Healthy cholesterol levels are pretty much the same for all adults. These are a Total Cholesterol under 200mg/dL, LDL (Bad) Cholesterol under 100mg/dL and HDL (Good) Choesterol at or above 40mg/dL (50mg/dL for women). The LDL and HDL numbers are the more significant ones for assessing your hearth health, along with keeping Tiglyceride levels under 150mg/dL. Do you know your numbers?
Whatever your levels, the following four lifestyle factors, taken together, will improve your cholesterol levels and lower your overall risk for heart disease.
Eat Smarter. Limit your consumption of red and processed meats, fried foods, sodium and added sugar. Focus on whole grains, poultry, fish and healthy fats.
Get Off Your Butt. Move more. Exercise like brisk walking is ideal but at least get on your feet and move. Aerobic exercise can help raise your HDL levels and resistance/strength training helps lower LDL.
Lose the Extra Weight. If you are overweight even a little - and 70% of us are - lose the excess. What is a healthy weight for you? It's less than you think it is. While it is complex and different for everyone, here is a calculator that will get you in the ballpark.
Stop Smoking. Seriously. Do you still need to be told this? And don't delude yourself that vaping isn't smoking.
There are effective medications for optimizing your cholesterol levels but they all come with unpleasant and potentially serious side effects. So why not try these things first?
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