What Vitamins Should I Take To Lower My Cholesterol

What Is Vitamin D

Vitamin D serves many purposes within the body, and you can get it from several different sources. The main function of vitamin D is to promote calcium absorption in your body.

You can get vitamin D through your diet and by getting out in the sun, as long as you dont have sunscreen on. Sunscreens block the skins absorption of the vitamin.

In both cases, the vitamin undergoes several changes within the body before its put to use. From there, vitamin D can help:

• keep your bones healthy

Cholesterol is another necessary substance in the human body. But too much of it can be a bad thing.

There are two main types of cholesterol: LDL, which we mentioned previously, and high-density lipoprotein .

HDL is commonly referred to as good cholesterol, and you want to keep HDL levels above 60 milligrams/dL.

LDL, on the other hand, is known as bad cholesterol, which is the type of cholesterol that can clot your arteries and increase your risk for heart disease and stroke. You should keep your LDL levels below 100 milligrams/dL.

What Lifestyle Changes Can I Make To Help Improve My Cholesterol Levels

Exercise regularly.

Exercise can raise HDL cholesterol levels. It can also reduce levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides . Try to work out for 30 minutes, 4 to 6 times a week. Your workout should be moderate to vigorous. Make sure you talk to your doctor before starting an exercise plan.

Lose weight if youre overweight.

Being overweight can raise your cholesterol levels. Losing weight, even just 5 or 10 pounds, can lower your total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.

If you smoke, quit.

Smoking lowers your HDL cholesterol. Even exposure to second-hand smoke can affect your HDL level. Talk to your doctor about developing a plan to help you stop smoking.

Eat a heart-healthy diet.

• Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.Fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat. They add flavor and variety to your diet. They are also the best source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals for your body. Aim for 5 cups of fruits and vegetables every day. This should not include potatoes, corn, or rice. These count as carbohydrates.
• Pick good fats over bad fats. Fat is part of a healthy diet, but there are bad fats and good fats. Bad fats include saturated and trans fats. They are found in foods such as:
• Butter.
• Fats in whole milk dairy products.

Limit the amount of saturated fat in your diet. Avoid trans fat completely.

In addition to fiber, whole grains supply B vitamins and important nutrients not found in foods made with white flour.

Beware Of One Whose Ingredient Varies Wildly

LDL cholesterol is known as the bad cholesterol because having high levels can lead to plaque buildup in your arteries and result in heart disease and stroke, two leading causes of death in the United States. It makes up the majority of the bodys cholesterol.

There are no signs or symptoms of high LDL cholesterol, so its important to get your cholesterol checked. If your LDL is high, your doctor may recommend changes in diet and activity habits to control it.

Your doctor may also prescribe medication, such as a statin. Stains slow down the livers production of cholesterol and increase the livers ability to remove LDL cholesterol that is already in the blood.

Several supplements can also help, though theyre not as effective as prescription drugs and shouldnt be substituted for the drugs without consulting your physician.

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Reduce Your Intake Of Saturated And Trans Fats

Adopt and follow a healthy diet thats low in saturated and trans fats. A diet high in these fats can raise levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood.

Saturated fat is usually solid at room temperature. Its found in animal products such as meat and dairy, but also in palm oil, coconut oil and full-cream milk. Read more about saturated fat-rich foods here.

Trans fats are found in store-bought baked goods, snack foods and deep-fried foods. There is strong evidence that trans fats increase levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood, while decreasing levels of HDL cholesterol.

Some foods contain cholesterol . Foods that contain cholesterol include liver, pate, kidneys, prawns and egg yolks. These types of food are not usually eaten in large quantities, so its OK to include them in your diet in small amounts.

Foods that contain saturated fats have a greater effect on blood cholesterol levels than foods that contain dietary cholesterol.

Vitamin B3 Niacin For Lowering Cholesterol

Niacin, or vitamin B3, actually works by raising your HDL cholesterol levels whether you take it alone or with another cholesterol-lowering medication.

Niacin works in the liver by affecting the production of blood fats, and it has been well-researched. Several well-designed double-blind, placebo controlled studies have found that niacin can reduce LDL cholesterol by approximately 10 percent and triglycerides by 25 percent while raising HDL cholesterol by 20 percent to 30 percent.

High LDLs lead to atherosclerosis and then cardiovascular disease, warns Nadia Chariff, Health Advisor & Registered Dietitian at Coffeeble. Make no mistake, dietary & lifestyle factors such as high saturated fat intake & lack of exercise definitely play a part! Besides recommending alternative diets & increased activity, I recommend niacin to my patients.

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How Do Statins Work

The chemical pathway that Statins interrupt, does of course reduce cholesterol, but it also reduces other necessary intermediary substances which have their own important biochemical functions.

According Dr. Peter H. Langsjoen, The resulting lowering of blood CoQ10 level is due to the partially shared biosynthetic pathway of CoQ10 and cholesterol. In patients with heart failure this is more than a laboratory observation. It has a significant harmful effect which can be negated by oral CoQ10 supplementation.

Eating For Lower Cholesterol

Healthy eating can make a huge difference to your cholesterol levels and your heart health, whether your cholesterol has crept up over the years or you have a genetic condition. It will improve your health in other ways too, helping to lower your blood pressure, prevent diabetes and maintain a healthy weight.

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Avoid Artificial Trans Fats

While trans fats occur naturally in red meat and dairy products, most peoples main source is artificial trans fat used in many restaurants and processed foods .

Artificial trans fats are produced by hydrogenating or adding hydrogen to unsaturated fats such as vegetable oils to change their structure and solidify them at room temperature.

Trans fats make a cheap alternative to natural saturated fats and have been widely used by restaurants and food manufacturers.

However, substantive research shows that eating artificial trans fats increases bad LDL cholesterol, lowers good HDL cholesterol and is linked to a 23% greater risk of heart disease (

31 ).

Summary Artificial trans fats are linked to higher LDL cholesterol levels and an increased risk of heart disease. Recently, the US banned their use in restaurants and processed foods, making them easier to avoid.

People Most At Risk Of Vitamin D Deficiency

Some people dont have enough vitamin D. This could be because their skin isnt exposed to enough sunlight, or because of health problems or higher needs for vitamin D.

For example, if:

• you dont go outdoors often, for example if you are housebound, in hospital or are disabled and less able to get about
• you wear clothes which cover most of your skin when you go outside
• you have dark skin, for example if youre from an African, African-Caribbean or south Asian background as you need more sunlight to make enough vitamin D
• you wear sunscreen most or all of the time
• you need more vitamin D, babies, young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women need more vitamin D
• you are an older adult, as older people cant make as much vitamin D
• you have a health problem or youre taking certain medications which change the way vitamin D is controlled in the body, such as Crohns disease, coeliac disease, and some types of liver and kidney disease.
• you are very overweight, a there is some evidence to suggest that people who are very over weight are more likely to lack vitamin D
• you eat very few foods that contain vitamin D.

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Hpf Cholestene Red Yeast Rice

The biggest USP of this powerful cholesterol lowering supplement is apparent from its namesake. Composed of red yeast rice like a one man army, this is the primary and the only ingredient compiled in the product. Red yeast rice has been scientifically proven to effectively lower the levels of the LDL cholesterol within just a matter of a month. In addition, it also serves other useful purposes such as improving metabolic syndromes, reducing inflammations, promote good heart health and also help in combating obesity.

You would be glad to note that HPF is a premier brand in manufacturing several healthcare supplements and products in general, and has always been widely acclaimed for their high quality products. In fact, cholestoff vs red yeast rice is a very popular debate, and that shows how top grade the supplements in this list are. As such, you can bet on the quality and efficiency of their cholesterol lowering supplement.

Ingredients

The PF Cholestene has red yeast rice as the sole ingredient in a generous 1200mg dosage to achieve its functionality. This single ingredient is more than enough to serve all the purposes expected from this product.

How does the HPF Cholestene Red Yeast Rice work?

But thats not all.

Red yeast rice lowers leptin levels translating to an even further decrease in the levels of cholesterol. This helps in managing obesity.

Who would have thought of so many benefits from a single ingredient!

Directions for usage

Side effects

Genius Heart And Cardiovascular Health Supplement

Check the lowest price

These supplements contain a variety of ingredients, including grape seed extract and vitamin K2. This pill may help you maintain healthy cholesterol levels and improve your cardiac function and health.

It also contains several other ingredients to improve your heart health, making it an excellent choice for those worried about their heart health.

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Limit Your Alcohol Intake

Alcohol can increase your levels of triglycerides. Along with LDL cholesterol, high levels of triglycerides raise your risk of heart disease.

Excess alcohol consumption also increases blood pressure and can lead to obesity both additional risk factors for heart disease.

To reduce the risk of heart disease and other risks from alcohol, limit your intake to no more than 10 standard drinks per week and no more than 4 drinks per day.

Do Supplements Have A Role In Managing Cholesterol

In addition to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and taking cholesterol-lowering medications, you might wonder if adding certain cholesterol-lowering supplements to your diet can help reduce your cholesterol levels. It is important to discuss with your doctor first on this, as the long-term value of certain supplements may be controversial8:

• Artichoke extract

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Vitamins To Lower Cholesterol

In 30 seconds

Reducing Cholesterol works best with a holistic approach that includes eating well, cutting bad habits and exercising more but vitamins can be a useful way to boost results.When taking vitamins for Cholesterol, its important to stick to the guidelines and be aware of side effects as well as the benefits.Vitamins can help lower cholesterol, but theyre not a substitution for a healthy lifestyle.

When youre looking for ways to reduce cholesterol, one of the first considerations we make is what were eating. High cholesterol has a number of causes, but smoking, drinking and regularly eating fatty foods is the main culprit so it makes sense to switch to healthier meals to improve your heart health. But can vitamins help reduce cholesterol? And which ones should you take?

In this article, well look at the best vitamins for cholesterol. Whether youre looking for preventative steps to reduce total cholesterol in the body, or supplementing a new cholesterol-lowering diet, taking vitamins can be a helpful way to boost results and lower cholesterol naturally.

Stents Vs Surgery For Atherosclerosis Treatment

Which is the better treatment for the late stages of atherosclerosis — stents or bypass surgery? Each procedure has advantages and disadvantages.

• Living longer when you have multiple blockages. CABG is the best treatment for extending life in people with multiple severe blockages. CABG has been shown to extend life for patients with several patterns of severe blockages, and is clearly superior to stenting in these cases. Stenting has not been demonstrated to help people live longer.
• Pain relief. Sometimes treatment with drugs can’t control chronic chest pain. Both CABG and stenting provide near-complete relief from angina more than 90% of the time. Angina often returns over time, though, which may lead to future procedures.
• Emergency treatment. During a heart attack, stents are usually better than CABG. Stents can be placed in minutes, without the risks and recovery time of major surgery.

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What Foods Should I Eat What Foods Should I Avoid

Maintaining a healthy diet can help lower your cholesterol. Recommended foods include fruits and vegetables whole grain foods fat-free, 1%, or low-fat milk products poultry without skin and lean meats fatty fish such as salmon, trout, albacore tuna, and sardines and unsalted nuts, seeds, and legumes.

A diet high in cholesterol, saturated fats, and trans fats should be avoided. This includes high-sodium foods sweetened or sugary beverages red, fatty, or processed meats full-fat dairy products baked goods with saturated and trans fats solid fats or fried foods and hydrogenated and saturated oils.

Getting Vitamin D From Food

Most foods dont contain much vitamin D so its hard to get enough vitamin D from food alone.

Foods which contain vitamin D include:

• oily fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, trout
• red meat
• liver and fish liver oil
• egg
• foods with vitamin D added such as most fat spreads, some breakfast cereals and some plant-based alternatives to milk. Check the labels.
• infant formula which has vitamin D added to make sure babies get enough.

As most of these foods are animal products, its harder to get vitamin D from food if you are vegan or vegetarian. Plant-based sources of vitamin D include sun-exposed mushrooms and fortified foods such as vegetable spreads, breakfast cereals and plant based dairy alternatives.

In the UK, cows’ milk is generally not a good source of vitamin D because it isn’t fortified, as it is in some other countries. There are some yoghurts which have been fortified, but check the label as they can also be high in saturated fat and so should be avoided.

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Does Garlic Actually Work

Garlic is one of the most widely purchased herbal supplements used to lower cholesterol levels. Research studies involving both animals and humans suggest that garlic can lower cholesterol levels. In most of the studies that produced cholesterol-lowering results, about one-half gram or one gram of garlic was consumed a day. LDL cholesterol levels were very modestly lowered whereas HDL cholesterol was not affected by the administration of garlic.

The cholesterol-lowering abilities of garlic appear to be dose-dependent. That is, the more garlic you take, the lower your cholesterol will drop. In the very few studies that looked at the long-term effects of cholesterol, it appears that the cholesterol-lowering effect of garlic may be only temporary.

Additionally, there is some debate as to which form of garlic is the best in lowering cholesterol levels. Some studies suggest that garlic powder may have lower amounts of allicin, one of the active ingredients in garlic. This, too, remains under debate.

It’s important to note that the studies are very conflicting. While there are many that conclude garlic works well to lower cholesterol levels, there are also others that dispute this, contending garlic is ineffective in lowering cholesterol. Until more studies are conducted, garlic may not be the best choice for you if you’re solely relying on it to lower your cholesterol.

Safe Blood Cholesterol Levels

Health authorities recommend that cholesterol levels should be no higher than 5.5 mmol per litre if there are no other risk factors present. If there are other cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking and high blood pressure or pre-existing cardiovascular disease, then the aim for the LDL levels would be less than 2 mmol/l. Approximately half of all adult Australians have a blood cholesterol level above 5 mmol/l. This makes high blood cholesterol a major health concern in Australia.

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Tips To Lower Cholesterol With Your Diet

Cholesterol is a waxy substance produced by your liver and obtained by eating animal products such as meat, dairy and eggs.

Your liver will produce less cholesterol if you consume a lot of this substance from food, so dietary cholesterol rarely has a great impact on total cholesterol levels.

However, eating large amounts of saturated fat, trans fat and sugars can raise cholesterol levels.

Bear in mind that there are different types of cholesterol.

While good HDL cholesterol may be beneficial for your health, high levels of bad LDL cholesterol, particularly when oxidized, have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke .

Thats because oxidized LDL cholesterol is more likely to stick to the walls of your arteries and form plaques, which clog these blood vessels.

Here are 10 tips to lower cholesterol with your diet and help reduce your risk of heart disease.