Often, people try to reduce their cholesterol very much, without any drugs. Following a diet, regularly engaging in physical activity, but without any result. Cholesterol is rising whatever they do.
It is possible to systematize three main mistakes that people make and can not lower cholesterol.
It is, of course, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and ideally, we would still need to increase high-density lipoproteins. To prevent us from developing atherosclerotic plaques.
1. The first mistake in lowering cholesterol: Physical activity
And so, the first mistake lies in assessing your level of physical activity. Many people find that they exercise enough, and they regularly go to the gym. in their understanding, it turns out that regularly it is three or four times a week, where they go there on a treadmill on foot for three kilometers. And they think that this is enough.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. For some positive changes in the metabolism to appear, there is some kind of aerobic effect.
To reduce cholesterol, classes should be aerobic. That is, they are also called cardio loads. these are loads such as:
- running
- normal walking
- bike
- swimming
- cycling simulator
- elliptical
- skiing and so on.
These loads should be performed every day.
Walking to get lower cholesterol
Ideally, this is just a regular walk, which should be an hour and a half a day. And in addition to walking at least three times a week, you need a full-fledged workout for all muscle groups. But if, as a rule, people do not have any questions about the training, then walking is much worse. 1.5 hours you need to walk at a speed that is the threshold before shortness of breath. That is, you should generally talk to maintain a conversation without confusing speech. But at the same time, walking intensity should be so high that you just a little more and already go to shortness of breath. That is, the power of walking is one of the fundamental points.
It is not good to walk all day slowly at a speed of 3 km/h. It, unfortunately, will not give you anything, even if you walk 20 kilometers a day. Better, fast, and intense at a pace of an hour and a half.
Alternative of Walking Outside
if you do not want to go or do not have time, although I believe that you can always find time because it is about your health. and it is necessary to treat physical activity in the same way as:
- food
- sleep
- taking pills if you take them.
So put yourself on the schedule for this 1.5 hours. You can also spend this time, or divide it by half an hour during the day, and so on. In other words, anyone who wants to will always find the opportunity to walk.
If you still have such a life that you can not walk because of lack of time or there is no place to go, and it is scary. then it would help if you replaced it with home simulators:
- treadmill
- elliptical exercise
- bike
What is the equivalent of walking here?
Very simple calculation. You should spend half an hour doing any of these activities on a pulse that is 180 minus your age. for example, if you are 50 years old, 180 minus 50 makes 130. That is, 130 beats per minute such a pulse is maintained for half an hour, and so every day. If it’s hard, you can lower your heart rate by a little 125 beats per minute. If too easy, 135 beats per minute.
I explain why there is such a formula. 180 minus your age is just about your aerobic threshold. that is, such a pulse at which you provide all your energy needs due to aerobic oxidation.
2. The second mistake in lowering cholesterol: Nutrition
The second item is food. Too many people believe that they eat right, but when you start asking people, making a diary, they write down how much they ate during the day, week, month, and so on. Then you can see the details that elude them. But it is easier not to point out some small details that may differ for each person. And describe to you the general principles.
Principle 1
To reduce cholesterol, you need to have an energy deficit. That is, you should eat less than you spend. At the same time, you will naturally reduce the production of cholesterol. That is, the liver will turn off those enzymes that are responsible for its production.
What foods can be consumed at the same time and at what time of the day?
First, you can eat fruits, such as:
- apples
- citrus fruits
- apricots
- strawberries
- cherries and so on
You also need and can use leafy green vegetables as much as you want without restrictions. as many as you want without restrictions, you can also:
- tomatoes
- cucumbers
- cabbage
- onion
- sweet pepper
- carrot radish
That is, these are the usual vegetables. Make salads; the more, the better. Fill them with vegetable oil, olive oil, or sunflower oil. It is only desirable that the oil is unrefined.
Protein:
- The meat can be white chicken, that is, chicken breast without skin.
- turkey without skin too breast
- veal
- sea fish
- skimmed cottage cheese
- egg whites
Wholegrain cereals can be:
- buckwheat
- wild rice
- millet
- oats
- wheat
- lentils
- legumes
Whole grains and legumes are boiled without sauces and butter. The usual vegetable oil that you like, that’s all.
Here is a set of products. Fruits are fructose carbohydrates, and fruits should be consumed only in the morning.
Wholegrain cereals can still be consumed somewhere in the afternoon, and they give you both proteins and vegetables and fiber, and many vitamins.
Vegetables are vitamins and fruits, by the way, too, including fiber.
a large amount of vegetable fat, i.e., vegetable oil
But protein, in principle, is not limited to the amount of white meat there.
In fact, in this diet, only one thing is missing: carbohydrates. Everything else is in sufficient quantity.
Naturally, this is not a call to sit on this diet all your life.
3. The third mistake in lowering cholesterol: Diseases and Diabetics
And finally, the third factor, which unfortunately also happens. but fortunately still not so often, it is:
- physical inability to perform exercises
- diseases of the musculoskeletal system
- too weakened person
- age
- some severe anemia
- the disease of the cardiovascular system
That is, well, in this case, of course, it is difficult.
There is also such a moment: hereditary hypercholesterolemia, which is in the heterozygous type and homozygous type. It is characterized by the fact that low-density lipoproteins are very much increased. Because they can not be disposed of by the cells of the body in such people, there are no such receptors in these cells due to which bad cholesterol binds to the cells and penetrates their depths. Therefore, it circulates in the lumen of the vessels and causes damage to the vascular wall. If we are talking about a homozygous form, this is a very early heart attack and stroke.
And the heterozygous form is milder, and it can manifest itself simply by high cholesterol levels. Total cholesterol will be 8-9. and at the same time, a person can make a titanic effort to engage in physical activity. by controlling your diet, and it doesn’t work out. In such cases, there is nothing left but to resort to drug therapy, which reduces the level of cholesterol.