Heart Health: 5 Crucial Steps to Lower your Cholesterol and Triglycerides Levels

Triglycerides (TG) and cholesterol (CHOL) are important measures of heart health.  When you have high levels, you have an increased risk for heart disease and stroke. High CHOL can cause atherosclerosis, a dangerous accumulation of CHOL and other deposits on your arteries. You will learn 5 steps you can take to promote your heart health.

1-    Avoiding sweets, refined carbs and alcohol will help decrease your TG levels. Eliminating refined carbohydrates will also help control your blood sugar; when uncontrolled, it contributes to higher CHOL. Choosing complex carbs (brown rice, quinoa, or oats), with high fiber, help control your TG and CHOL levels. Other foods high in fiber include beans, seeds and vegetables. Also, limit portion sizes of grain-based foods to control your TG.

2-    The types and amounts of fats in your diet are also important to control your CHOL and TG levels. Avoid foods that are high in saturated fats and CHOL. The FDA has recently announced the removal of trans fats. Use extra virgin olive oil, or coconut oil instead of butter, or margarine. Don’t substitute foods high in sugar for these high fat foods. Also, to lower your TG, eat foods that are high in omega 3: 2 servings of fatty fish (salmon, sardines, or tuna) weekly and other sources (flax seeds, walnuts, or soybeans).

3-    Eat more plant foods! Replace red meat with lower fat sources of protein: beans, nuts and white skinless poultry. Soybeans decrease your CHOL levels if taken 25g/day in the form of tofu, soy milk, or edamame. Ancient grains also have lean protein and fiber. Garlic is another plant food that is able to moderately lower your TG and total CHOL.

4-    Green tea has been shown to effectively lower risk of atherosclerosis. Since a large rise in blood levels of TG after a meal is a significant risk factor for heart disease, drinking a cup of two green tea along with your meals is a good idea.

5-    Take supplements that may help: your dietitian may recommend you to take a fish oil supplement. Omega 3 supplements have been shown to reduce cardiac risks. Another supplement to consider is red yeast rice, which is basically a natural Statin (the standard drug for treating unhealthy CHOL and TG; a new guideline was recently released). Plant stanols and sterols also work to decrease your CHOL levels. In addition, psyllium has been used to control TG and CHOL levels.

Losing weight and exercising will help you decrease your TG and CHOL levels too. High blood pressure damages your arteries, which can speed the accumulation of fatty deposits. Smoking increases your risk for heart diseases. And your mood and quality of sleep also play a role on heart disease. As you see an overall healthy lifestyle play a crucial role on your heart health.