6 Ways To Keep Your Cholesterol Level In Check

Posted by: KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220 in Home Town Station September 3, 2019 - 10:20 am 0 674 Views

Cholesterol is a finicky thing. It’s a pain to track and it’s highly reliant on lifestyle habits. On top of that, your body is unlike any others. There are some things that work for you and nobody else. On the flip side, there are methods everyone else can use but you. If this sounds like a dizzying mind maze, just think about peanuts. There are people that can have it every day and be fine. There are others that smell it and have to be rushed to the hospital. This example may be extreme, but in relation to your health and your cholesterol, the combination of things that work will be specific to you. What things, you may ask? Well, there’s a few things that doctors and scientists the world over have figured out as common denominators. This means that even if you are a self-contained biological snowflake, there are some universal ways to keep cholesterol in check.

1. Track Your Food

It may be to no surprise that diet is the first thing on this list. By no means does this mean a crash diet or juice cleans that does nothing but cleanse your wallet. This simply means to watch what you eat. This simple statement falls on billions of deaf ears, every year. What does it mean to watch what you eat? Simply put, get a notebook or download an app and write down everything you eat. The more specific the better. If this seems excessive, this is no more difficult than having to remember to take maintenance drugs every few hours for the rest of your life.

2. Work Out

Another “no surprise” way to keep cholesterol at healthy levels is to exercise. Everybody says they exercise. Almost nobody exercises. When the common hard working public say that they exercise, they’re referring to the last time they did so. More often than not, it’s between 2 and 3 months prior. Consistent, regular exercise in the form of both resistance and cardiovascular work combined, gives your body a reason to use all that food. If you calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR on an online calculator, you’ll find that you need a lot less food than you really need. Where would all the extra calories go? Without a physiological trigger to use the calories, it gets converted into fat and stored. No good.

3. Healthy Fatty Acids

The next point may seem a bit counterintuitive. But eating fat may help keep cholesterol in check. Let me explain. Omega fatty acids are essential nutrients for your body. We get a lot of omega 6. Like anything, we need to strike a balance across the omegas with omega 3 and omega 7. These have become popular in the supplements aisle as it’s more efficient than eating

more fish than you can eat in a week. Among the ones with most reviews, Ultra Omega Burn helps to lower cholesterol levels more effectively than others when used consistently. Although the fish option is not a bad idea at all, it’s not very feasible with most people with busy schedules. Quality supplements are your ace in the hole in terms of adding to an already existing health plan. They may not be the be all end all, but it’s that extra 10% that makes all the difference.

4. Cut The Bad Stuff

Now that we’ve gone over all the things to add, now it’s time to subtract. Quit smoking. Cigarette smokers are more likely to get diagnosed with visceral organ cancers than just lung. Colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer, and liver cancer, are all linked to cigarettes. Also, drink less. The amount people say they drink is inversely proportional to the amount they say they exercise. Try and moderate alcohol intake. The liver is the primary organ that processes and distributes cholesterol to necessary systems across the body. It’s best to keep it health.

5. Avoid Trans Fat

Stay away from trans fat. Repeat: stay away from trans fat. Trans fat pertains to anything that’s “hydrogenated.” According to the American Heart Association, not only do they increase LDL (bad cholesterol) they increase your chances of heart attack, stroke, and cancers. What kind of food has trans fat? All your favorite ones. Cookies, doughnuts, crackers, pies, muffins, cakes, and almost every other modern dessert has a ton of trans fat.

6. Be Nice To Your Gut Flora

Lastly, take care of your gut biome. The bacteria in your intestines are there to help. They’re a commensal bacterial ecosystem that thrives independently from you, and even helps you, if you treat them right. They’re alive. There are metabolically living, moving, eating creatures by the billions in your intestines. Treat them right with green leafy vegetables and soluble fiber from fruit. In return they will provide chemical factors and environments that ensure that cholesterol gets placed where it needs to be, or down the hatchet.

There you have it! Everything you need to know to help you, the individual, cover your bases and keep your cholesterol in check. You may have to tweak a few things and tailor it to you. But like everything else, if you want to be sure about what’s working, don’t listen to your body. Listening to your body is the worst advice anyone can give. Listen to a doctor, and get your bi-annual executive panel done.