, blood sugar and cholesterol levels. The good news is, you don’t need to join a gym or start a daily 60-min spin routine; plain old walking is enough. Go as far and as fast as you want / can and solidify this new routine before switching up the intensity or duration—or adding in any other activities like weights or yoga.

That’s probably it. It really doesn’t take toooo much to make huge steps toward your goals and you definitely don’t need to live on salad and oatmeal for the rest of your life. AND… just know, there is some new research suggesting high cholesterol might not be as terrifying as it once was and that just because your numbers are “high” doesn’t make you any more at risk for a heart attack.

Of course, making healthy diet choices and getting regular exercise are fantastic practices to start—or continue—whether you’re working to lower cholesterol, prevent high numbers in the first place, or living with high results and doing the best you can with what you have.

Resources:

Foods that lower cholesterol

How to lower cholesterol naturally

Anti-inflammatory diet

The 7-Day Cleanse

Tips + Brands:

Less carbs/grains- bread, pasta, rice, crackers, cookies, pizza, breading, corn, beer, pretzels, cereal, tortillas

More plant-based fat- avocado, nuts, seeds, olive oil, flax, chia, coconut

More fiber- avocado, seeds (ground is fine), beans, lentils, spinach, psyllium husk

Best oils- olive, coconut, avocado; Oils to avoid- vegetable, canola

2 fruits per day max (paired with a fat)

Unlimited veggies

Always pair carbs with fat (for balance and satiety)- ex: apple + PB, pasta + olive oil, potato + butter

Eat more of the “right” stuff as you cut back on the “wrong” stuff

Avoid- soda, candy, juice, processed or fried food, long ingredient lists, artificial sweeteners, sweetened yogurt, fast food, low-fat or lite products

Healthy brands (most found at Whole Foods, ShopRite or Amazon)- Siete chips, Simple Mills crackers/cookies, Jackson’s chips, red lentil spaghetti (make sure you add olive oil after cooking for a healthy fat), stevia in the raw (green box), Cindy’s Kitchen dressing Barcelona vinaigrette (produce section at Whole Foods), Cappellos pizzas/pasta, Justin’s almond butter, Primal Kitchen avocado mayo, frozen meals and salad dressings, Ezekiel bread, Paleonola, Jif or Skippy natural, Rxbar, Larabar, Trader Joe’s grain-free granola and nuts, Three Wishes cereal, FitJoy pretzels, Kitehill dairy-free cream cheese, Goodpop, Suja or Urban Remedy drinks

By Jenny Champion MS RD

image via weheartit

The BEST Way to Lower Cholesterol