Diet and Exercise Best for Tackling Cholesterol – Tufts

Good cholesterol, bad cholesterol, saturated fat, and unsaturated fat — sometimes it seems like you need a program to keep track of all the fat players in the story of heart disease.

“Intensive therapeutic lifestyle changes” can cut triglyceride levels in half, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement, which recommends diet and exercise rather than drugs to lower blood levels of these fats. (Emphasis mine.)

It seems like no matter what the question with our health, diet and exercise are the answer. That quote “If it’s physical, it’s therapy” is really a mouthful.

What a low cholesterol diet looks like

If you’re under doctor’s orders to improve your cholesterol numbers, several new studies offer good news: Whether or not your physician prescribes cholesterol-lowering medications such as statins, you can take control of your cholesterol with diet and lifestyle changes, according to Tufts University Health & Nutrition Update.

WebMD says, Triglycerides are important to human life and are the main form of fat in the body. When you think of fat developing and being stored in your hips or belly, you’re thinking of triglycerides.

Consider these things:

The fat we eat exists in relatively huge molecules inside food. Triglycerides are the end product of digesting and breaking down these bulky fats.

Any extra food we eat that’s not used for activity right away — carbohydrates and fats — are also chemically converted into triglycerides.

The American Heart Association expert report, based on analysis of 500 studies over 30 years, reaffirmed that high triglycerides don’t directly contribute to arterial plaque, but are an important marker of heart-disease risk.

All people with levels in the borderline to high range (150-199 mg/dL) or higher should boost physical activity of at least moderate intensity to 150 minutes a week or more, the report advised.

Those with high triglycerides should limit added sugars, fructose from both natural sources and processed foods, saturated fats and trans fats, while working to lose weight. Increasing healthy unsaturated fats, especially omega-3s, may also lower triglycerides. People with very high levels (over 500 mg/dL) should consider abstaining from alcohol to guard against pancreatitis.

Tony