Cholesterol and Heart Disease: How to Reduce Your Cholesterol Levels

Yaw Frimpong’s life has been adversely affected by heart disease. His father died recently as a result of a heart attack and he does not want to exit this world the way his father did.

“I will never forget the way he clutched his chest when the attack occurred, and the look of pain on his face. After his death, we learned that there is a connection between cholesterol and heart disease:  the doctors who attended to him informed us that the levels of cholesterol in his body was abnormally high and that was one of the factors that contributed to make him suffer that heart attack. At  45 years old, my father was too young to die and he has left my mother to take care of my nine siblings and me. It is going to be very tough. I will have to drop out of school to find a job so that I can support my mother. Perhaps, this may be the end of my dream to become a pilot. Anyway, I don’t want cholesterol to affect me the way it affected my father. And so I want to know what I can do to manage the levels of cholesterol in my body so that I can maintain good heart health? What should I eat? What should I do? How should I live so that I can achieve this aim?” the young man asks.

As Yaw and his family were informed, there is evidence that cholesterol and heart disease are related: high levels of bad cholesterol in the body can cause atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries in the body) and that increase one’s risk of having a heart attack.

However, adopting these strategies and applying them to your life can help you to reduce your levels of cholesterol.

1.    Eat Fresh Berries Often

According to a study carried out in the University of California and published in the journal Agricultural and Food Chemistry, fresh berries can prevent low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or “bad” cholesterol, from building up in the body. Berries contain phenolic compounds which break down bad cholesterol in the blood.

So, eat two handfuls of blackberries or red berries after every meal, or blend a large amount of black berries or red berries and drink one glass of the juice every morning, afternoon, and evening: black and red berries inhibit the build- up of bad cholesterol better than other berries such as blueberries and strawberries.

2.    Eat Okra Often

Okra is very rich in pectin, which modifies how bile is made in the liver, and that helps to reduce high levels of cholesterol in the blood: pectin binds bad cholesterol in the bile acids and that facilitates the excretion of excess cholesterol from the body.

So, eat gumbo often. Instead of preparing the normal vegetable soup that you are used to, use gumbo to prepare okra soup and use the soup to eat fufu. This is a dish enjoyed by many in West Africa and you will enjoy it too if you try it.

3.    Eat A Lot Of Unsaturated Fats

A study has shown that eating unsaturated fats helps to reduce the levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol, in the body: unsaturated fats help with the oxidation, or the “burning” of LDL cholesterol, thereby helping to  reduce the total quantity of bad cholesterol in the body.

Additionally, the study found that unsaturated fats help to maintain the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, or “good” cholesterol, in the body. In fact, some studies have revealed that a diet very rich in unsaturated fats can help increase the levels of HDL cholesterol in the body by 12%.

“So, where can I get this unsaturated fats from?” you may be asking. Or you may be wondering, “Which foods contain unsaturated fats?”

Foods such as soy bean oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, avocados, almond nuts, and cashew nuts are rich in unsaturated fats. And so instead of frying your fish with butter (which contains saturated fat that can raise the levels of bad cholesterol in your body), choose to fry your fish and meat with olive oil. And after eating a meal such as white rice with fried fish, eat a handful of cashew nuts.

Alternatively, instead of using oil to cook your stew, prepare it without oil, and then eat the subsequent meal with one whole avocado. For example, eat your white rice and egg- plant stew with an avocado and you will still get the amount of unsaturated fat you need to help you lower cholesterol levels in your body.

4.    Eat A Lot Of Soluble Fiber  

This kind of fiber can dissolve in water, but it cannot be digested by humans. Therefore, the fiber moves in bulk through the digestive tract and binds to cholesterol in the body, and pushes the bound cholesterol out of the body when it leaves the body during excretion.  

Good sources of this kind of fiber are: cowpeas (black-eyed peas), lentils, oatmeal, skin of fruits such as berries and guava, the edible parts of fruits such as oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, and mangos, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, kale,  corn, unpolished rice, sorghum, millet and wheat.  

5.    Eat Sesame Seeds Often

Sesame seeds contain certain plant chemicals known as phytosterols, which have a structure that is similar to the structure of cholesterol: 200 grams of sesame seeds contain about 400 grams of phytosterols.

These phytosterols displace cholesterol in the gut so that the amount of cholesterol that will be available for absorption into the body is significantly reduced, thereby helping to lower the amount of bad cholesterol that eventually ends up in the blood. 

6.    Exercise Often

Medical experts agree that exercising can help one reduce his or her level of cholesterol: when one exercises, certain enzymes are produced which help to move bad cholesterol from the blood into the liver, where the cholesterol is converted into other forms for excretion from the body.

So, do intense exercise for two hours every day. For example, jump a rope at an intense speed for 10 minutes, take a short break, and then continue with it until two hours are up.

7.    If You Have Pre-diabetes, Do Intermittent Fasting For Six Weeks Or More

Research carried out by scientists at the Intermountain Heart Institute in Utah has revealed that fasting for up to 12 hours can help to lower cholesterol levels in the body by about 12%.

When a pre-diabetic person fasts, the body begins to look for other sources of energy and so draws on reserves of LDL cholesterol in the fat cells and uses that cholesterol to take care of the energy needs of the body.

You may choose to fast from 6.00 am to 4.00 pm every Saturday, or from 6.00 am to 6.00 pm for three days of a week when you are on leave or on vacation.

During the fast, pray and ask God to give you good health and strength, for unless the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it (Psalm 127 v 1)—unless God blesses the efforts that you make, your efforts may be in vain. 

Conclusion

Cholesterol and heart disease are undeniably linked and you can reduce the amount of bad cholesterol in your body, thereby helping to reduce your risk of getting  a heart disease, by eating fresh berries, consuming okra often, eating a lot of unsaturated fats, consuming soluble fiber, eating sesame seeds, exercising regularly, and fasting if you have pre-diabetes.

You Might Also Like To Read:

Exercise And Your Heart

Saturated Fats And Your Heart

Sugar And Your Heart

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