How to Lower Cholesterol Levels

Excessive cholesterol in your blood leads to stroke and heart disease - the top two causes of deaths worldwide. Although many tips have been publicized to lower cholesterol, many people are still having high cholesterol levels.

Once you discover that you have high cholesterol levels after checking your lipoprotein profile, doctors may recommend on following a TLC diet (therapeutic lifestyle changes) or undergoing medications to lower cholesterol. The choice of treatment will depend on your cholesterol levels, health history, risk factors of heart disease, age, sex and other factors.

Principles of a TLC Diet

The Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes was developed to lower cholesterol levels that are too high, reducing your chances of developing heart disease or experiencing a stroke. This programs encourages patients to follow a low-cholesterol diet, while applying healthy physical activities to ensure a well-balanced, overall health is achieved.

The TLC program comes with specific guidelines to lower cholesterol through your diet, along with several procedures to ensure positive, long-lasting results. This program focuses on limitations of sodium intake of up to 2,400 milligrams, reduction of 200 milligrams worth of dietary cholesterol and daily limitations of saturated fats.

The total calories for each person will be based on weight, height and age of the patient. It is important to ask for a doctor's recommendation about the total calories you need on a daily basis. A dietitian can provide you with a meal plan that can teach you new and healthy eating patterns, habits and choices. The TLC diet will only lower cholesterol if you follow the guidelines and calculations properly.

Cholesterol-lowering Medications

When the TLC program or other low-cholesterol diet plans do reduce your cholesterol levels, your doctor will prescribe medications designed to lower cholesterol. Medications are given to people who have persisting high cholesterol levels, even when following a diet for six months or one year. Cholesterol-lowering medicines work more effectively when combined with a proper diet.

There are two kinds of medicine for cholesterol reduction. One type of medicine reduces the amount of cholesterol your liver naturally produces, while the other type of medication reduces the amount of dietary cholesterol that you absorb from various food sources.

However, if you are taking cholesterol-lowering medicine, it is important to incorporate certain lifestyle changes from the TLC program. Regular exercise and a well-balanced diet combined with proper medications is the ideal treatment to lower cholesterol and maintain healthy cholesterol levels for years.