I work at a hospital where we have to take cholesterol tests. I recently found out I have a LDL cholesterol level of 120. My HDL level was 50. I am also Hypoglycemic. I don’t know if that has anything to do with cholesterol. How do I lower my LDL cholesterol?
With out drugs. And if I could get a simple life of what to eat and what not to eat that would be apreciated.
You have good HDL levels, but need to get that LDL down below 100. The best way to do that is to increase your fiber intake and lower your high sugar foods.
Eat lots of veggies and berries, but go easier on high sugar fruits like bananas, grapes, melons and easy on veggies like carrots, potaotes, beets and corn. They’re high on the glycemic index.
The reason you want low sugar foods is because sugar is an irritant to the vascular system and although it has no cholestrol on its own, it irritates the lining of veins and arteries and the body then uses Low Density Lipids (LDL) to patch up the artery wall damage, creating a slow growing blockage of the blood vessel.
As I mentioned a very important part of lowering cholesrol (especially LDL) is increase in fiber; the best way to do this is to only eat whole grains, never white bread, white pasta or white rice. Substitute thse with brown or wild rice, whole wheat pasta and ww breads. Also buy wheat germ and add it to your cereal (steel cut oats are great) and/or your salads. It boots your soluable fiber intakke which directly reduces cholestrol levels. Another great way to get fiber is metamucil’s powder mixed in with an 8 ounce glass of water. It’s a quick drink that fills you up if drunk 10-15 minutes before a meal and increases your fiber intake. Of course, I assume you already know about eating very few packaged foods which tend to contain trans fats (bad bad bad for LDL levels) and also stay away from saturated fats found in ground beef and butter, and stick to lean meats. This also applies to ground turkey which should always be 98-99% fat free, never the regular stuff. Cheese in extreme moderation too.
Good luck. Lowring cholestrol is a very easy thing to do without meds.