Your doctor tells you that your level of LDL—the "bad" type of cholesterol—is too high, and, in a double whammy, he says that your level of HDL—the "good" cholesterol—is too low. So, you wonder, is there anything you can do to decrease the bad while increasing the good?
There are steps you can take to accomplish this. It's much easier to push LDL down than to push HDL up, but it's well worth the effort to strive to do both. A November study published in the Postgraduate Medical Journal found that increasing HDL levels in patients who are also aggressively lowering their LDL levels can reduce cardiovascular risk. Depending on your cholesterol levels, successfully reaching your target levels will probably take a combination of medication and lifestyle and dietary changes.
Among the changes you'll have to make: Stop smoking, work out, lose weight, and eat well, the PMJ study suggests.
Lose weight: This can lower LDL, though levels will go back up unless you make lasting dietary changes. Aim to lose 10 percent or more of your body weight. Keep in mind that while you're losing weight, your HDL levels may fall. But as you maintain your new body weight, your HDL will increase as long as you've lost at least 10 percent of your body weight.
- Golds Gym
- 15 Industrial Drive
- Middletown NY 10941
- 845-344-4653
- http://www.goldsgym.com/middletownny
