Lower Your Bad Cholesterol the Natural Way
While most people at 24-years old are rocking their socks off at some party, I found out I had high-cholesterol.
You wouldn’t believe the alarms that went off in my head.
At 24 really? The doc went on to explain that since high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease ran in my family, I was at high-risk.
Of course, I also knew I wasn’t exactly the healthiest person around. Your typical college kid lifestyle:
Sleepless nights (I’d be lucky to sneak in 4 hours of sleep)
Irregular meal times (breakfast did not exist to me!)
Eating whatever I could to stop my noisy tummy (energy bars, vending machine snacks, coffee OD)
Lack of a workout regime (umm once a month?)
Yup, it was all finally catching up with me. Ugh, what was I thinking?!
This was the true start of my journey to healthy living. My wake-up call. My quest to beat bad cholesterol.
I wanted to do it the natural way. No pill-popping. No drugs. I was going to have to create a heart-healthy lifestyle to lower bad cholesterol.
I started with a consistent workout regime and slowly cleaned up my diet.
Along the way, I researched and discovered some “magic” ingredients, which helped me control high cholesterol levels.
I've also have gone on to introduce some of these ingredients to my husband’s diet, and he too has seen some difference.
Before I indulge you further, let’s get some cholesterol basics straight first— the what.
Breaking Down Cholesterol Jargon
We always hear people say— “I have cholesterol. So, I can’t eat this or that…”
Let’s set the record straight. Cholesterol isn’t a villain we all think it is. In fact, quite the contrary.
Cholesterol is an oil-based waxy substance found in every cell in your bloodstream.
Have you looked at your blood and noticed a thin layer of oily substance?
That’s sebum; it’s an oily mixture of lipids, cell fragments, and yup you guessed it, cholesterol.
Cholesterol helps your organs function. In fact, cholesterol produces cell membranes, hormones, vitamin D and bile acids that help you digest fat.
Without cholesterol, you may not form memories and well say goodbye to a big chunk of your neurological function.
Fun fact: your brain accounts about 25% of your body’s cholesterol!
If cholesterol is so “good”, why do our doctors tell us we need to lower our cholesterol? Let’s take a closer look.
When you look at your “cholesterol” blood test results (lipoprotein test panel) you’re looking at 4 different types of lipoproteins:
Total Cholesterol — is the total amount of cholesterol in your blood. This is a good indication on your overall cholesterol standing. An ideal reading is less than 200mg/dL (5.2 mmol/L)
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) — My dad calls this Mr. Lousy. This is the culprit of bad cholesterol. It causes fatty waxy build-ups (plaques), which results in atherosclerosis. The more LDL you have, the higher your risk for cardiovascular disease. Your should keep Mr. Lousy below 100mg/dL (2.6 mmol/L)
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) — Unlike the former, this is Mr. Honorary, the good cholesterol, which you should try to keep. It does the reverse of Mr. Lousy. It transports excess cholesterol out of your arteries to your liver, which will then flush it out of your system. It's recommended to have a reading above 60mg/dL (1.5 mmol/L)
Triglycerides — are fat in your blood. When you eat, excess calories converts to triglycerides, which is stored in your fat cells. Hormones release triglycerides for energy between meals. Like Mr. Lousy, you goal is to keep this low as a high reading puts you at risk for heart disease. Your should have a reading below 150mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L)
3 Little Soldiers to Lower Cholesterol
Based on my research and lots of trial and error, I discovered these "little soldiers" helped me lower my cholesterol and keep it at a healthy level.
Of course, along with these practices, I've changed my bad habits — better sleep, consistent workout routine and proper meal times.
Soluble Fiber
Oatmeal often tops the list of heart-healthy, cholesterol-lowing foods as it’s easy to introduce into your diet.
Oatmeal is rich in soluble fibers, which soaks liquid in your digestive tract by forming a sticky layer in your small intestine.
That means you Mr. Lousy (LDL) cholesterol is blocked out from entering your bloodstream.
Another great source of soluble fiber is chia seeds. Well, chia seeds contain more than that.
It also rich in protein, antioxidants and packed with alpha-linolenic acid (ALA — a short-chain omega-3 fatty acid).
Thus, it helps lower Mr. Lousy and triglycerides, while increasing Mr. Honorary (HDL). What more can you ask for, right?
How do I do it: Breakfast
1 cup of rolled oats
½ tsp of chia seeds
a sprinkle of cinnamon
½ cup of unsweetened coconut milk
But there are many other ways to consume it — smoothies, cookies, salads. You name it! What’s your favorite?
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids consist of the long-chain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
It helps decrease triglycerides by reducing very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL, which is mostly fat and little protein) production by your liver and increasing your honorary cholesterol (HDL).
Omega-3 is the essential fatty acids that you can only get through foods like fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, etc.), nuts and seeds (walnuts, flaxseeds, chia, etc.).
“Replacing saturated fats with omega-3s like those found in salmon, sardines, and herring can raise good cholesterol as much as 4%.” ~ Research from Loma Linda University, as cited by Stacey Colino
How I do it: All day
½ tsp of chia seeds at breakfast
½ lbs. of salmon for lunch (remember to monitor your daily calories)
1 tsp of flaxseed that I mix in my salad that has a cup of baby spinach (that also a good source of ALA
What’s your favorite omega-3 source?
According to research it takes only a handful of nuts a day to lower your cholesterol by 10% and reduce your risk of heart attack by half! Check this video to learn more:
Polyphenols
Polyphenols are mostly found in fruits, veggies, dry legumes, chocolate (yummy!) and spices. The have antioxidants and are said to improve the inner lining of blood vessels, Mr. Honorary (HDL) cholesterol and are anti-inflammatory.
Polyphenol-rich foods include — apples, red wine, dark chocolate, olive oil and turmeric.
I'd like to focus on turmeric. There are tons of research surrounding this “mystical” spice. It's known to work as an anti-inflammatory in your bloodstream.
Remember how I mentioned that cholesterol is good? Well under normal circumstances it is.
But chronic inflammation usually triggered by food allergies or sugar indulgence, causes most of us to experience excessive levels of inflammation in our bloodstream. What's worst, this all happens without us even knowing!
In comes turmeric. This spice contains fatty acids, polyphenols and phytosterols. All of which studies have said reduces excess oils. So yes, it’s good for cholesterol.
The yellow that you see comes from curcumin and is the key ingredient that inhibits cholesterol uptake in the intestinal cells. Turmeric basically dips the level of oxidation and circulation of Mr. Lousy (LDL) cholesterol.
Curcumin reduces Mr. Lousy cholesterol by increasing the production of messenger proteins (mRNA). This makes the liver work harder to create more LDL receptors, which flush out Mr. Lousy from your body.
Yellow is golden, so learn to love it!
Try adding 1 teaspoon per day to reap this one of the many benefits of turmeric.
How I do it: Before Bed
Golden Milk. Check out for this post for the full recipe.
Do you have a favorite turmeric recipe? We love to hear from you.
Your turn: Do you have any secret natural remedy to lowering Mr. Lousy (LDL) and increasing Mr. Honorary (HDL) cholesterol? Share your story!
Hashtag #SaltPepperandEverythingBetween when you share on your social networks!
This article is not a substitute for medical advice. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat your health condition. Always check with your doctor before altering your diet or taking supplements.
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